WO2015149107A1 - Procédé et système pour suivre des actifs - Google Patents

Procédé et système pour suivre des actifs Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015149107A1
WO2015149107A1 PCT/AU2015/000183 AU2015000183W WO2015149107A1 WO 2015149107 A1 WO2015149107 A1 WO 2015149107A1 AU 2015000183 W AU2015000183 W AU 2015000183W WO 2015149107 A1 WO2015149107 A1 WO 2015149107A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
mobile device
sensors
software application
data
wireless
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PCT/AU2015/000183
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English (en)
Inventor
John Peter KRAFT
Original Assignee
Datadot Technology Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2014901148A external-priority patent/AU2014901148A0/en
Application filed by Datadot Technology Limited filed Critical Datadot Technology Limited
Publication of WO2015149107A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015149107A1/fr

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • G06Q10/083—Shipping
    • G06Q10/0833—Tracking

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to detecting, identifying and tracking assets and more particularly to a wireless method and system for tracking assets.
  • vehicle immobiliser typically employs digital codes to communicate with an onboard vehicle computer to control immobilisation of the vehicle.
  • vehicle immobilisers have proved to be highly effective for more than a decade in driving down rates of vehicle theft, such systems have become increasingly vulnerable to defeat (e.g., by the use of digital key programmers).
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • M2M Machine-to- Machine
  • GPS based vehicle tracking Due to one or more of the foregoing disadvantages, GPS based vehicle tracking has generally fallen out of favour over a relatively short period of time. However, GPS based tracking is still widely used for fleet management purposes, for example in trucking, couriers, sales force management and taxi fleets.
  • Microdot anti-theft approaches distribute numerous (e.g., thousands of) copies of vehicle data, typically the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), in a semi-random fashion in and/or on the major components of a vehicle. Illicit parting out of or rebirthing of the vehicle therefore becomes a practical impossibility as all the major components of the vehicle carry identification data relating to the original vehicle.
  • VIN Vehicle Identification Number
  • GPS tracking systems have been tried as a means of measuring vehicle usage and as a means of estimating insurance risk.
  • Insurance focused GPS tracking systems typically plug into a vehicle On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port, which virtually eliminates a cost of installation.
  • OBD On-Board Diagnostic
  • the GPS devices are capable of providing an insurance company and/or the authorities with a complete real time report of the vehicle's position, speed, acceleration, steering angle, slip angle, RPM, gear used, engine temperature, fuel usage, etc.
  • Such methods and systems should ideally be: relatively inexpensive, simple and easy to install, capable of remotely reporting location and identity of the asset, not unduly threatening in relation to the vehicle operator's privacy and/or risk of incrimination for traffic violations, and capable of providing data relating to identification of a vehicle operator and/or other occupants of the vehicle.
  • An aspect of the present invention provides a system comprising: a plurality of wireless tags, each associated with a respective asset; a plurality of mobile device software applications, each executed by a respective mobile device and adapted to detect the wireless tags when the respective mobile device is within wireless communications range of the wireless tags; and a database software application executed by a computer system and adapted to store data relating to the plurality of wireless tags and the assets associated with the wireless tags.
  • the plurality of mobile device software applications is adapted to cause a respective mobile device to transmit data to the database software application in response to detection of the plurality of wireless tags.
  • the transmitted data comprises a substantially unique identifier of a detected wireless tag and a location of the respective mobile device.
  • Another aspect of the present invention provides a method comprising: wirelessly detecting a wireless tag associated with an asset using a mobile device; and causing the mobile device to transmit data to a database software application hosted by a remote computer system.
  • the data comprises a substantially unique identifier of the detected wireless tag and a location of the mobile device.
  • Another aspect of the present invention provides a computer readable storage medium having a mobile device software application recorded therein, the mobile device software application being executable by a mobile device, the mobile device software application comprising: code for wirelessly detecting a wireless tag associated with an asset; and code for transmitting data to a database software application hosted by a remote computer system.
  • the data comprises a substantially unique identifier of the detected wireless tag and a location of the mobile device.
  • Fig. 1 is an architectural block diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figs. 3A and 3B comprise a schematic block diagram of a computer system with which embodiments of the present invention can be practised.
  • Figs. 4A and 4B comprise a schematic block diagram of a computer system with which embodiments of the present invention can be practised .
  • Embodiments of the present invention utilise wireless Bluetooth tags, which comprise small, low cost, active or passive devices that are capable of transmitting a unique or substantially unique identification number.
  • certain commercially available Bluetooth tags have a range of 150 - 300m (line of sight), which may reduce to a range of 15 - 30m when installed on or within an asset such as a motor vehicle or marine craft.
  • the tags preferably conform to the Bluetooth Low Energy Standard to facilitate a longer tag lifespan.
  • Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, using short-wavelength Ultra High Frequency (UHF) radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz from fixed and mobile devices. While the recent availability of relatively inexpensive Bluetooth wireless tags make such tags ideal for practising embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other wireless tags may alternatively be practised in place of Bluetooth wireless tags.
  • UHF Ultra High Frequency
  • the tags are preferably of dimensions not larger than 50mm diameter and 20mm thickness to facilitate installation and covert or secret location in an asset such as a motor vehicle.
  • the tags may be self-adhesive to facilitate easy attachment to assets for purposes of asset detection, identification and tracking. Multiple tags can be attached to a single asset or to component parts of the same asset.
  • the tags may be user installed, thus obviating the need for cotly professional installation.
  • the tags may comprise digital processor/s, memory, real time clock, elapsed time clock/s, battery status monitor, signal strength monitor (i.e., of signal received by tag), and sensors including, but not limited to: accelerometers, gyroscopes, thermometers, hydrometers, magnetometers, immersion sensors, etc.
  • the memory may, for example, be employed to log or store data received from the sensors and/or wirelessly from other devices.
  • a particular wireless tag having integrated sensors and used to practise embodiments of the present invention is the Texas Instruments CC2541 Sensor Tag, which includes humidity, acceleration, temperature immersion and magnetic sensors.
  • the tags may be configured to transmit data at regular intervals (typically one second or less) or to transmit data only in response to receiving an appropriately coded interrogation request. For obvious reasons, responsive tags provide a significantly greater degree of security.
  • a tag may, for example, transmit data relating to its unique or substantially unique identity, its group identity (in instances where tags are allocated into groups of tags, for example, where multiple tags are associated with a common asset), and sensor data at regular intervals or in response to an appropriately coded request.
  • Bluetooth low energy tags for use in practising embodiments of the present invention are tags provided by Stick and Find (StickNFind) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America.
  • the StickNFind tags are available in various sizes and operating configurations.
  • One of the relatively new tags is waterproof and has a lifetime of nine years when transmitting at a rate of once per second. Further details regarding these tags are available at the URL https://sticknfind.com or http://bluvision.com.
  • Embodiments of the present invention utilise mobile devices such as mobile telephones and wearable computers.
  • a unique electronic identifier asssociated with the mobile device enables the device to be used as a proxy for the device's owner or user.
  • Such devices may include sensors including, but not limited to: position/location sensors (e.g., GPS), ambient temperature sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and may support data connections such as, but not limited to: mobile data, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPRS, 4G, etc.
  • the mobile device may include sensors such as, but no limited to: position/location sensors (e.g., GPS), body temperature sensors, heart rate sensors (including irregular rhythm sensors), degree of hydration sensors, skin conductivity sensors, and respiration rate sensors (including irregular rate sensors).
  • position/location sensors e.g., GPS
  • body temperature sensors e.g., body temperature sensors
  • heart rate sensors including irregular rhythm sensors
  • degree of hydration sensors e.g., skin conductivity sensors
  • respiration rate sensors including irregular rate sensors.
  • Embodiments of the present invention utilise a computer software application for mobile devices, including portable computers such as laptops and notebooks, Portable Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablets such as the Apple iPadTM and Samsung GalaxyTM, smartphones such as the Apple iPhoneTM and Samsung S4TM, and wearable computers such as the Apple iWatchTM and Nike Fitness TrackerTM.
  • PDAs Portable Digital Assistants
  • tablets such as the Apple iPadTM and Samsung GalaxyTM
  • smartphones such as the Apple iPhoneTM and Samsung S4TM
  • wearable computers such
  • the mobile device application which is typically downloaded to a mobile device from a secure computer server (e.g., iTunesTM in the case of an Apple iPhoneTM), causes the mobile device, to scan the Bluetooth frequency band to detect registered Bluetooth tags.
  • Registered Bluetooth tags are tags employed by the method and system of the present invention to detect, identify and/or track assets which those tags are associated with and which the mobile device software application has been taught or programmed to detect, identify and/or track.
  • fixed devices are used in addition to mobile devices to run the mobile device application. This may, for example, provide coverage in areas that require constant coverage, which may not always be provided by mobile devices only.
  • An example of a fixed reader for use in practising embodiments of the present invention with Bluetooth tags is the sCUBE Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Scanner to Wi-Fi Gateway provided by Stick and Find (StickNFind) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America. Further details regarding the sCUBE BLE Scanner to Wi-Fi Gateway is available at the URL https://sticknfind.com or http://bluvision.com.
  • BLE Bluetooth Low Energy
  • Embodiments of the present invention utilise a database software application, typically hosted on a computer server, to record and store data relating to registered wireless tags and the assets those tags are associated with and/or attached to.
  • the database software application typically stores a unique or substantially unique identification number associated with each registered tag and data relating to the asset associated with each registered tag. Such data may include, but is not limited to:
  • tags used to practise embodiments of the present invention include the Apple iBeacon.
  • the Apple iBeacon protocol enables determination of the distance between an iBeacon (and therefore the associated asset) and a mobile device for detecting and/or reading the iBeacon.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic architectural block diagram of a system 100 for detecting, identifying and/or tracking assets in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • three Bluetooth tags 1 12, 1 14 and 1 16 are attached to a motor vehicle 110 and one Bluetooth tag 122 is attached to a boat 120.
  • Smartphones 130, 132, 140, and 150 each execute a mobile device software application 160 that scans the Bluetooth frequency band to detect registered Bluetooth tags.
  • Smartphone 130 is within range of Bluetooth tag 1 12 and the mobile device software application 160 running on smartphone 130 therefore detects and identifies Bluetooth tag 1 12.
  • Smartphone 132 is within range of Bluetooth tags 1 14 and 116 and the mobile device software application 160 running on smartphone 132 therefore detects and identifies Bluetooth tags 1 14 and 116.
  • Smartphone 140 is within range of Bluetooth tag 122 and the mobile device software application 160 running on smartphone 140 therefore detects and identifies Bluetooth tag 122.
  • Smartphone 150 is not within wireless communications range of any of Bluetooth tags 1 12, 1 14, 1 16 and 122 and the mobile device software application 160 running on smartphone 150 is therefore unable to detect or identify any of Bluetooth tags 1 12, 1 14, 116 and 122.
  • a remotely located computer server 180 hosts a database software application 182 for recording and storing data relating to registered Bluetooth tags and the assets with which those Bluetooth tags are associated.
  • a database entry is created in the database software application 182 for each Bluetooth tag that is registered in the system 100.
  • the computer server 180 is coupled to the Internet, the GSM telephone network, and/or any other applicable communications network to facilitate communications with various mobile or fixed-location communications devices.
  • each of the smartphones 130, 132, 140, and 150 is capable of communicating with the computer server 180 to transfer data relating to registered Bluetooth tags detected and/or identified by the mobile device software application 160 running on the smartphones 130, 132, 140, and 150.
  • the mobile device software application 160 running on that smartphone records data relating to the current location of the Bluetooth tag, which is representative of the location of the asset the Bluetooth tag is associated with (e.g., which the tag is attached to).
  • Data recorded by the mobile device software application 160 typically comprises, but is not limited to:
  • the data recorded by the mobile device software application 160 is transferred or uploaded to the computer server 180.
  • the uploaded data is processed and the relevant records in the database software application 182 are updated to reflect the latest location of the relevant Bluetooth tag and associated asset.
  • the mobile device software application 160 is downloaded to thousands or even hundreds of thousands of smartphones (or other mobile devices) to facilitate substantial coverage for detecting, identifying and/or tracking registered assets.
  • Registered assets are those assets associated with registered Bluetooth tags.
  • the database software application 182 maintains up to- date records of assets and their current location based on remote detection, identification and/or tracking of Bluetooth tags associated with (or attached to) those assets.
  • Authorised users of the system 100 can remotely interrogate the database software application 182 (e.g., via the Internet, the GSM network, or any other suitable communications network) to determine the current location of a particular registered asset.
  • Bluetooth tags may also be programmed to store the identity and location of other non-participating mobile devices encountered (i.e., mobile devices that do not have the mobile device software application 160 but that have Bluetooth capability activated) and to transmit this data when a participating mobile device comes into communications range or activates transmission from the Bluetooth tag.
  • the mobile device application 160 may process and/or buffer data collected from tags according to predetermined algorithms.
  • the mobile device application 160 may also transmit data to the database software application 182 in accordance with specified criteria which may, for example, be based on location, amount of data collected, the resource state of the mobile device, etc.
  • the mobile device application 160 may include situational data filtering algorithms.
  • the mobile device is only caused to scan for Bluetooth tags when the GPS or LBS location data of the mobile device indicates that the mobile device is within a specified distance (e.g., 1 km) from navigable water, a boat club, a marina, launch ramp, a fuel depot, a petrol station, a parking station, etc.
  • the mobile device is only caused to scan for Bluetooth tags when the GPS or LBS location data of the mobile device indicates that the mobile device is travelling below a certain threshold speed. This is because Bluetooth transmissions cannot be accurately received or intercepted above certain speeds.
  • situational data filtering conditions include, but are not limited to: during certain periods of the day and/or night, when the battery of the mobile device has sufficient charge (to enable the mobile device application to run without affecting utility of the mobile device for its owner), when the Bluetooth tag in an asset is registered to the same entity as the particular mobile device, when the processing and/or memory load of the mobile device is below a certain threshold level, and at random periods during the day and/or night.
  • the mobile device application 160 may include data filtering algorithms. In one example in which the mobile device application 160 receives the same location information from one or more Bluetooth tag/s in a fixed location over a period of time, the mobile device application 160 may only store a reference copy or version of the latest data received. Only when the location of one of the mobile devices changes by more than a specified threshold or there is some other change in the data uploaded by the Bluetooth tags, will the mobile device application 160 report a change in location or status to the database software application 182. For example, the mobile device application 160 may detect a Bluetooth tag and report the detection of the Bluetooth tag to the database software application 182 together with the time, identity of the mobile device application 160 and location of mobile application 160 (e.g., as derived by GPS, LBS, or both).
  • the mobile device application 160 may detect a Bluetooth tag and report the detection of the Bluetooth tag to the database software application 182 together with the time, identity of the mobile device application 160 and location of mobile application 160 (e.g., as derived by GPS, LBS, or both).
  • the mobile device software application 160 If the position of the mobile device remains relatively unchanged (e.g., as defined by a user set threshold) and the mobile device software application 160 detects repeated signals from a Bluetooth tag, then the mobile device software application 160 will not report the presence of the Bluetooth tag until such time that either: the location of the mobile device changes, the mobile device software application 160 can no longer detect the Bluetooth tag, the data generated by the optional sensors in the Bluetooth tag changes, and/or a different Bluetooth tag comes into range. This is known as reporting by exception. Furthermore, the mobile device software application 160 is capable of buffering a change of location or status information until such time that transmission is either feasible or desirable.
  • the mobile device software application 160 will buffer the change of location or status information until such time as the mobile device is back in range of a mobile data network and capable of transmitting the information to the database software application 182.
  • the database software application 182 will compress the data by recording:
  • the database software application 182 periodically compresses the data by recording, for example):
  • the computer system 180 may receive raw, filtered, compressed, agglomerated and/or buffered Bluetooth Tag, location, time, mobile device identification etc. data from the plurality of mobile devices deployed with the mobile device software application 160.
  • the computer system 180 has the ability to filter and process the data in order to improve the efficiency of the system and/or to add additional functionality to the system.
  • the computer system 180 may, for example:
  • the computer system 180 updates the database software application 182 with the wireless tag, location, and mobile device identification as received from the mobile device software applications 160.
  • the computer system 180 also determines whether any of the assets associated with the wireless tags have been reported as stolen. If a mobile device software application 160 detects what appears to be a stolen asset, an alert may be optionally sent to the police, an insurance company, and/or another appropriate party (e.g., via email, sms, mms, etc.).
  • the alert may include asset identification data retrieved from the database software application 182 such as the wireless tag identification data, and the make, model, serial number, photographs, etc. of the asset.
  • the data collected by the plurality of mobile device software applications 60 may be used to create a vast historical dynamic database, which provides information relating to:
  • the rate of usage of the asset e.g., daily, weekly, etc.
  • the database may be used to assess insurance risk or validate existing insurance risk models. Critically, the data collected results from colocation of the mobile device and the associated asset. Where the asset is a motor vehicle or marine craft, the collected data forms a history of vehicle or craft usage, where the temporal and spatial sample rate is highly variable. Since the data is sampled in time and space, the data cannot be used to incriminate participants in the scheme for alleged traffic offences (unlike GPS based insurance risk estimation which subjects participants to a very real risk of incrimination). The database can also be used to uncover instances of insurance fraud, where vehicles or craft are rebirthed etc.
  • the database can also be used as a type of frequent flyer/loyalty system metric.
  • Current frequent flyer/loyalty systems are only sensitive to actual sales, i.e. current frequent flyer/loyalty systems can only begin to record client related information when there is a sale and when the client hands over a loyalty card for membership identification and information scanning.
  • Current frequent flyer/loyalty programs cannot identify the presence of a loyalty program member in the vicinity of the retail outlet, not can they estimate how many times a member has visited a retail outlet without purchasing a product or a service.
  • Information from the database software application 182 can be used to determine the retail visit history of a consumer at a particular shopping location. In addition, when information from existing frequent flyer/loyalty programs is combined with information from the database software application 182, it is possible to determine the rate of sales per visit for a particular consumer.
  • the mobile device software application 160 constantly scans the Bluetooth frequency band looking for registered Bluetooth tags having a specific UUID and unique 'major' and 'minor' numbers which are used as a serial number to identify each individual asset.
  • the mobile device software application 160 records:
  • any other information transmitted by the tag such as, but not limited to: temperature, humidity, and/or acceleration.
  • the mobile device software application 160 optionally filters the recorded data.
  • the mobile device software application 160 optionally buffers the filtered data.
  • the mobile device software application 160 then transmits or uploads the recorded or buffered data to the database software application 182.
  • the database software application 182 determines that the asset being reported is flagged or marked as stolen and/or that the asset is operating outside of its permitted geographical area, then the database software application 182 sends out an alert via email, sms, etc.
  • the mobile device application 160 constantly transmits a coded Bluetooth signal seeking a response from registered Bluetooth tags.
  • the Bluetooth tag transmits a signal containing a coded (specific) UUID and unique 'major' and 'minor' numbers which are used as a serial number to identify an asset.
  • the mobile device application 160 records:
  • any other information transmitted by the tag such as, but not limited to: temperature, humidity, and/or acceleration.
  • the mobile device software application 160 optionally filters the recorded data.
  • the mobile device software application 160 optionally buffers the filtered data.
  • the mobile device software application 160 transmits or uploads the recorded or buffered data to the database software application 182.
  • the database software application 182 processes the uploaded data to determine whether:
  • the database software application 182 determines that the asset being reported is flagged or marked as stolen and/or that the asset is operating outside of its permitted geographical area, then the database software application 182 sends out an alert via email, sms, etc.
  • the mobile device can be used as a proxy to represent the presence of a particular person (e.g., an owner of a vehicle), while a Bluetooth tag can be used as a proxy to represent the presence of a vehicle or other asset/item.
  • Association of the two proxies enables the tag to be used as a proximity switch to activate events, operations and/or resources on the mobile device. Such association corresponds to when the particular person is in vehicle or within close proximity of the vehicle. Limiting data collection in this manner can be advantageously used to preclude the system collecting information about the movement of the particular person when not engaged activities relating to the vehicle.
  • the system can be further refined to ensure that data collection occurs only when the vehicle is in operation. This can be achieved by various means including: (i) activating the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to determine whether the vehicle is in motion upon detecting proximity of the position detection system (e.g., GPS on the mobile device) to
  • Bluetooth tag to the mobile device and commencing data collection only if the vehicle is determined to be in motion; and (ii) interrogating the accelerometers and/or other sensors on the Bluetooth tag or mobile device to measure parameters such as acceleration that are consistent with the vehicle being in motion upon detecting proximity of the Bluetooth tag to the mobile device and commencing data collection only if the vehicle is determined to be in motion.
  • Bluetooth tag When the Bluetooth tag is associated with a motor vehicle or marine craft and both the Bluetooth tag and the mobile device are registered to the same owner, and the mobile device detects that the vehicle or craft is in motion (e.g., using GPS, LBS and/or accelerometer data from the mobile device), it can be inferred (say for insurance risk assessment purposes) that the owner of the mobile device is likely to be present in the vehicle or craft.
  • This provides a means of collecting driving related information for insurance risk assessment purposes that cannot be replicated via the use of GPS tracking systems, which are only sensitive to the identity of the vehicle, its location, speed, state, etc.
  • the mobile device can recognise Bluetooth tags that are registered to the same owner as the mobile device and the class of the asset associated with the Bluetooth tag by:
  • the mobile device It is important for the mobile device to know which Bluetooth tags are registered to an owner; in one particular embodiment, the mobile device
  • the mobile device determines when it is in proximity to a Bluetooth tag that is associated with a registered asset such as a motor vehicle or marine craft.
  • a Bluetooth tag that is associated with a registered asset such as a motor vehicle or marine craft.
  • the mobile device is caused to collect information in a manner that provides a degree of understanding about the manner in which the vehicle is driven. For example, the mobile device may collect, say, random 1 hour
  • continuous samples of driving history comprising:
  • the Bluetooth tag records events, such as acceleration events, together with the time of the event.
  • the data so recorded is correlated with the mobile device data record to determine whether the vehicle has been driven without the owner's mobile device being connected to the Bluetooth tag.
  • the mobile device software application 160 may execute in the foreground or background, depending on the availability of processing resources available on the mobile device and/or upon settings by the user/operator.
  • the mobile device software application 160 When executing in foreground mode, the mobile device software application 160 is granted priority resourcing by the mobile device operating system and the application effectively runs continuously, subject to available battery power, etc.
  • Mobile device software applications 160 running in background mode are treated differently to foreground mode.
  • Common background mode characteristics include:
  • the 'trusted user' (e.g., police, insurance company, security company, etc.) capability is intended to run in foreground mode operation. This mode of operation provides the trusted user with a real time capability when a stolen asset is identified.
  • the mobile device software application 160 ideally runs in the foreground.
  • the mobile device software application 160 samples the operator's driving habits in real time using GPS data from the mobile device (including location and speed) and optionally accelerometer data from the wireless tag. Because the data is confined to small samples in time, it is insufficient to incriminate the driver for traffic offences such as speeding, etc.
  • the standard version of the mobile device software application 160 may run in either foreground or background mode or a combination of both.
  • Background operation enables the mobile device software application 160 to run in an unobtrusive manner which does not interfere with the user's operation of the mobile device.
  • Background mode operation will also generate data sets that may be intermittent as the operating system provides limited resources to the application.
  • the fact that the data is intermittent can be seen as a disadvantage with seeking to collect mass data, however, the fact that the data collection is intermittent is exceedingly valuable when seeking to protect user or operator privacy. For example, a large number of incomplete sightings of an asset (such as a motor vehicle) are sufficient to identify:
  • the above information is sufficient to validate to an insurance company where the motor vehicle resides, where the motor vehicle is used, and how frequently the motor vehicle is used.
  • the above information may be used to assess insurance risk and or validate insurance risk models.
  • the above information may also be used to locate stolen assets. Unlike GPS tracking and vehicle telematics, the above information is insufficient to incriminate an operator or driver for traffic offences such as speeding, etc.
  • embodiments of the present invention provide a low cost and covenient means of collecting data for purposes such as estimating, validating and pricing insurance risk.
  • the means described herein advantageously augment user privacy without compromising the quality of the data collected and conserve mobile device power (i.e., battery) and other resources.
  • Embodiments in which the mobile device comprises a wearable computer further enable collection, filtering, processing, compression and storage of data for estimating, validating and pricing health and life insurance risk.
  • the system of embodiments of the present invention can be deployed in accordance with three main deployment models.
  • Each deployment model provides a different trade-off between rapidity of system deployment and data collection potential.
  • the fastest way to deploy the system is via the Trusted User Model, which enables law enforcement and other Trusted Users such as council rangers, boat club commodores, fuel depot operators and marina operators to download a version of the mobile device Trusted User software application.
  • the Trusted User software application enables Trusted Users to see when a suspected stolen asset has been detected.
  • the Trusted User deployment model enables the system to be deployed using only small number of mobile devices.
  • the Trusted User software application notifies police, a relevant insurance company, and/or the Trusted User if a stolen asset marked or associated with a wireless tag is detected by a Trusted User software application.
  • the Trusted User deployment model also provides a degree of data collection regarding the location and movement history of the marked assets.
  • the second deployment model is the Consumer Model.
  • Each participating consumer downloads a copy of the consumer mobile device software application to his/her mobile device. Participating consumers will not be able to see if a stolen asset is detected by the system, only law enforcement and insurers will be party to this information.
  • the Consumer Model provides relatively more information regarding the location and movement of assets, however, the likelihood of detecting stolen assets and the amount of data collected by the Consumer Model is a function of the number of participating consumers. It is apparent that as the number of participating consumer increases to large numbers in a location (say 50,000 participating consumers) and the number of assets marked with the wireless tags increases in a location, then the probability of mobile device software applications detecting a wireless tag marked asset vastly increases. The system is said to have attained 'critical mass' when the number of participating consumers and the number of wireless tag marked assets is sufficient to create a useful amount of asset and mobile device history and status data.
  • the third deployment model employs the use of fixed readers that are deployed into strategic locations such as fuel depots, parking areas, marines, launch ramps etc.
  • Fixed readers have the drawback that they are required to be physically deployed at a site and require power and data connections. This incurs cost, complexity, and long lead times.
  • Fixed readers can play a critical role in that they can also be added to the Trusted User and Consumer Models to act as an interim system until the Consumer Model reaches critical mass and/or as a means of ensuring permanent collection of data from a strategic location.
  • Figs. 3A and 3B collectively depict a schematic block diagram of a general purpose electronic device 301 including embedded components, with which methods described hereinbefore may be practiced.
  • the general purpose electronic device 301 may be used to practice a mobile device executing the mobile device software application 160 referred to in embodiments of the present invention, as described hereinbefore.
  • the electronic device 301 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a portable media player or a digital camera, in which processing resources are limited. Nevertheless, the methods described
  • the electronic device 301 comprises an embedded controller 302. Accordingly, the electronic device 301 may be referred to as an "embedded device.”
  • the controller 302 has a processing unit (or processor) 305 which is bi-directionally coupled to an internal storage module 309.
  • the storage module 309 may be formed from non-volatile
  • the RAM 370 may be volatile, non- volatile or a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory.
  • the electronic device 301 includes a display controller 307, which is connected to a video display 314, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or the like.
  • the display controller 307 is configured for displaying graphical images on the video display 314 in accordance with instructions received from the embedded controller 302, to which the display controller 307 is connected.
  • the electronic device 301 also includes user input devices 313 which are typically formed by keys, a keypad or like controls.
  • the user input devices 313 may include a touch sensitive panel physically associated with the display 314 to collectively form a touch-screen.
  • Such a touch-screen may thus operate as one form of graphical user interface (GUI) as opposed to a prompt or menu driven GUI typically used with keypad-display combinations.
  • GUI graphical user interface
  • Other forms of user input devices may also be used, such as a microphone (not illustrated) for voice commands or a joystick/thumb wheel (not illustrated) for ease of navigation about menus.
  • the electronic device 301 also comprises a portable memory interface 306, which is coupled to the processor 305 via a
  • the portable memory interface 306 allows a complementary portable memory device 325 to be coupled to the electronic device 301 to act as a source or destination of data or to supplement the internal storage module 309. Examples of such interfaces permit coupling with portable memory devices such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory devices, Secure Digital (SD) cards, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMIA) cards, optical disks and magnetic disks.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • SD Secure Digital
  • PCMIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
  • the electronic device 301 also has a communications interface 308 to permit coupling of the device 301 to a computer or communications network 320 via a connection 321 .
  • the connection 321 may be wired or wireless.
  • the connection 321 may be radio frequency or optical.
  • An example of a wired connection includes Ethernet.
  • an example of wireless connection includes Bluetooth type local interconnection, Wi-Fi (including protocols based on the standards of the IEEE 802.1 1 family), Infrared Data Association (IrDa) and the like.
  • the electronic device 301 is configured to perform some special function.
  • the embedded controller 302 possibly in conjunction with further special function components 310, is provided to perform that special function.
  • the device 301 may be a mobile telephone handset.
  • the components 310 may represent those components required for communications in a cellular telephone environment.
  • the special function components 310 may represent a number of encoders and decoders of a type including Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), (Moving Picture Experts Group) MPEG, MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3), and the like.
  • JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group
  • MP3 MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3
  • the methods described hereinbefore may be implemented using the embedded controller 302, where the process of Fig. 2 is implemented as one or more software application programs 333 executable within the embedded controller 302.
  • the electronic device 301 of Fig. 3A implements the described methods.
  • the steps of the described methods are effected by instructions in the software 333 that are carried out within the controller 302.
  • the software instructions may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks.
  • the software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding code modules performs the described methods and a second part and the
  • corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user.
  • the software 333 of the embedded controller 302 is typically stored in the non-volatile ROM 360 of the internal storage module 309.
  • the software 333 stored in the ROM 360 can be updated when required from a computer readable medium.
  • the software 333 can be loaded into and executed by the processor 305.
  • the processor 305 may execute software instructions that are located in RAM 370.
  • Software instructions may be loaded into the RAM 370 by the processor 305 initiating a copy of one or more code modules from ROM 360 into RAM 370.
  • the software instructions of one or more code modules may be pre-installed in a non-volatile region of RAM 370 by a manufacturer. After one or more code modules have been located in RAM 370, the processor 305 may execute software instructions of the one or more code modules.
  • the application program 333 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROM (not shown) and read via the portable memory interface 306 of Fig. 3A prior to storage in the internal storage module 309 or in the portable memory 325.
  • the software application program 333 may be read by the processor 305 from the network 320, or loaded into the controller 302 or the portable storage medium 325 from other computer readable media.
  • Computer readable storage media refers to any non-transitory tangible storage medium that participates in providing instructions and/or data to the controller 302 for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, USB memory, a magneto-optical disk, flash memory, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the device 301 .
  • Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to the device 301 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including email transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like.
  • a computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product.
  • the second part of the application program 333 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 314 of Fig. 3A.
  • GUIs graphical user interfaces
  • a user of the device 301 and the application programs 333 may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s).
  • Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be implemented, such as an audio interface utilising speech prompts output via loudspeakers (not illustrated) and user voice commands input via the microphone (not illustrated).
  • Fig. 3B illustrates in detail the embedded controller 302 having the processor 305 for executing the application programs 333 and the internal storage 309.
  • the internal storage 309 comprises read only memory (ROM) 360 and random access memory (RAM) 370.
  • the processor 305 is able to execute the application programs 333 stored in one or both of the connected memories 360 and 370.
  • ROM read only memory
  • RAM random access memory
  • the processor 305 is able to execute the application programs 333 stored in one or both of the connected memories 360 and 370.
  • the application program 333 permanently stored in the ROM 360 is sometimes referred to as "firmware".
  • Execution of the firmware by the processor 305 may fulfil various functions, including processor management, memory management, device management, storage management and user interface.
  • the processor 305 typically includes a number of functional modules including a control unit (CU) 351 , an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 352 and a local or internal memory comprising a set of registers 354 which typically contain atomic data elements 356, 357, along with internal buffer or cache memory 355.
  • CU control unit
  • ALU arithmetic logic unit
  • registers 354 which typically contain atomic data elements 356, 357, along with internal buffer or cache memory 355.
  • One or more internal buses 359 interconnect these functional modules.
  • processor 305 typically also has one or more interfaces 358 for communicating with external devices via system bus 381 , using a connection 361 .
  • the application program 333 includes a sequence of instructions 362 though 363 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions.
  • the program 333 may also include data, which is used in execution of the
  • This data may be stored as part of the instruction or in a separate location 364 within the ROM 360 or RAM 370.
  • the processor 305 is given a set of instructions, which are executed therein. This set of instructions may be organised into blocks, which perform specific tasks or handle specific events that occur in the electronic device 301 .
  • the application program 333 waits for events and subsequently executes the block of code associated with that event. Events may be triggered in response to input from a user, via the user input devices 313 of Fig. 3A, as detected by the processor 305. Events may also be triggered in response to other sensors and interfaces in the electronic device 301 .
  • the execution of a set of the instructions may require numeric variables to be read and modified. Such numeric variables are stored in the RAM 370.
  • the disclosed method uses input variables 371 that are stored in known
  • the input variables 371 are processed to produce output variables 377 that are stored in known locations 378, 379 in the memory 370.
  • Intermediate variables 374 may be stored in additional memory locations in locations 375, 376 of the memory 370. Alternatively, some
  • intermediate variables may only exist in the registers 354 of the processor 305.
  • the control unit 351 of the processor 305 maintains a register called the program counter, which contains the address in ROM 360 or RAM 370 of the next instruction to be executed.
  • the contents of the memory address indexed by the program counter is loaded into the control unit 351.
  • the instruction thus loaded controls the subsequent operation of the processor 305, causing for example, data to be loaded from ROM memory 360 into processor registers 354, the contents of a register to be arithmetically combined with the contents of another register, the contents of a register to be written to the location stored in another register and so on.
  • the program counter is updated to point to the next instruction in the system program code. Depending on the instruction just executed this may involve incrementing the address contained in the program counter or loading the program counter with a new address in order to achieve a branch operation.
  • Each step or sub-process in the processes of the methods described below is associated with one or more segments of the application program 333, and is performed by repeated execution of a fetch-execute cycle in the processor 305 or similar programmatic operation of other independent processor blocks in the electronic device 301 .
  • Figs. 4A and 4B depict a general-purpose computer system 400, with which methods described hereinbefore may be practiced.
  • the general purpose computer system 400 may be used to practice the computer system 180 executing the database software application 182 referred to in embodiments of the present invention, as described hereinbefore.
  • the computer system 400 includes: a computer module 401 ; input devices such as a keyboard 402, a mouse pointer device 403, a scanner 426, a camera 427, and a microphone 480; and output devices including a printer 415, a display device 414 and loudspeakers 417.
  • An external Modulator- Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 416 may be used by the computer module 401 for communicating to and from a communications network 420 via a connection 421.
  • the communications network 420 may be a wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a cellular telecommunications network, or a private WAN.
  • WAN wide-area network
  • the modem 416 may be a traditional "dial-up" modem.
  • the modem 416 may be a broadband modem.
  • a wireless modem may also be used for wireless connection to the communications network 420.
  • the computer module 401 typically includes at least one processor unit 405, and a memory unit 406.
  • the memory unit 406 may have semiconductor random access memory (RAM) and semiconductor read only memory (ROM).
  • the computer module 401 also includes an number of
  • I/O interfaces including: an audio-video interface 407 that couples to the video display 414, loudspeakers 417 and microphone 480; an I/O interface 413 that couples to the keyboard 402, mouse 403, scanner 426, camera 427 and optionally a joystick or other human interface device (not illustrated); and an interface 408 for the external modem 416 and printer 415.
  • the modem 416 may be incorporated within the computer module 401 , for example within the interface 408.
  • the computer module 401 also has a local network interface 41 1 , which permits coupling of the computer system 400 via a connection 423 to a local-area communications network 422, known as a Local Area Network (LAN).
  • LAN Local Area Network
  • the local communications network 422 may also couple to the wide network 420 via a connection 424, which would typically include a so-called "firewall" device or device of similar functionality.
  • the local network interface 41 1 may comprise an Ethernet circuit card, a Bluetooth wireless arrangement or an IEEE 802.11 wireless arrangement; however, numerous other types of interfaces may be practiced for the interface 41 1 .
  • the I/O interfaces 408 and 413 may afford either or both of serial and parallel connectivity, the former typically being implemented according to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards and having corresponding USB connectors (not illustrated).
  • Storage devices 409 are provided and typically include a hard disk drive (HDD) 410. Other storage devices such as a floppy disk drive and a magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be used.
  • An optical disk drive 412 is typically provided to act as a non-volatile source of data.
  • Portable memory devices such optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray DiscTM), USB-RAM, portable, external hard drives, and floppy disks, for example, may be used as appropriate sources of data to the system 400.
  • the components 405 to 413 of the computer module 401 typically communicate via an interconnected bus 404 and in a manner that results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system 400 known to those in the relevant art.
  • the processor 405 is coupled to the system bus 404 using a connection 418.
  • the memory 406 and optical disk drive 412 are coupled to the system bus 404 by connections 419. Examples of computers on which the described arrangements can be practised include IBM-PC's and compatibles, Sun Sparcstations, Apple MacTM or a like computer systems.
  • the software instructions 431 may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks.
  • the software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding code modules performs the database software application 182 and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user.
  • the software may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example.
  • the software is loaded into the computer system 400 from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the computer system 400.
  • a computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on the computer readable medium is a computer program product.
  • the use of the computer program product in the computer system 400 preferably effects an advantageous apparatus for tracking assets.
  • the software 433 is typically stored in the HDD 410 or the memory 406.
  • the software is loaded into the computer system 400 from a computer readable medium, and executed by the computer system 400.
  • the software 433 may be stored on an optically readable disk storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM) 425 that is read by the optical disk drive 412.
  • a computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product.
  • the use of the computer program product in the computer system 400 preferably effects an apparatus for tracking assets.
  • the application programs 433 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROMs 425 and read via the corresponding drive 412, or alternatively may be read by the user from the networks 420 or 422. Still further, the software can also be loaded into the computer system 400 from other computer readable media.
  • Computer readable storage media refers to any non-transitory tangible storage medium that provides recorded instructions and/or data to the computer system 400 for execution and/or processing.
  • Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-rayTM Disc, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, USB memory, a magneto- optical disk, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the computer module 401.
  • Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to the computer module 401 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like.
  • the second part of the application programs 433 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 414.
  • GUIs graphical user interfaces
  • Fig. 4B is a detailed schematic block diagram of the processor 405 and a "memory" 434.
  • the memory 434 represents a logical aggregation of all the memory modules (including the HDD 409 and semiconductor memory 406) that can be accessed by the computer module 401 in Fig. 4A.
  • a power-on self-test (POST) program 450 executes.
  • the POST program 450 is typically stored in a ROM 449 of the semiconductor memory 406 of Fig. 4A.
  • a hardware device such as the ROM 449 storing software is sometimes referred to as firmware.
  • the POST program 450 examines hardware within the computer module 401 to ensure proper functioning and typically checks the processor 405, the memory 434 (409, 406), and a basic input-output systems software (BIOS) module 451 , also typically stored in the ROM 449, for correct operation.
  • BIOS basic input-output systems software
  • the BIOS 451 activates the hard disk drive 410 of Fig. 4A.
  • Activation of the hard disk drive 410 causes a bootstrap loader program 452 that is resident on the hard disk drive 410 to execute via the processor 405.
  • the operating system 453 is a system level application, executable by the processor 405, to fulfil various high level functions, including processor management, memory
  • the operating system 453 manages the memory 434 (409, 406) to ensure that each process or application running on the computer module 401 has sufficient memory in which to execute without colliding with memory allocated to another process. Furthermore, the different types of memory available in the system 400 of Fig. 4A must be used properly so that each process can run effectively. Accordingly, the aggregated memory 434 is not intended to illustrate how particular segments of memory are allocated (unless otherwise stated), but rather to provide a general view of the memory accessible by the computer system 400 and how such is used.
  • the processor 405 includes a number of functional modules including a control unit 439, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 440, and a local or internal memory 448, sometimes called a cache memory.
  • the cache memory 448 typically includes a number of storage registers 444 - 446 in a register section.
  • One or more internal busses 441 functionally interconnect these functional modules.
  • the processor 405 typically also has one or more
  • interfaces 442 for communicating with external devices via the system bus 404, using a connection 418.
  • the memory 434 is coupled to the bus 404 using a connection 419.
  • the application program 433 includes a sequence of instructions 431 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions.
  • the program 433 may also include data 432 which is used in execution of the program 433.
  • instructions 431 and the data 432 are stored in memory locations 428, 429, 430 and 435, 436, 437, respectively.
  • a particular instruction may be stored in a single memory location as depicted by the instruction shown in the memory location 430.
  • an instruction may be segmented into a number of parts each of which is stored in a separate memory location, as depicted by the instruction segments shown in the memory locations 428 and 429.
  • the processor 405 is given a set of instructions which are executed therein.
  • the processor 1 105 waits for a subsequent input, to which the processor 405 reacts to by executing another set of instructions.
  • Each input may be provided from one or more of a number of sources, including data generated by one or more of the input devices 402, 403, data received from an external source across one of the networks 420, 402, data retrieved from one of the storage devices 406, 409 or data retrieved from a storage medium 425 inserted into the corresponding reader 412, all depicted in Fig. 4A.
  • the execution of a set of the instructions may in some cases result in output of data. Execution may also involve storing data or variables to the memory 434.
  • the disclosed arrangements use input variables 454, which are stored in the memory 434 in corresponding memory locations 455, 456, 457.
  • the disclosed arrangements produce output variables 461 , which are stored in the memory 434 in corresponding memory locations 462, 463, 464.
  • Intermediate variables 458 may be stored in memory locations 459, 460, 466 and 467.
  • each fetch, decode, and execute cycle comprises:
  • a fetch operation which fetches or reads an instruction 431 from a memory location 428, 429, 430;
  • control unit 439 and/or the ALU 440 execute the instruction.
  • a further fetch, decode, and execute cycle for the next instruction may be executed.
  • a store cycle may be performed by which the control unit 439 stores or writes a value to a memory location 432.
  • Each step or sub-process in the processes described herein is associated with one or more segments of the program 433 and is performed by the register section 444, 445, 447, the ALU 440, and the control unit 439 in the processor 405 working together to perform the fetch, decode, and execute cycles for every instruction in the instruction set for the noted segments of the program 433.
  • Embodiments described herein advantageously provide a low cost means of tracking assets, including movable, transportable, and/or self-propelled assets.
  • Embodiments described herein advantageously enable the tracking of assets using wireless tags without the need for dedicated wireless tag readers. Instead, the embodiments described herein advantageously leverage off and/or make use of the enormous deployed base of existing mobile devices to report the current location of registered wireless tags, thus enabling the tracking of registered assets associated with those registered tags. This advantageously provides an enormous network of wireless tag readers having a correspondingly enormous coverage area without incurring any hardware costs in relation to wireless tag readers.
  • Embodiments described herein advantageously provide a low cost means of generating large datasets relating to ownership, location, historical movements and state of assets such as motor vehicles and marine craft in a manner that:
  • Embodiments described herein advantageously assist recovery of stolen assets and/or assessment and/or validation of insurance risk by tracking and/or recording historical and current movement (i.e., locations) of an asset.
  • Embodiments described herein enable the detection, identification and locating of assets such as motor vehicles and marine craft.
  • Certain embodiments enable the speed and/or acceleration of vehicles such as motor vehicles and/or marine craft to be determined by the mobile device software applications 160 and transmitted to the database software application 182.
  • Speed and/or acceleration information may be determined based on data retrieved from an onboard GPS receiver (i.e., integrated into the mobile devices) or from sensors (e.g.,
  • the mobile device software applications 160 may further be adapted to determine and transmit the identity of a mobile device or the identity of an owner of a mobile device to the database software application 182.
  • Data from the vehicle's driveline computer system is preferably not collected as such may be unduly invasive.
  • Embodiments described herein provide information about the location, speed and/or acceleration of an insured vehicle and/or information about the location, speed and/or acceleration of an insured driver. Certain embodiments are capable of providing an estimate of where the vehicle is generally used, where the vehicle is generally stored, and whether the registered driver/operator is present when the vehicle is in use.
  • the computer system 180 may further execute software code to check data received from mobile device software applications 160 against an asset register stored on the computer system 180 to determine whether an asset associated with a particular wireless tag has been flagged as stolen.
  • the computer system 180 may further execute software code to check data received from mobile device software applications 160 against an asset register stored on the computer system 180 to determine whether an asset associated with a particular wireless tag is operating outside of a permitted geographical range or area.
  • the computer system 180 may report a stolen asset or an asset operating outside of its permitted range or area to an owner, the police, an insurance company, etc. Such reporting may, for example, be via SMS, email, etc.
  • Data retrieved from wireless tags located in a moving vehicle and data retrieved from a wearable computer may advantageously be used to differentiate between human movement from vehicle movement (e.g., via cross-correlation of data), thereby providing filtering of particularly required data.
  • Data retrieved from wearable computers may be processed to identify particular human behaviour or conditions.
  • data obtained from a wearable computer may be used to identify the onset of sleep, intoxication or the influence of particular substances, or even a heart attack, just prior to an event such as a collision or accident.
  • the system may also be used to detect and alert relevant parties in the case of a vehicle collision.
  • the Bluetooth tag's sensors e.g., accelerometers and/or gyroscopes
  • the relevant sensor data is relayed from the Bluetooth tag to the mobile device for processing and, where appropriate an alert (together with GPS location data) is sent to relevant parties (e.g., emergency services, insurer, etc.) via the mobile device's voice or data service.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système qui comprend : une pluralité d'étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122), associées chacune à un actif (110, 120) respectif ; une pluralité d'applications logicielles de dispositif mobile (160), exécutées chacune par un dispositif mobile (130, 132, 140, 150) respectif et conçues pour détecter les étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122) lorsque le dispositif mobile (130, 132, 140, 150) respectif se trouve dans une plage de communication sans fil des étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122) ; et une application logicielle de base de données (182) exécutée par un système informatique (180) et conçue pour mémoriser des données concernant la pluralité d'étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122) et les actifs (110, 120) associés aux étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122). La pluralité d'applications logicielles de dispositif mobile (160) sont conçues pour amener un dispositif mobile (130, 132, 140, 150) respectif à transmettre des données à l'application logicielle de base de données (182) en réponse à la détection de la pluralité d'étiquettes sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122). Les données transmises comprennent un identificateur sensiblement unique d'une étiquette sans fil (112, 114, 116, 122) détectée et un emplacement du dispositif mobile (130, 132, 140, 150) respectif.
PCT/AU2015/000183 2014-03-31 2015-03-31 Procédé et système pour suivre des actifs WO2015149107A1 (fr)

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AU2014901148A AU2014901148A0 (en) 2014-03-31 Asset tracking method and system
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CN115936591A (zh) * 2023-02-28 2023-04-07 深圳开鸿数字产业发展有限公司 基于端侧计算的资产管理方法、装置、计算机设备及介质

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