WO2012160114A1

WO2012160114A1 - An application for a portable computing device

Info

Publication number: WO2012160114A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/059640
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Gary JONES
Original assignee: C This Limited
Priority date: 2011-05-23
Filing date: 2012-05-23
Publication date: 2012-11-29

Abstract

An application for a portable computing device, the application being configured to: prompt a user to enter details of one or more persons, including a photograph of each person; provide a user interface configured to receive input indicative of at least one of the one or more persons going missing; transmit data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person upon receipt of the input indicative of a person going missing; wherein the transmitted data is configured to display the photograph of the at least one missing persons on one or more screens in the vicinity of the portable electronic device.

Description

AN APPLICATION FOR A PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE

The invention generally relates to the field of telecommunications and a computerised apparatus and method for publicizing an incident such as the loss of a person from another person's care.

Sadly, we are all too aware of cases where children have been abducted from shopping centres, leisure complexes and other public areas. In the UK, 1 (one) child goes missing every 3 (three) minutes (www.missingkids.co.uk).

Just think about any child abduction case. If a photograph can be displayed quickly on screens in the vicinity of the abduction, the child may have been saved. Think about your biggest fear as a parent, grandparent, guardian: a missing child for half an hour, in a theme park, airport, shopping mall, etc. How could you live with yourself if the child was never found?

The Amber system in the US does not work effectively because of the time it takes to approve the distribution of data to highway information boards asking drivers to look into other cars windows for a possible sighting. This process takes a minimum of 1.5 hours! Missing children or adults are not reported to the Amber system for this reason.

Apple's iPhones are by far and away the most popular smart phone on the UK market.

The Apple iPhone has the ability to hold computer programs that perform simple functions; these are called apps. They are available from the Apple store via i-tunes which is a Mac computer based online store. Microsoft based computers can also access i-tunes. Stringent criteria have to be met. These apps are then available for download onto other smart phones such as those manufactured by Samsung or LG, etc.

Apple has just launched the new Mac O/S 5 that allows you to place 'to do notes' that relate to a location. For example, if you want to remember to put the rubbish bin out in the yard when you get home; upon entering your home (GPS located) a message will be sent to your message box on the smart phone reminding you to put the rubbish bin out - quite clever. An objective of the invention is to address one or more of the above problems. For example, a "Kids in Safe Hands" application may allow a parent to alert the public of a missing child so that the child can be found and reunited with their parents more quickly.

Some examples relate to systems and methods for a remote mobile device to download a software application and then transmit data to a primary secure computing device. Upon further instructions the remote mobile device may transmit multimedia to the primary secure computing device and transmit combined data and multimedia to a second remote computing device for display on remote digital screens. The multimedia data displayed on the remote mobile device may be securely authenticated upon transmission requested by a user of the remote mobile device and manually checked upon the remote mobile device with security personnel at a GPRS licensed and registered location.

A proprietary streaming module may execute on a mobile device to stream multimedia and data via the internet. The stream may be established instantaneously between the mobile device and a remote primary computing machine when required. The remote primary computing machine may associate the multimedia with stored data and forwards the multimedia with predetermined and variable messaging to a digital presentation application that is executing on a remote second computing machine. The mobile device application may be activated by the user of the mobile device. The mobile device application may remain activated pending further stimulus when entering a GPRS recognised location whereupon the mobile device application can activate to a higher status for multimedia and data transmission instantaneously by the user of the mobile device. The higher status may remain within the perimeters of the GPRS recognised location. Upon leaving a recognised GPRS location the mobile device may revert to a lower activated status. The mobile device user may de-activate the mobile device application at any time upon entering the mobile device locking code.

According to a first aspect, there is provided an application for a portable computing device, the application being configured to:

prompt a user to enter details of one or more persons, including a photograph of each person;

provide a user interface configured to receive input indicative of at least one of the one or more persons going missing;

transmit data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person upon receipt of the input indicative of a person going missing; wherein the transmitted data is configured to display the photograph of the at least one missing persons on one or more screens in the vicinity of the portable electronic device.

The user interface may be configured to receive: user input indicative of which one or more persons have gone missing; and a security input, such as a passcode or confirmation of acceptance of penalties for false alarms, to confirm the user input. The application may be configured to prevent transmission of data until the security input has been correctly entered.

The application may be configured to receive location information, such as GPRS or GPS information, of the portable computing device and activate or deactivate some or all of the functionality of the application in accordance with a current location of the portable computing device.

The application may be configured to use first location information (such as GPRS) when the distance between a current location and a nearest registered venue is greater than a threshold (for example 500 m). The application may be configured to use second location information (such as GPS) when the distance between a current location and the nearest registered venue is less than the threshold. In this way, efficient use of the battery of the portable computing device can be made.

The application may be configured to only be able to provide the user interface and/or transmit data representative of the photograph when a current location of the portable computing device satisfies one or more predetermined criteria. The application may be configured to prevent the provision of the user interface and/or prevent the transmission of data representative of the photograph when a current location of the portable computing device does not satisfy one or more predetermined criteria. Such predetermined criteria may be an indication that the portable computing device is within the bounds of a pre-registered location/venue (such as a theme park, shopping mall, supermarket or any other environment that is known to have display screens that can display the photograph of the missing person).

The application may be configured to disable the user interface and/or prevent transmission of data representative of the photograph when a current location of the portable computing device does not satisfy one or more predetermined criteria. The transmitted data may also be configured to display personal details of the missing person (such as name, height, hair colour, age, or any other personal characteristics) with the photograph on the one or more screens, CCTV and other registered smart phone devices. The transmitted data may also be configured to display emergency contact information for a third party to use if they see the missing person.

The transmitted data may be configured to display the photograph concurrently with information that was previously being displayed on the screen, for example the photograph could be displayed alongside an advertisement.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a portable computing device comprising:

a memory configured to store details of one or more persons, including a photograph of each person;

a user interface configured to receive input indicative of at least one of the one or more persons going missing;

a transmitter configured to transmit data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person from memory upon receipt of the input indicative of a person going missing;

wherein the transmitted data is configured to display the photograph of the at least one missing persons on one or more screens, CCTV and registered smart phones in the vicinity of the portable electronic device.

Any portable computing device disclosed herein may have any application disclosed herein stored in memory. The portable computing device may also comprise a processor configured to process the application from memory.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system comprising: a remote computing machine; and

a portable computing device;

the portable computing device comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person from memory upon receipt of the input indicative of a person going missing to the remote computing machine;

wherein the remote computing device is configured to receive the transmitted data from the portable computing device and cause the photograph of the at least one missing person to be displayed on one or more screens in the vicinity of the portable electronic device.

In other examples, the details of the one or more persons may be stored on memory associated with the remote computing machine instead of or as well as the memory of the portable computing device. In such examples, the transmitter of the remote computing device may be configured to transmit data representative of the input indicative of at least one of the one or more persons going missing instead of data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person.

The remote computing device may be configured to display emergency contact information for a third party to use if they see the missing person along with the photograph of the missing person. In this way, the remote computing device, which may be associated with the location (such as theme park) in which the portable computing device is being used, can append the emergency contact information for that specific location/venue.

The remote computing device may be a server that is configured to control one or more display screens, CCTV and registered smart phones in a venue/location. In this way, no significant changes are required to the existing hardware/infrastructure that is used to display information such as advertisements throughout the venue.

An application, or app, in accordance with the present invention may automatically activate each time the user goes into a venue registered with the system.

The app may arrange to show a child's photograph and identification details on digital TV screens, CCTV and registered smart phones within or around a venue within moments of a parent raising the alarm.

In one example digital display screens may be used to immediately alert anyone in a venue to a 'lost child panic' within moments of a child going missing.

Embodiments of the present invention may allow registered public places to put out an alert immediately after a parent fears their child may have gone missing. Registered public places may comprise organisations such as shopping centres or leisure park operators and other public venues via the installation of this system.

By subscribing to Kids in Safe Hands, a public place will be providing a caring system to your customers. Parents, their friends and relatives are more likely to return again and again to a venue where safeguards have been put in place. Other benefits to venues of being "Kids in Safe Hands" registered venues include:

Provide Caring System to Your Customers

Perceived 'Safe' Environment

Retention and Repeat Visitors

Maximise Visitor Spending Opportunities

Ease Of System Use

Low Cost Security Solution

Brand association with new product launch

Various embodiments of the invention have some or all of the following advantages:

Innovative approach using latest technology

Use existing equipment

Works in conjunction with other schemes

Quick installation speed

Speed of automated messaging

It is intended that some embodiments of the invention will make shopping with younger members of the family a less worrying experience for parents and also offer an improved chance of finding a missing child should the worst happen.

In this document, the terms iPhone, smart phone, mobile phone, hand held device, mobile smart phone and portable computer may be used interchangeably. The terms parent, guardian, grandparent, carer and responsible adult are also used interchangeably, as are the terms child, grandchild, minor, charge.

Embodiments of the present invention may be better understood by reference to the accompanying figures:

Figures 1 to 16 show various screenshots of an application; Figure 17 illustrates a panic flow chart;

Figure 18 illustrates the interaction between various systems that can operate in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 19 shows a screenshot from a device in accordance with the present invention.

Many children are taught about "stranger dangerous" at an early age. Parents are now acutely aware of the rare but horrifying cases where children have seemingly vanished without a trace.

Child abduction is every parent's worst fear. Some embodiments provide parents with an immediate tool to raise the alarm if they lose track of their child. Upon panic, a photographic image and associated information will appear on the digital display screen within seconds. Speed is often of the essence in the search to reunite a missing child with their parent.

Embodiments of the invention enable the dissemination of information regarding lost or kidnapped individuals, such as children. With the world changing, child abduction is now becoming more common and possibly endemic (the worldwide economic position may mean kidnapping of children from more wealthy families becomes more prevalent, even in the west). Products in accordance with various embodiments reduces the risk of loss during every day activity, such as shopping and leisure. Many children show no fear. They are still inquisitive and vulnerable. Many predators know this. An immediate response to the threat of losing children from the care of a responsible adult is required.

Embodiments of the present invention may be provided within software package that has the potential to protect the UK's children from the threat of abduction. This produce is called "Kids in Safe Hands".

There are clear benefits to becoming Child Safe Zones to venue operators. These comprise the attraction and retention of customers; offering customers peace of mind and presenting an image of an organisation which cares deeply about visitor safety. There is much to gain by organisations such as shopping centres or leisure park operators via the installation of this system.

Vision is, and is likely to remain, the easiest of the senses use in instant reaction or recognition. Thus, with technology of digital screens that is used for advertising or TV or other presentation, the solution allows notification of a missing child with an immediate reaction of informing the general public in Venues of this fact.

An app may be downloaded onto the smart phone for a fee from a distributer, such as the Apple app store, by the owner of the smart phone. Each smart phone can have a unique reference identifying the registered owner. Such data may be stored as a cookie, as is known in the art. A recent photograph of the smart phone's owner may be held on the smart phone along with that of a child they wish to protect. Alternatively, this information may be stored on a different device such as a remote server. Additional data can be recorded such as eye colour, height, hair colour, name and then a description of the clothes they are wearing.

The app may have a panic button on the smart phone which can be red in colour. This app can be activated when entering a cthis Limited Child Safe Zone. Child Safe Zones can be identified by a marker, such as a sticker placed on a window or door at entry points to a venue. This panic button can have a unique sliding action. Sliding the button can activate the panic button. The colour can change to amber or green in readiness for immediate use if a panic happens. When the panic button is pressed, again a slide action, the colour will change to green. At this point identity data detailing the child on the smart phone is transferred to the cthis Limited database, which may be cloud based for security reliability. Upon immediate verification as a registered user, the smart phone is located by GPS and the identity data may be transmitted to a digital screen network (whether it is cthis or another supplier).

Public areas, such as modern shopping centres tend to have digital advertising hoardings installed. In the event of a panic these can be used to display details of the missing child in the vicinity of where the child missing. This is achieved by determining if the parent is in a "Child Safe Zone" (a registered venue) and if so, sending data to be displayed on advertising hoardings in that venue.

The advertisement can be removed or partially removed (to avoid conflict of contractual advertising thereby avoiding any change of the public sites contract with their advertising company/agency).

The operator of the public location may have the same identity data sent to their digital mobile handheld devices. These mobile handheld devices may be held by security staff. When a panic is raised the smart phone button turns to red by being pressed by a user; ail exits may be immediately manned (and closed-off) to ensure that the missing child does not get out of the public place. Display screens, in the venue may display a message comprising an image of the child and a request to contact the venue proprietors if the child is found. The CCTV security control centre may receive the image and information; this information may then be passed on to registered smart phone devices. The user may type in further information with the child's current description (e.g. clothing). The security control centre may send information to the User smart phone as updates on progress in finding the missing child. Once the child is identified by any person viewing the screens they may use their mobile phone to call security at the venue (or any other contact names on the display screens). The security staff may have access to GPS location information that identifies where the call was made. The child may then be reunited with the parent if the smart phone owner is able to show the photograph of themselves with their child. If this photo matches the appearance of the child the panic is over and the smart phone panic button can be pressed to revert to an active non-panic state (green). To reduce misuse, there may be a limit on the number of panics that can be raised in a period of time; such as three. The fourth panic may trigger an automatic payment, £50 for example, to a cthis payment system (optionally not bank details but phone number account). The owner of the product may take the option to close the account until further notice, by Email. When the parent leaves the cthis Child Safe Zone, they may deactivate the panic button until it is required again.

We take human reaction as a 'give me'. Other parents who see the vision of a missing child will seek the child sub-consciously, whilst shopping or at leisure. Once the child is identified the security teams at the venues will act immediately and close off the exit points. They will have the same information that is displayed on the screens at these points. The child will not be allowed to exit. This will exist as a panic until the child is reunited with the parent or guardian. The re-unification will not happen until the security team has visual evidence on the iPhone of the owner and child reported missing.

The rules of the app may say that 'the owner of the iPhone must ensure that they register the child(ren) with photographic ID and also of the iPhone owner and the child(ren)'.

Once the child is located and re-united with the owner of the iPhone (which should be the parent or guardian) then the panic is cancelled. This can be done by the parent, or guardian, or the security service, whilst at the Venue. Upon purchasing the app, and its mandatory registration, the information required is stored on a very secure computer server. Images of the children may be stored on the iPhone by the iPhone owner. They are not matched and checked until a panic situation occurs. This process may or may not be automatic, using face recognition technology.

When a parent or guardian wishes to use the app they will activate this on their iPhone. They may be required to adhere to the iPhone's 4 digit login on this occasion. During a panic the brain does not always work as well as normal. A phone code may prevent misuse of the invention in the event of the phone being stolen. The smart-phone 'locking process' requires the use of the phone owner's known daily 'pin'. This also ensures that the smart phone remains locked if stolen and avoids the possibility of a paedophile thief taking a photo of him or herself with the child.

It may be the responsibility of the iPhone owner to ensure the child's photograph is up-to- date and relevant. Cthis Limited cannot be responsible for authenticating that the child image on the iPhone is the natural child of the parent of guardian.

Battery draining is a renowned problem. In order to avoid this problem the app will be 'live' as a background function at all times the smart-phone is turned on, checking its location co-ordinates using the mobile mast network; these are accurate to about 500 metres. Once the smart-phone is near a Child Safe Zone, the location function switches from the mobile mast to GPS which may have a 5 metre location accuracy. This will remain active whilst in the Child Safe Zone. When the smart-phone enters the Child Safe Zone it automatically activates the app in readiness for a 'panic'. To speed things up in the event of a 'panic', the latest approved and registered photograph on the smart phone can be automatically loaded into the cthis server to cater for the lower bandwidth networks (2g etc). The image is held on the server until the parent leaves the Child Safe Zone whereupon the app checks if it enters a new Child .Safe Zone and, if not, the app is deactivated and a notification is sent that the image is to be removed from the server. Other detail about the child may be held on the cthis server upon registration. This has two major benefits. The first is that the sensitive data of image and detail is not related until a panic occurs; the second is that this will decrease the chances of misuse.

Cthis Limited may not punish the smart-phone owner with a penalty charge because they would have to register their card or other payment details (although there are new cards coming out that avoids this). Any misuse can prompt cthis Limited to cease the account. This will be explained at registration. Potential misuse by youths should be limited by this arrangement.

Embodiments of the invention may also allow multiple children to be imaged on the smart-phone. This may be useful during school outings.

Various aspects will now be discussed with reference to the figures.

The first time the cthis 'Lost Child' app is started a configuration screen will be displayed, as shown in Figure 1. To enter the configuration screen the user will have to accept terms and conditions of use and tick the box. Declining will cause a modal box to appear informing the user that they must accept the terms and conditions. The user will have to fill out this form before they proceed through to a functional app. During the configuration period the user will be asked how many children they have. This can help streamline the setup process. They may also be requested to setup a passcode so that any changes may be made in the future.

As shown in Figure 2, during a configuration stage the user will be requested to add a picture of their child. The user can add a picture of their child using either the inbuilt camera of the mobile phone or one from their photo library. This process cannot be 'skipped'.

As shown in Figure 3, the user may then be requested to fill in additional information about their child. Once this has been completed the user can tap the 'next' button and dependant on the number of children selected during the configuration period the app will either go to the next stage, or loop back to the add a child stage until all children have been added. This allows the user to setup the app from the beginning without having to go through further menu systems, alleviating any user confusion.

Once the user has completed the setup screen they will be sent to the Alarm page, as shown in Figure 4. This may also be the page that opens up on app start-up if configuration has already been completed. This will be the screen the user will see when they now start-up the cthis app. This consists of:

An image for each child stored within the app that can be scrolled horizontally dependant on the amount of children stored in the app.

The option to add a new child to the alarm list with a simple drag and drop action. Raise the alarm quickly and easily by having a large 'raise alarm' button. The option to go to navigate to other areas of the application using the toolbar.

Figure 5 illustrates adding a simple and intuitive method of adding a new child to the application. The user will simply click on the add child button, the next screen will ask for an app passcode (this can be setup in configuration). Once this has been entered the app will go back into the add child screen as featured in the initial configuration.

Figure 6 shows screen shots illustrating adding a child to the raise alarm area using a simple drag action; dragging the child from the top storage menu to the bottom raise alarm area. To add multiple children, drag the new child over the child already there, this will then split to show there is more than one child there; a red notification will also display to show how many children are in the alarm area. Once a child has been added to the alarm area the raise alarm button will change colour to notify the user it is ready to be used.

As shown in Figure 7, upon selection of the raise alarm button a modal screen will appear warning the user of making a false alarm, there may be the option to cancel or continue. Cancelling can send the user back to the Alarm screen, continuing can send the user into the control centre. In the control centre the user may be able to add a current description of the lost child and send this directly to the control room. The user can also get updates from the control room. This can result in 'haptic' feedback being given.

As shown in Figure 8, deleting a child from the alarm uses the same gesture as adding, drag the child from the alarm area back into the holding area. Dragging the icon from the alarm area may enlarge the image so the user can see they have the correct child selected.

NB. This will NOT delete the child from the app.

Figure 9 illustrates deleting a child from the app completely. This feature utilises already used and known gestures within iOS. In this step the user will press down on the child's icon for several seconds, the icon will then start to wiggle and display a small x in the top right corner, hitting this x will pop up a passcode screen, after entering the passcode the child' s icon will disappear.

NB. This WILL delete the child from the app. As shown in Figure 10, selecting the edit icon on the toolbar will take you to the edit screen. A screen will request the user's passcode.

After this a list of editable details will be displayed, on top is the user details and underneath may be the children's details (Names may be pulled from existing information already stored). Selecting one of these can take you to the edit details screen.

Figure 11 illustrates a screenshot of a child with a description provided below it.

In Figure 12, the information page displays information about the app, FAQ's and contact information.

As shown in Figure 13, when cancelling an alarm with multiple children a separate menu may appear. This allows the user to delete specific children from the app without the need for deleting all of them and restarting the process.

As shown in Figure 14, a separate menu allowing specific children to be selected. This may be appropriate when the user needs to add descriptions for multiple children.

Once this information has been completed the user can hit submit and be taken back to the child description selection screen, from here they can navigate back to the control centre.

Figure 15 shows an example of an overlaid tutorial; this may be accessible from the information tab but may also display on the first running of the app.

Figure 16 shows another example that may only be displayed when selected through the information app. When the user goes to the control centre they will not want to be hindered by an overlay.

Figure 17 illustrates a flow chart for a procedure for processing a panic requests. Initially, a decision is taken whether the request is a "start, stop or query". If the request is a query the panic status is returned by the server and the process ends. If the request is to stop the panic the system determines if the panic has already been stopped. If it has not already been stopped the venue where the child was lost is notified of the change of status. If the panic has already been stopped the server determines if the panic was stopped by the venue and returns status information to the device.

If the request is to start a panic the server determines if a panic has already been started. If a panic is already on going the server returns the panic status to the device. If there has not yet been a panic, the server initiates a panic if the credential details presented by the smart phone are valid. This can comprise alerting the venue and dispatching data for display in the venue.

If the credentials presented by the smart phone are not valid the server returns an error and the process ends.

Figure 18 illustrates the interaction between the various systems that can operate in accordance with the present invention. The figure is separated into two areas: the venue on the left hand side, and the remote primary computing machine on the right hand side.

A mobile device in the venue communicates with the remote primary computing machine via a telecommunications network which can comprise the internet. Cell phone base station information can be used to determine the position of the mobile device, and if it falls within a registered venue, a 'Child Safe Zone'. Alternatively, GPS can be used to provide a location estimate of the mobile device, if the mobile device has access to GPS.

The remote primary computing machine can communicate with a remote secondary computing machine via a network. The remote secondary computing machine can provide information, such as data to be displayed on visual screens on advertising boards in response to receiving data from remote primary computing machine. The content of the digital screens can also be at least partially modified the remote secondary computing machine taking instructions from an operator situated locally to the machine.

Figure 19 shows a screenshot from a device in accordance with the present invention. This screenshot corresponds to those of Figures 8 and 9.

There may also be provided the following numbered examples: 1. A method for displaying on a remote secondary computing machine, by an application executing on the remote mobile device, multimedia data generated by a mobile device user. The mobile device in communication with the remote primary computing machine via the internet, the method comprising: streaming, by the mobile device application, multimedia data to the remote primary computing machine via the internet, the multimedia data generated by a multimedia application with the remote mobile device and comprising input to a presentation application executing on the remote secondary computing machine via a secure primary computing machine with proprietary application for control and authentication and security of transmission of multimedia data and messaging.

2. The method of example 1, wherein streaming further comprises streaming the multimedia data responsive to receiving a request to execute the presentation application from a user of the remote mobile device.

3. The method of example 1, wherein streaming further comprises transmitting, by a local streaming module executing on the remote mobile device, the multimedia data to the remote secure primary computing machine via the internet.

4. The method of example 3, further comprising: streaming, by a local streaming module executing on the remote mobile device, the multimedia data from a multimedia device application on the remote mobile device; and streaming, by the proprietary application module executing on the remote secure primary computing machine, the multimedia data to a remote digital display application executing on a remote secondary computing machine as multimedia and messaging output to a digital screen, having overridden the digital display application to display the remote mobile device multimedia data and messaging as a part display on the digital screen.

5. The method of example 1 , further comprising encoding, by an encoder executing on the remote mobile device, the multimedia data before transmitting the multimedia data to the remote secure primary computing machine.

6. The method of example 1, further comprising constructing a packet, by an application on the remote mobile device, to include the multimedia data in a protocol wrapper before transmitting the packet comprising the multimedia data to the remote primary computing machine. 7. The method of example 1 , further comprising encrypting, by an encoder executing on the remote mobile device, the multimedia data before transmitting the multimedia data to the remote primary computing machine.

8. A remote mobile device for use in a proprietary system in which multimedia data generated by the remote mobile device is displayed on a remote digital screen by an application executing on a remote secondary computing machine, the remote mobile device comprising: a multimedia interface sends the multimedia data comprising input to a presentation application executing on a remote secondary computing machine via the remote secure primary computing machine to authenticate the multimedia data before display via the internet. The secondary computing machine receiving, from the remote primary computing machine, authenticated multimedia output generated by the remote mobile device application responsive to a stimulus by the remote mobile device user.

9. The remote mobile device of example 8, wherein the streaming module streams the multimedia data responsive to receiving a request from a user of the remote mobile device to execute the presentation application.

10. The system of example 8, wherein the streaming module executes on the remote mobile device and streams the multimedia data directly from the multimedia interface.

11. The system of example 8, further comprising an encoder executing on the remote mobile device encoding the acquired multimedia data before transmission to the remote secure primary computing machine.

12. The system of example 8, further comprising a packet engine executing on the remote mobile device and constructing a packet including the acquired multimedia data in a protocol wrapper before transmitting the packet comprising the multimedia data to the remote secure primary computing machine.

13. A remote mobile device for use in a system in which multimedia data generated by a multimedia application connected via the remote secure primary computing machine to the remote secondary computing machine computing is displayed on the remote digital screen by an application executing on a remote secondary computing machine, the remote mobile device comprising: means for streaming, by the remote mobile device, multimedia data to a remote secondary computing machine via the internet, the multimedia data generated by the remote mobile device and comprising input to a presentation application executing on the remote secondary computing machine.

14. The remote mobile device for use in a proprietary system is activated by GPRS stimulus executed by authenticated data on the proprietary application on the remote secure primary computing machine.

15. The system of example 14, further comprising a proprietary application on the remote mobile device activated in the first instance by the user of the remote mobile device.

16. The system of example 14, further comprising a proprietary application on the remote secure primary computing machine that holds GPRS data of GPRS locations recorded upon receipt of a location licensing Agreement for activation of the application within the GPRS location.

17. The system of example 14, further comprises the proprietary application on the remote mobile device to recognise the GPRS location and activate to a higher status for user execution of a function within the proprietary application.

18. The remote mobile device holds the original multimedia data displayed on the remote digital screens for authentication by the remote mobile device user with security personnel at a GPRS approved location.

19. The system of example 18, wherein requires the user of the remote mobile device to manually demonstrate the originality of the multimedia data displayed on the remote digital display screens secured by the proprietary application on the remote mobile device.

It will be appreciated that one or more elements of the functionality disclosed herein may be considered optional and can be omitted whilst still being able to provide a system for fulfilling one or more of the objectives disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An application for a portable computing device, the application being configured to:

transmit data representative of a photograph of the at least one missing person upon receipt of the input indicative of a person going missing;

wherein the transmitted data is configured to display the photograph of the at least one missing persons on one or more screens in the vicinity of the portable electronic device.

2. The application of claim 1 , wherein the user interface is configured to receive: user input indicative of which one or more persons have gone missing; and a security input, such as a passcode or confirmation of acceptance of penalties for false alarms, to confirm the user input; and

wherein the application is configured to prevent transmission of data until the security input has been correctly entered.

3. The application of any preceding claim, wherein the application is configured to receive location information, such as GPRS or GPS information, of the portable computing device and activate or deactivate functionality of the application in accordance with a current location of the portable computing device.

4. The application of claim 3, configured to use GPRS when the distance between a current location and the nearest registered venue is greater than a threshold, and use GPS when the distance between a current location and the nearest registered venue is less than the threshold.

5. The application of any preceding claim, configured to prevent the provision of the user interface and/or prevent the transmission of data representative of the photograph when a current location of the portable computing device does not satisfy one or more predetermined criteria.

6. The application of claim 5, wherein the predetermined criteria includes an indication that the portable computing device is within the bounds of a pre-registered location.

7. The application of claim 5 or claim 6, configured to disable the user interface and/or prevent transmission of data representative of the photograph when a current location of the portable computing device does not satisfy one or more predetermined criteria.

8. The application of any preceding claim, wherein the transmitted data is also configured to display details of the missing person (such as name, height, hair colour, age, or any other personal characteristics) with the photograph on the one or more screens.

9. The application of any preceding claim, wherein the transmitted data is also configured to display emergency contact information for a third party to use if they see the missing person.

10. The application of any preceding claim, wherein the transmitted data is configured to display the photograph concurrently with information that was previously being displayed on the screen, for example the photograph could be displayed alongside an advertisement.

11. A portable computing device comprising:

12. A system comprising:

a remote computing machine; and a portable computing device;

the portable computing device comprising:

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the remote computing device is configured to display emergency contact information for a third party to use if they see the missing person along with the photograph of the missing person.

14. The system of claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the remote computing device is a server that is configured to control one or more display screens in a venue/location.

15. An application substantially as herein disclosed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

16. A portable computing device substantially as herein disclosed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

17. An system substantially as herein disclosed and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.