WO2016166660A2

WO2016166660A2 - System and method for real time emergency mustering

Info

Publication number: WO2016166660A2
Application number: PCT/IB2016/052072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Suresh SAWHNEY; Nipun MALHOTRA
Original assignee: Dolphin Rfid Pvt. Ltd.
Priority date: 2015-04-13
Filing date: 2016-04-12
Publication date: 2016-10-20
Also published as: WO2016166660A3

Abstract

The present subject matter discloses system 100 and method for facilitating emergency evacuation in premise 110. The system 100 comprises server 104 connected with radio-frequency identification reader 102 and mobile device 106. The RFID reader 102 creates attendance information by reading plurality of RFID tags of plurality of individuals entering into the premise 110 or exiting from the premise 110. Further, the RFID reader 102 transmits the attendance information to the server 104. Further, the mobile device 106 facilitates the emergency evacuation by performing following steps. In first step, the attendance information is received from the server 104. In second step, a set of RFID tags, is read by the mobile device 102, corresponding to set of individuals evacuated from the premise 110. Thereafter, remaining set of individuals left inside the premise 110 is identified based on the set of RFID tags and the attendance information.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL TIME EMERGENCY MUSTERING

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY

[001] The present application claims priority to Indian Provisional Patent

Application No. 1534/MUM/2015, filed on April 13, 2015, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[002] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a field of facilitating electronic mustering in a real-time.

BACKGROUND

[003] In order to monitor and track individuals present in an organization/facility/premise, musters are maintained. The musters keep a record of the individuals entering or leaving premises of the organization. In case of any emergency situation arising in the organization/facility, the musters are generally referred. The difference between the number of individuals entering into the premises and a number of individuals exiting out is calculated and thus, the number of individuals stranded in the premises are determined The process of referring to the muster in order to determine the number of individuals stranded within the premises consumes a lot of time and may prove to be critical during emergency conditions. Further, an entry related to an individual may not be present in the musters during holidays. Thus, it becomes difficult to determine the number of persons trapped within the premises during emergency conditions.

[004] Conventionally available monitoring systems and techniques track the individuals while entering or leaving the organization either manually or by access controls. The monitoring systems transmit information related to the individuals to an access control server. Thus, the access control server maintains record of all the individuals. But, the monitoring systems fail to track the individuals in real-time or at the mustering location. Further, the access control servers may not be accessible during emergency situations on devices linked at the server at the mustering location thus making this data collection infractuous.

SUMMARY

[005] This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to systems and methods for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise and the concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the subject matter.

[006] In one implementation, a system for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise is disclosed. The system may comprise a server, radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader and a mobile device connected via a network. The RFID reader, installed at least at an entrance or an exit of the premise, creates attendance information by reading a plurality of RFID tags of a plurality of individuals entering into the premise or exiting from the premise. The attendance information may comprise a list of individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, present inside the premise before commencement of the emergency evacuation. Further, the server receives the attendance information from the RFID reader in a real-time. Further, the mobile device facilitates the emergency evacuation of the individuals in the premise performs by performing following steps. In a first step, the mobile device receives the attendance information from the server. Then, the mobile device reads a set of RFID tags corresponding to a set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, evacuated from the premise. Thereafter, the mobile device identifies a remaining set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, left inside the premise based on the set of RFID tags read after the commencement of the emergency evacuation and the attendance information.

[007] In another implementation, a method for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise is disclosed. The method may comprise creating, by a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, attendance information by reading a plurality of RFID tags of a plurality of individuals entering into the premise or exiting from the premise. The attendance information may comprise a list of individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, present inside the premise before commencement of the emergency evacuation. Further, the method may comprise receiving, by a server, the attendance information from the RFID reader in a real-time. The method may further comprise facilitating, by a mobile device, an emergency evacuation of the individuals in the premise by performing following steps. In a first step, the mobile device receives the attendance information from the server. Then, the mobile device reads a set of RFID tags corresponding to a set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, evacuated from the premise. Thereafter, the mobile device identifies a remaining set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, left inside the premise based on the set of RFID tags read after the commencement of the emergency evacuation and the attendance information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[008] The following detailed description of preferred embodiments is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the drawing an exemplary construction of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and system illustrated.

[009] Figure 1 illustrates detail working of a system for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 2 illustrates a method for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Referring now to figure 1 illustrates detail working of the system, in accordance with an embodiment of present disclosure. The system 100 comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader 102, a server 104 and a mobile device 106. According to embodiments of present disclosure, the server 104 may be replaced by variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a mainframe computer, a network server, and the like. Further, the mobile device 106 may be any type of handheld computing device enabled with a RFID reader or a near field communication (NFC) reader. According to embodiments, either the RFID reader or the NFC reader may be inbuilt within the mobile device 106 or may be externally connected by audio jack or via Bluetooth. Further, the aforementioned components of the system 100 i.e., the RFID reader 102, the server 104 and the mobile device 106 are communicatively coupled through a network 108.

[0012] In one implementation, the network 108 may be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network 108 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and the like. The network 108 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network or a public network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), GPRS/CDMA/GSM and the like, to communicate with one another. Further the network 108 may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, and the like.

[0013] The objective of the present disclosure is to facilitate emergency evacuation or emergency mustering of individuals present in the premise 110 in a real-time. The premise 110 may be a building, an office area, manufacturing plant, educational institution or any other type of premise where the individuals are registered and can be monitored in the premise. During the emergencies like fire or earthquake, or while performing emergency drills, the individuals are evacuated from the premise 110 and are collected in a safe zone also called as mustering station 112. However, during the evacuation, there may be some individuals who may be left or trapped inside the premise 110. Thus, apart from facilitating the emergency evacuation, another objective of the present disclosure is to identify those individuals trapped inside the premise 110 and further, to establish a connection with the individuals trapped and help them to rescue from the premise 110.

[0014] Considering the premise 110 as the office area, the RFID readers may be installed at least at an entrance or an exit of the premise 110. In one embodiment, as illustrated in the figure 1, the entrance and the exit is shown at a same position. However, there may be different positions in the premise 110 where the entrance and the exit may exist. The RFID reader 102 keeps a track of a plurality of individuals entering or exiting from the premise 110 by reading a plurality of RFID tags associated with the plurality of individuals. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the RFID tags may be coupled with ID-cards of the individuals. These RFID tags may operate on different frequency bands like a microwave band, an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band, a High Frequency (HF) band, and a Low Frequency (LF) band. Thus, whenever the individuals enters or exits the premise 110, the RFID reader 102 reads the RFID tags and subsequently creates attendance information. The attendance information is created in such a manner that it comprises a list of those individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, who are present inside the premise 110 before commencement of the emergency evacuation. The attendance information is also updated by the RFID reader 102, in a real-time, as soon as any individual is detected as either entering or exiting the premise 110. Further, the RFID reader 102 transmits the attendance information (i.e., the list of individuals present inside the premise) to the server 104 via the network 108.

[0015] The server 104 comprises a database (not shown in the figure) which further maintains personal details and contact details of the plurality of individuals. Based on the attendance information received, the server updates the database accordingly. Further, the server 104 transmits the attendance information to the mobile device 106 associated with the mustering station 112.

[0016] Once the emergency evacuation is commenced, the individuals start exiting from the premise 110 and moves towards the safe zone i.e., the mustering station 112. The mobile device 106, installed or carried by a responsible person/ warden at the mustering station 112, reads a set of RFID tags corresponding to a set of individuals evacuating from the premise 110 and safely entering into the mustering station 112. The set of RFID tags read by the mobile device 106 indicates that some of individuals (i.e., the set of individuals) have safely reached to the mustering station 112. Now, this count helps the mobile device 106 to identify those individuals who are left inside the premise 110 or has not been able to reach to the mustering station 112. The mobile device 106 may compare the set of tags with the attendance information (comprising the list of individuals who were present inside the premise 110) to identify the remaining set of individuals who are left or stranded inside the premise 110 after the commencement of the emergency evacuation. [0017] After identifying the remaining set of individuals, the mobile device

106 may establish a communication with a set of communication devices (not shown in figure) associated with the remaining set of individuals. The communication may be established by extracting contact details, of the remaining set of individuals, from the database stored in the mobile device which synchronizes with the server 104 on regular basis during regular operations. Post establishing the communication, the mobile device 106 may receive current status of one or more individuals of the remaining set of individuals. For example, the current status may be a last known position of the one or more individuals stranded inside the premise. Based on such information, authority of that premise 110 may execute a rescue operation to help the remaining set of individuals to safely reach the mustering station 112. Thus, the system 100 not only provides the electronic mustering of the individuals during emergencies, but also, helps or guides the authorities of that premise 110 to rescue the individuals from the premise 110.

[0018] Referring now to figure 2, a method 200 for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 200 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, etc., that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The method 200 may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.

[0019] The order in which the method 200 is described and is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 200 or alternate methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the method 200 without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. However, for ease of explanation, in the embodiments described below, the method 200 may be implemented in the above-described system 100. [0020] At block 202, attendance information may be created by radio frequency identification (RFID) reader 102 by reading a plurality of RFID tags of a plurality of individuals entering or exiting the premise 110. The attendance information may comprise a list of individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, present inside the premise 110 before commencement of the emergency evacuation.

[0021] At block 204, the attendance information may be received by a server

104, in a real-time, from the RFID reader 102.

[0022] At block 206, the mobile device 106 facilitates the emergency evacuation of the individuals in the premise 110 by performing the steps shown in blocks 206 A, 206B and 206C.

[0023] At block 206A, the mobile device 106 receives the attendance information from the server 104.

[0024] At block 206B, the mobile device 106 reads a set of RFID tags corresponding to a set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, evacuated from the premise 110.

[0025] At block 206C, the mobile device identifies a remaining set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, left inside the premise 110 based on the set of RFID tags read after the commencement of the emergency evacuation and the attendance information.

[0026] Although implementations for methods and systems facilitating the emergency evacuation in the premise have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as examples of implementations for facilitating the emergency evacuation in the premise in the real-time.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A method for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise 110, the method comprising:

creating, by a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader 102, attendance information by reading a plurality of RFID tags of a plurality of individuals entering into the premise 110 or exiting from the premise 110, wherein the attendance information comprises a list of individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, present inside the premise 110 before commencement of the emergency evacuation; receiving, by a server 104, the attendance information from the RFID reader 102 in a real-time; and

facilitating, by a mobile device 106, an emergency evacuation of the individuals in the premise 110 by:

receiving the attendance information from the server 104, reading a set of RFID tags corresponding to a set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, evacuated from the premise 110, and

identifying a remaining set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, left inside the premise 110 based on the set of RFID tags read, after the commencement of the emergency evacuation, and the attendance information.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating a database stored in the server 104 based upon the attendance information received from the RFID reader 102, wherein the database comprises personal details and contact details of the plurality of individuals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFID reader 102 is installed at least at an entrance or an exit of the premise 110 for reading the plurality of RFID tags of the plurality of individuals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device 106 reads the set of RFID tags using at least one of a RFID reader that is attached or inbuilt or a near field communication (NFC) reader present in or attached to the mobile device 106.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising establishing a communication, by the mobile device 106, with a set of communication devices associated with the remaining set of individuals in order to receive current status of at least one of the remaining set of individuals, wherein the current status indicates a last known position of the at least one of the remaining set of individuals.

6. A system 100 for facilitating emergency evacuation in a premise 110, wherein the system 100 comprises:

a server 104 connected with a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader 102 and a mobile device 106 via a network 108, and wherein:

the RFID reader 102, installed at an entrance and an exit of the premise 110, creates attendance information by reading a plurality of RFID tags of a plurality of individuals entering into the premise 110 or exiting from the premise 110, wherein the attendance information comprises a list of individuals, amongst the plurality of individuals, present inside the premise 110 before commencement of the emergency evacuation;

the server 104 receives the attendance information from the RFID reader 102 in a real-time; and

the mobile device 106, updated in real time, in order to facilitate emergency evacuation of the individuals in the premise by:

identifying a remaining set of individuals, amongst the list of individuals, left inside the premise 1 10 based on the set of RFID tags read after the commencement of the emergency evacuation and the attendance information.

7. The system 100 of claim 6, wherein the server 104 comprises a database is updated based on the attendance information received from the RFID reader 102, wherein the database comprises personal details and contact details of the plurality of individuals.

8. The system 100 of claim 6, wherein the RFID reader 102 is installed at least at an entrance or an exit of the premise 110 for reading the plurality of RFID tags of the plurality of individuals.

9. The system 100 of claim 6, wherein the mobile device 106 reads the set of RFID tags using at least one of a RFID reader and a near field communication (NFC) reader present in the mobile device 106.

10. The system 100 of claim 6, wherein the mobile device 106 further establishes a communication with a set of communication devices associated with the remaining set of individuals in order to receive current status of at least one of the remaining set of individuals, wherein the current status indicates a last known position of the at least one of the remaining set of individuals.