WO2024065063A1 - Public alert system using databases and communications devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods relating to a suite of public safety solutions has been developed to support a whole-of-society approach to public safety and well-being, led by the police authority of jurisdiction, without compromising privacy rights or civil liberties. The various systems and methods use a structured and strategic approach that enlists all aspects of the community and equips them with a comprehensive and proficient suite of tools. These solutions require minimal investment of time and resources from any individual stakeholders but yields exponential increases in public safety and efficiency.

Description

PUBLIC ALERT SYSTEM USING DATABASES AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to public safety and alerting systems underscores a whole-of-society approach to public safety. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for alerting the public and individuals of developing incidents and the locations of such incidents so that the public may take appropriate precautions.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The first few decades of the 21st century has been fraught with challenges in terms of public safety. Between terrorist threats, rampant targeted random attacks at public venues, and the more usual emergencies such as fires, both the public and the emergency services have been constantly assailed.

[0003] One issue with emergency situations is that the public, or those who might be affected by an emergency, are generally uninformed about the emergency until either it is too late or after emergency has passed. Absent constantly monitoring emergency radio frequencies or constantly monitoring bulletins from news sources or emergency services, there are no unified systems for localized notifications about local emergencies.

[0004] From the above, it can be seen that there is a need for systems and methods that address the above shortcomings. Preferably, such systems and methods can be implemented into a cohesive whole with different parts working together into a complete approach that protects the public, mitigates risks, and preserves civil liberties.

SUMMARY [0005] The present invention provides systems and methods relating to a public alerting system. A server receives location data for a tracked communications device and the closest physical address to the tracked communications device is determined. Incident reports of emergencies and other incidents are received by the server and the closest physical address is assessed in light of the incident reports to determine if one is within a predetermined radius of the other. If the location of the device is within that radius of the reported incident, an alert is transmitted to one or more designated communications devices. Similarly, when an alert message is received by the server, the payload message is extracted and forwarded to one or more designated devices in a predetermined distribution list. A device may be added to the distribution list simply by entering a suitable unique code associated with the list into the suitable application installed on the device. Alternatively, the device may be added to the distribution list by selecting a suitable option (detailing a location or a space) from a directory on the suitable application installed on the device.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a system for providing alerts notifications, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device;

- a data feed reception module for receiving a direct data feed from at least one public authority that responds to public emergencies and incidents;

- an alert message reception module for receiving alert messages from specific representatives of said public authority; - an extraction module for receiving said data feed and for extracting incident addresses detailed in said data feed and for determining incidents occurring at said incident addresses based on data in said data feed;

- a database of entries relating to monitored locations, each entry corresponding to a monitored location, said monitored location being associated with a specific physical address and each entry for a monitored location comprising:

- at least one first range of physical addresses, said first range of physical addresses being within a specific physical distance from said specific physical address associated with said monitored location;

- a listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive alerts relating to said monitored location;

- a matching module for matching incident addresses extracted from said direct data feed with physical addresses stored in said entries in said database wherein a match occurs when an incident address is within a range of physical addresses in a specific entry in said database and when said match occurs, said listing in said specific entry is retrieved and a notification message is sent to communications devices listed in said listing, said notification message comprising said physical address associated with said specific entry and a nature of said incident occurring at said incident address as derived from said direct data feed;

- wherein when said alert message reception module receives an alert message, said alert message comprises an identification of at least one monitored location relating to said alert message and a message, reception of said alert message causing said server to

- retrieve said listing of unique identifiers from database entries corresponding to at least one monitored location identified in said alert message and to

- transmit said message to communication devices identified by said unique identifiers in said listing that has been retrieved from said database entries; - wherein said directed data received by each of said plurality of communications devices from said server includes any of:

- said messages derived from alert messages and

- notification messages resulting from matches occurring between incident addresses and ranges of physical addresses stored in entries in said database.

[0007] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a system for providing alerts notifications, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device;

- a data feed reception module for receiving a direct data feed from at least one public authority that responds to public emergencies and incidents;

- an extraction module for receiving said data feed and for extracting incident addresses detailed in said data feed and for determining incidents occurring at said incident addresses based on data in said data feed;

- a database of entries, said entries including a plurality of group entries, each group entry corresponding to one or more tracked communications devices, each group entry comprising:

- an identification of said group entry;

- a group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive alerts whenever said system determines that an extracted incident address is within a range of mobile addresses for one or more tracked communications devices corresponding to said group entry;

- a location reception module for receiving location data relating to locations of tracked communications devices; wherein said system determines a mobile physical address associated with each of said locations of tracked communications devices and, for each of said locations, said system determines at least one range of mobile addresses that is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location;

- a matching module for determining if an extracted incident address from said data feed is within said at least one range of mobile addresses;

- wherein after said system has determined that at least one range of mobile addresses is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location, an alert message is composed and sent to communications devices listed in said group listing.

[0008] In a third aspect, the present invention provides a system for forwarding alert messages from a source to a predetermined group of communications devices, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device; - a database of entries, said entries including a plurality of group entries, each group entry comprising:

- an identification of said group entry;

- a group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive content of said alert messages;

- an alert message reception module for receiving alert messages from said source, said alert messages comprising a payload message and an identification of at least one group to receive said payload message, said at least one group corresponding to at least one group entry in said database;

- wherein when said alert message reception module receives an alert message, at least one group identified in said alert message is extracted along with said payload message, reception of said alert message causing said server to

- retrieve said listing of unique identifiers from database entries corresponding to said at least one group identified in said alert message and to

- transmit said payload message to communication devices identified by said unique identifiers in said listing that has been retrieved;

- wherein said directed data received by each of said plurality of communications devices from said server includes said payload message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The embodiments of the present invention will now be described by reference to the following figures, in which identical reference numerals in different figures indicate identical elements and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system according to one aspect of the invention where the system provides alerts regarding incidents near a monitored location; FIGURE 2 is a schematic block diagram of a system that tracks monitored communications devices and which provides alerts whenever the tracked communications device is near a reported incident;

FIGURE 3 is a more detailed diagram of the system relating to Figure 1;

FIGURE 4 illustrates the data format of a database entry according to one aspect of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed block diagram of a system for directed broadcasts using alert messages received from a source;

FIGURE 6 is a more detailed block diagram of the system illustrated in Figure 2;

FIGURE 7 is a flowchart detailing the steps in the method relating to the forwarding of alert messages according to one aspect of the present invention;

FIGURE 8 is a flowchart detailing the steps in a method relating to the tracking of tracked communications device according to another aspect of the present invention; and

FIGURE 9 is a schematic diagram with explanations regarding a whole-of- society approach to public safety and well-being of which the various aspects of the present invention may be a part of.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing alerts to communications devices. These alerts may be safety and/or security related alerts and are provided when emergencies and/or public safety or security incidents are reported to be within a specific distance of monitored locations. The various aspects of the present invention may also be used with relation to time sensitive operational matters. In addition, the present invention provides systems and methods that allow for a designated authority or a specially equipped authority or to others that may be characterized as “key stakeholders” to provide a directed broadcast to individuals who are equipped with communications devices suitably configured to receive such directed broadcasts.

[0011] The present invention forms part of a suite of public safety solutions that have been developed to support a whole-of-society approach to public safety and wellbeing, led by a public authority having jurisdiction, without compromising on privacy rights or civil liberties. These solutions require minimal investment of time and resources from stakeholders, but yields exponential increases in public safety and efficiency.

[0012] Such public safety solutions use a structured and strategic approach that enlists all aspects of the community and equips them with a comprehensive and proficient suite of tools. The solution that the present invention represents requires minimal investment of time and resources from any individual stakeholders but yields exponential increases in public safety and efficiency.

[0013] The present invention is eminently suited for use with schools and other institutions and represents a new public safety solution for schools. While eminently suited for application with institutions such as schools, the solutions noted above works for all industry sectors and all individuals.

[0014] Referring to Fig. 1, the system 10 includes a server 20 that receives a direct data feed from a recognized public authority 30. The direct data feed is parsed and analyzed by the server and, when the data feed indicates that an emergency situation or an incident of sufficient urgency has been reported to be within a given distance of a specific monitored location, alerts are sent to specific communications devices 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D. These specific communications devices are previously set to receive alerts relating to that specific monitored location.

[0015] In addition to the above, the system 10 allows for alert messages 50 from the recognized public authority to be received. The public authority can designate one or more monitored locations to which the alert messages relate and communications devices 60 A, 60B, 60C, previously set to receive alerts relating to one or more of these monitored locations, will receive the content of these alert messages. The system therefore operates as a directed broadcast system where the public authority is able to directly send alerts to individuals concerned about safety at or near specific monitored locations. This capability is extendible such that specially equipped individuals with suitable authority or authorization is able to provide a directed broadcast to a select audience that has signed up to receive such broadcasts.

[0016] Referring to Fig 2 the system 10 also allows for monitored tracking of specific communications devices. As can be seen, the server 20 receives location data for communications devices 70 A, 70B, 70C as well as the direct data feed from the recognized public authority 80. The system 10 determines the locations for devices 70A, 70B, 70C and, much like in Fig. 1, parses and analyzes the direct data feed. In the event that the data feed indicates that an emergency situation or an incident of sufficient urgency has been reported to be within a given distance of any of the locations for devices 70 A, 70B, 70C, alerts are sent to specific communications devices 40A, 40B, 40C.

LOCATION MONITORING

[0017] In one aspect, the present invention’s function for location monitoring may be implemented by the system illustrated in Fig. 3. Referring to Fig. 3, the system 300, embodied in a server, includes a data feed receive module 310, an extraction module 320, a filter 330, a database 340, a matching module 350, an alert composition module 360, and a communications module 370.

[0018] The data feed receive module 310 receives a direct data feed from one or more recognized authorities such as the police department, the fire department, ambulance dispatch, emergency services (911 services in North America), etc. This feed can originate from a data center and can be a data feed from the REST API of computer aided dispatch systems used by the authorities in a jurisdiction (e.g. police and emergency services). The data feed includes physical addresses of incidents/emergencies and indications as to the nature of the incidents/emergencies. As an example, for a police or fire feed, calls received and dispatched by police or fire dispatch may be in the feed along with police codes detailing the nature of the call/emergency. [0019] Once the data feed is received by the module 310, this feed is transmitted to the extraction module 320. The extraction module 320 extracts the physical addresses for the incidents detailed in the data feed along with the nature/codes for the emergency/incident. As an example, the data feed can be decoded and police dispatch call for a domestic disturbance call at 3535 Evergreen Terrace is extracted. Similarly, a separate traffic stop at 1000 Pennsylvania Ave. may be detailed in the data feed and an ambulance dispatched for a stabbing at 1234 Sesame Street may also be detailed. A 3 alarm fire at 666 Inferno Way may also be detailed in the data feed. The extraction module parses and analyzes the data feed to extract each call/incident to determine the relevant address and the nature/type of emergency at that address. A tuple of the street number, the street name, and the incident nature/type for each incident in the data feed can then be composed by the extraction module.

[0020] The tuples extracted from the data feed can then be sent to the filter 330. The filter 330 filters these tuples by the nature/ severity of the incident. Severe incidents that are a danger to life, property, and general well-being can be filtered through while much less severe incidents can be removed from the data stream. As an example, tuples for domestic disturbances, noise complaints, and traffic stops may be removed (i.e., are filtered out) from the resulting data stream. Conversely, tuples detailing incidents for fire, explosion, shooting, assault, and other, more severe incidents are allowed through and continue in the data stream.

[0021] The tuples that are not filtered out are then sent to the matching module 350. The matching module 350, takes these tuples and, with feed from the database 340, seeks to match the addresses in the tuples to the addresses in the database. For clarity, entries in the database 340 may take the format illustrated in Fig. 4. In Fig. 4, it can be seen that entries 340-1 include fields detailing a physical address 340-2 for a monitored location with a unique ID 340-3. Each record for the monitored location has multiple ranges of addresses, with each range including a street number range 340-4, a street name 340-5, and a tier indicator 340-6 for that range of addresses.

[0022] For clarity, the concept is that each record for a monitored location has multiple ranges of addresses with ranges of addresses being organized into multiple tiers, each tier corresponding to a physical distance of that range of addresses from the physical address of the monitored location. As such, a red tier of addresses may be for addresses that are within 100 m from the physical address of the monitored location while a yellow tier is for addresses that are between 100-200 m from the physical address of the monitored location. A white tier may be for addresses that are between 200-300 m from the physical address of the monitored location. It should be clear that each tier may have many ranges of addresses. Thus, for a given physical address, the range 100-150 Laverne Way may be a red tier range as these addresses are 50 meters (to the east) from the physical address of the monitored location. Similarly, 55-35 Penny Lane may also be a red tier range as these addresses are 45 meters (to the west) of the physical address of the monitored location.

[0023] A distribution list 340-7 of unique IDs for communications device is also part of the record for a monitored location. The communications devices identified by the unique IDs in the distribution list are those devices slated to receive alerts regarding the monitored location that is associated with the database record.

[0024] Bearing the above in mind, the matching module 350 takes each tuple of a street number, a street name, and an incident nature and tries to match both the street number and the street name to an address range in one of database records. As an example, if the tuple is that of (100, Lambert Lane, fire) and a range in one of the records is 80-105 Lambert Lane, then there is a match as the address in the tuple is within the range in the record. In the event that a match is found, then the physical address for that record is retrieved along with the distribution list of unique IDs for communications devices and the tier for the matching range. As an example, if the record for the monitored location at 85 Greenbriar Lane has the address range 80-105 Lambert Lane at the red tier (meaning that 80-105 Lambert Lane is within 100 m of 85 Greenbriar Lane) and the tuple is (100, Lambert Lane, fire), then the communications device distribution list is retrieved along with the address of the monitored location, and the tier of the matching address range.

[0025] The retrieved data from the record is then sent to the alert composition module 360. Based on the tier of the matching address range, a suitable alert message is composed that details the incident, an indication of the distance from the incident address and the monitored location, and the address of the monitored location. For the tier that indicates an address that is closest to the physical address of the monitored location, a recorded or generated voice message may be created. For tiers that indicate an address that is further away from the physical address of the monitored location a suitable text message may be formulated. As an example, the message may say “A fire related incident is occurring 300 m from your location of interest at 85 Greenbriar Lane.” If the incident is close (e.g. 100 m away from the address), then a generated voice message may say

“This is to alert you that an assault has been reported within 100 m of your location of interest at 85 Greenbriar Lane. We recommend evacuating the area if you are in the vicinity.”

[0026] After the module 360 composes the alert message, the distribution list retrieved from the record is then used to forward/transmit the composed message (whether text, audio or a combination of media) to the communications devices identified by the unique ID. This is performed using the communications module 370 of the system. It should also be noted that the alert message may include a file such as a photograph, a video clip, or an audio clip. Such a file attached to the alert message may originate with the authority having jurisdiction. The file may be part of the data feed and may be extracted from the data feed to be attached to the relevant alert message.

[0027] The system for this aspect of the invention can thus monitor for incidents near a location of interest. This location may, for example, be a school, a place of work, a dwelling, an apartment building, etc., etc. Should any such incidents occur, a communications device listed in the distribution list in the record for that monitored location would receive an alert.

[0028] It should be clear that the communications device that the message is sent to may be a smartphone with a suitable app installed or to a tablet or a personal computer with suitable software installed. The app is, preferably, configured to receive messages, alerts, and other communications or directed broadcasts from the system. As will be explained below, the communications device and the app may, for some implementations, upload location data relating to the device’s current location on a periodic basis.

[0029] In one aspect of the present invention, the app may be downloadable and, to be added to the distribution list for the monitored location’s record, a user simply has to enter a suitable specific code into the app or select the monitored location from the relevant portion of the app’s user interface (e.g. a directory that lists locations by municipality and/or industry sector). The specific code or selected user interface option identifies the monitored location and upon entry of the specific code into the app, the unique ID for the communications device is added to the distribution list in the record for that monitored location. For public locations such as schools, government buildings, etc., the specific code and the app may both be publicly available so that persons concerned with the safety of the location (e.g., parents of children going to that school or employees working at that government building) can download the app and receive alerts regarding incidents related to the selected address (i.e., the school or government building). For a variant, the app and a specific code for a monitored location (such as an apartment building) may be offered by the management of the monitored location to residents, occupants, and others with a vested interest in the monitored location. The specific code for such a private monitored location may thus be private and not freely available to the public.

DIRECTED BROADCAST

[0030] Referring to Fig. 5 another aspect of the present invention is illustrated. As can be seen, the system 500 includes an alert message reception module 510, a unique ID retrieval module 520, a database 530, and a communications module 540. The system allows for a directed broadcast of an alert message to a directed or specific group of individuals that have subscribed or signed up to receive such directed broadcasts.

[0031] The alert message reception module receives an alert message from a source such as an authority (e.g. police/sheriff, fire-rescue, EMS - paramedics or a keystakeholder (e.g. school board, public transit authority, public utility authority, public works authority, community housing authority, building and facility management authorities and business improvement districts (BIDs authorities) or business improvement areas (BIAs) authorities). The alert message can also original from other so-called “key stakeholders” who are seeking to direct messages to their audiences. The alert message can include a message composed using a dedicated dashboard app separate or different from the app that receives the alerts and alert messages. The alert message can also include the groups or destination communication devices for the message, i.e., the communications devices to which the message will be forwarded. It should be clear that the alert message reception module simply receives the alert message (i.e. the message and one or more unique group IDs that identify the groups to receive the message) and confirms that a payload (the message) is present and that a destination (the one or more unique group IDs) is also present.

[0032] Once the payload and the destination have been confirmed, the alert message is passed to the unique ID retrieval module 520. This module 520 queries the database 530 for the presence of one or more records that correspond to the received one or more unique group IDs. The group ID can correspond to the unique ID of a monitored location or to a group ID of a different format of database entry. The unique ID retrieval module 520 retrieves the distribution list of unique IDs for communications devices from the records that correspond to the group IDs received as part of the alert message. If a group ID corresponds to a unique ID for a monitored location, then the distribution list for that monitored location is retrieved. If the group ID corresponds to a unique ID for a database entry that has a listing of unique IDs for communications devices, then that distribution list is retrieved. It should be clear that some database entries may only have a group ID and a listing of unique IDs for communications devices signed up to receive the alert messages.

[0033] After the distribution list of relevant unique IDs for communications devices have been retrieved from the database, the message (i.e. the payload) in the alert message is then sent to the communications devices identified by the unique IDs in the retrieved distribution list(s). This is performed by way of the communications module 540. [0034] It should be clear that the system illustrated in Fig. 5 can be used to send directed messages to any group of people who have signed up to receive the directed broadcast. As an example, if a rider on a subway train wishes to receive bulletins regarding the specific subway line, that rider would simply enter a suitably publicly available code into the app on his or her communications device. This would insert the communication device’s unique ID into the distribution list for the record entry corresponding to the group ID for bulletins for specific subway line. A stationmaster, with a suitable dashboard app, can then record an audio message or a text message and send that as the payload to the system with the destination group ID being that for bulletins for the specific subway line. The retrieval module would, after receiving the alert message, retrieve the distribution list from the group ID record and forward the recorded audio message or text message to the rider’s communications device.

[0035] This system can also be used by authorities (such as the police or fire departments) to do a directed broadcast for those concerned about a specific monitored location. Thus, if there is an emergency requiring the evacuation of, for example, an apartment building and the residents all have the app (and are signed up to receive alert messages for the monitored location that is the apartment building), the police or fire department can simple create / record a message and identify the destination group ID as the unique ID for the apartment building. This will cause the system to retrieve the distribution list from the record for the building in the database and the police or fire department’s message can be forwarded to all designated recipients listed in the record.

[0036] In another implementation, a group ID can be created for, as an example, students in a university course, with all the students being signed up in the distribution list for the group ID in the database. The professor for the course or the university administration can create a bulletin/message (e.g. class is cancelled for this afternoon) that would be distributed to the students by way of the app on their communications device. For such scenarios, the need is not underscored by a public safety incident but is rather an operational matter and key stakeholders (i.e. relevant actors in the scenario) can send time sensitive operational alerts/messages/items to relevant audiences. As can be imagined, the alert message received from the key stakeholder can include an attachment that is also attached to the message sent to those in the distribution list.

[0037] As with the aspect of the invention relating to the monitored location, entering a specific code into the app on the communications device would cause the communications device’s unique ID to be inserted into the distribution list for the group ID identified with or corresponding to the specific code. With the unique ID for that device inserted into the distribution list for the group ID, any directed broadcasts or any alert messages to be sent to the group would also be forwarded to the communications device.

[0038] For the school example, parents of children going to that school or relatives of teachers and administrators of that school would select the school from the app’s directory/user interface and this would cause their communications device’s ID to be inserted into the distribution list for the school’s monitored location entry in the database. Alternatively, the parents can, depending on the implementation, enter a specific code into the app denoting the school. Regardless of the implementation of selecting/ adding the school on the app, such an action would cause any directed message directed to those in the distribution list for the monitored location to be received by those parents and relatives. As another example, a school board’s administrators could create a private and separate group ID for teachers of that school. The administrators can then send a directed broadcast to all the teachers for that school. It should be noted that the example given above for the school can be applied to all industry sectors.

[0039] In one scenario, a public authority (such as a police department or a fire department) can create and provide a private code (i.e. a private and separate group ID) for all security directors within the area/jurisdiction of the public authority. This aspect of the present invention allows the public authority to privately and quickly contact this classification of employees for multiple companies. Thus, in one example, the distribution list for this private and separate group ID would include all security directors for all buildings and facilities within the public authority’s area/jurisdiction.

ROAMING TRACKER [0040] Referring to Fig. 6, one aspect of the present invention provides a system 600 that includes a location reception module 610, an address range calculator module 620, a data feed module 640, an address and incident extraction module 650, a comparison module 655, a distribution list extraction module 660, a database module 670, an alert message composer module 680, and a communications module 690.

[0041] The system allows for one or more communications devices to be location tracked and to have their locations correlated against incoming incident reports. If the location indicated in the incident report is within a given distance from the last relevant location of one of the communications devices, then an alert message is generated and sent to a distribution list of unique IDs for other communications devices. The concept is that the location of a communications device is tracked and, when an emergency or incident is reported that is near the locations of the communications device (i.e., the person with the tracked communications device), then those alerted to the emergency can contact the person with the tracked communications device. As an example, a child on a school trip can have their device tracked and, if an incident is reported within a certain distance of the child’s device, the parents or other relatives of the child can be sent an alert message. These parents and other relatives can then call the child to take cover, leave the area, or otherwise take other precautions. Similarly, the system can be configured such that when one of the tracked devices in a cluster of devices is separated from the cluster, an alert is sent to those in the distribution list.

[0042] In operation, the local reception module 610 receives location data from a specific communications device. This location data is then correlated with the last location data for the same device to determine how much time has elapsed and how much distance has been traversed (i.e. to determine if the device is moving and, if so, how fast). Note that, if the time elapsed between location data readings is past a certain time frame/time window, then the latest location data is treated as the initial location data, i.e., the previous location data readings are ignored. Preferably, only a few minutes (e.g. 5 minutes) has passed between location data readings. If, as an example, the latest location data reading was received at time x and the previous location data was received at time x-30 minutes, (i.e. 30 minutes ago) then the previous location data can be ignored. Assuming that another location data reading is received at time x+5 minutes, then these last two readings can be used to determine if the device is moving and how fast. If the rate of velocity of the device is higher/faster than a given threshold, then the further processing is paused and the device is ignored until the device’s rate of travel or rate of velocity is within the threshold.

[0043] It should be clear that the tracking of a communications device only operates when that device is traveling, at most, at a walking or bicycling velocity. Travel at a higher rate of velocity renders the tracking less than useful as reports of incidents near a fast traveling device (or a device in a traveling vehicle such as a train, automobile, or bus) would mean that the device would soon be away from the area of the incident. If, however, the moving device is not moving very fast (e.g. the device is carried by a person that is walking), then being within the vicinity of a reported incident would be more relevant as there may be more time for the incident to spill / move / affect the area near the device. As such, a device traveling at less than 5 km/h would mean that the person carrying the device is probably walking. A device traveling at 10-15 km/h would mean that the person may be on a bicycle. A device traveling at faster than 15 km/h may mean that the device is on a motor vehicle or on a transport of some kind. Thus, if the time and distance difference between two adjacent location data readings indicate a travel speed of more than 15 km/h, then the communications device is not tracked (as in the location data readings are still received and processed but further processing is paused) until the device’s velocity is calculated to be less than 15 km/h. Depending on the implementation, such thresholds may be different.

[0044] Once the communication device has been determined to not be traveling past a certain velocity, the latest location data for that device is passed on to the address range calculator module 620. The latest location data is used to determine a closest physical address and, based on that physical address, a radius of a predetermined distance is applied and all physical addresses within that radius is determined/calculated. Thus, multiple ranges of physical addresses are calculated and determined as being within that given radius from the closest physical address of the device.

[0045] At the same time that the above is being executed, the data feed module 640 receives a constant direct data feed from one or more recognized authorities with jurisdiction and has the same function as and operates in a manner similar to the data feed receive module 310 described above. This data feed module 640 receives a feed of data regarding incidents and emergencies and includes physical addresses of these incidents/emergencies and indications as to the nature of the incidents/emergencies.

[0046] The data feed from the module 640 is passed to the address and incident extraction module 650. This module 650 has the same function as and operates in the same manner as the extraction module 320 described above. The extraction module 650 parses and analyzes the data feed to extract each call/incident to determine the relevant address and the nature/type of emergency at that address. A tuple of the street number, the street name, and the incident nature/type for each incident in the data feed can then be composed by the extraction module 650. It should be clear that, much like with the system in Fig. 3, the tuples may be filtered to remove tuples relating to incidents that are of a less dangerous/alarming nature. Tuples relating to traffic stops, noise disturbances, and other nuisance type incidents may be removed. However, tuples relating to dangerous incidents, such as fires, physically dangerous criminal activities (e.g. assaults, riots, etc.), and other alarming incidents are not to be removed.

[0047] The tuples generated by the module 650 are then passed to the comparison module 655 along with the multiple ranges of physical addresses calculated by the module 620. The comparison module 655 compares the tuples generated by the module 650 to determine if the addresses in these tuples match the multiple ranges of physical addresses from module 620. If there is a match, then that means that there is an incident of sufficient urgency that has been reported that is within the predetermined radius of the communications device being tracked. If there is a match, then the system has to extract a distribution list of unique IDs of communications devices to which an alert message is to be transmitted. [0048] From the above, once a match is found, the group ID for which the communications device whose location is being tracked is extracted. This group ID can form part of the location data received by the location reception module 610. Thus, each communications device reporting its location to the system by way of the location data sent to the location reception module 610 transmits not only its location data but a group ID as well. Once the closest physical address is determined from the location data, this physical address, along with the group ID, is processed as above. In the event that a match is found with a tuple generated as above, then a distribution list associated with that group ID is retrieved from the database.

[0049] Once a match is found, then the group ID from the original location data received by the location reception module 610 is passed to the distribution list extraction module 660. This module 660 then queries the database module 670 to retrieve the record corresponding to that group ID. The retrieved record contains the distribution list and this distribution list of unique IDs for communications devices is extracted from the record. Alternatively, instead of retrieving the whole record, only the distribution list from that record may be retrieved from the database.

[0050] After the distribution list has been retrieved, an alert message is composed by way of the alert module composer module 680. The module 680 receives the incident tuple that matches the address range along with the identity of the person with the communications device being tracked or an indication of that identity. The composer module 680 then creates an alert message that indicates the location of the incident, the nature of the incident, the identity (or an indication of the identity) of the person associated with the communications device being tracked, and an indication of the location or physical address of the communications device being tracked. This alert message is then sent to the communications devices identified in the retrieved distribution list. The alert message is sent to these communications devices by way of the communications module 690.

[0051] It should be clear that, for the tracked communications device, the installed software application (the app) is configured to gather and transmit the device’s location data to the server on a period manner. Thus, on the tracked communications device, the app may use the device’s GPS capabilities to gather the device’s GPS coordinates and these coordinates can form part of the location data transmitted to the server. The server can then coordinate the received GPS coordinates to determine the closest physical address to the received GPS coordinates of the tracked communications device. In terms of which devices are sent alert messages and which are to be the tracked devices, the devices in the distribution list may all be tracked devices. As such, in this variant, all the devices on the distribution list are tracked and all of the devices on the distribution list are all updated on any incidents occurring near any of the other devices. Alternatively, one or more of the devices on the distribution list may not be tracked devices and the tracked devices may not even be on the distribution list. As an example, a parent’s communications device may be listed to receive alerts if their child’s tracked communications device is near an incident address. However, the converse may not be true - the child’s tracked communications device is not to be updated in the even their parent’s communications device is near an incident address. The child’s tracked communications device may not be on any distribution list and may simply be a tracked communications device.

Similarly, a parent’s communications device may be on many distribution lists to receive updates in the event multiple tracked communications devices are near incident addresses but that parent’s communications device may not be a tracked communications device.

[0052] For clarity, the database entry from which the distribution list is to be retrieved for this aspect of the present invention may have a similar structure as that explained above in relation to the directed broadcast aspect of the present invention. As such, for this aspect of the present invention, the database entry would have a group ID to identify the group, at least one unique ID for a communications device to be tracked, and a distribution list of unique IDs for communications devices that will be alerted if an incident is reported within a given radius of one of the communications devices to be tracked. In one variant, the system can perform a check to ensure that the record retrieved from the database includes the unique ID of the communications device being tracked for which location data has been received. [0053] For a communications device to be added to the distribution list for a group ID for this aspect of the present invention, a specific code for that group with the group ID will need to be entered into the app on the communications device. Further confirmation and checking may be performed but entry of a specific code unique to that group ID into a communications device can be sufficient to add that device’s unique ID to the group’s distribution list.

[0054] It should be noted that while the above descriptions of the various aspects of the present invention are presented in separate sections, these various aspects may be implemented in a single system. Such a system would be an implementation of any combination of the three various aspects detailed above.

[0055] From the above, it can be seen that the various aspects of the present invention implement different but related methods.

[0056] Referring to Fig. 7, illustrated is a flowchart detailing the steps in a method according to another aspect of the present invention. As can be seen, the method detailed in Fig. 7 relates to the reception and forwarding of alert messages to those listed in a distribution list from one or more database entries. The method begins at step 700, that of receiving an alert message from a recognized public authority such as a police or a fire department. The alert message includes the payload message or message to be sent to those in the distribution list as well as an identification of one or more monitored locations. Generally, the alert message would relate to these one or more monitored locations that have been identified in the alert message. Step 710 is that of extracting the identification of the one or more monitored locations. Based on this extracted identification, the database is queried and database entries for the monitored locations are retrieved (step 720). After the relevant entries have been retrieved, the distribution list(s) or the listing of communications devices to be alerted regarding the one or more monitored locations is extracted from the retrieved database entries (step 730). These unique IDs from the distribution lists are then used to transmit the message from the alert message (i.e. the payload) to the relevant communications devices (step 740). [0057] It should be clear that, in a variant of the method detailed in Fig. 7, the source of the alert message may not necessarily be a recognized public authority. The source of the alert message may be a transit authority, an administrator for a school or an organization, or the source may be any person or entity that may need to send out a broadcast message to many recipients that thereby forms a group. Such recipients can “subscribe” to the group by having their communications device’s unique ID be added to the distribution list for the group.

[0058] For greater clarity, the source of the alert message may be any one or more of: a police department, a fire department, an ambulance dispatch department, a department serviced by a computer aided dispatch system, a school authority, a transit authority, and a public authority with jurisdiction in an area in which said communications devices are operating. These “key stakeholders” can compose and send alert messages via a secure dashboard to devices in a distribution list. As noted above, a user of a device can simply select an entity from a Directory Tab located on the device’s app or the user can enter a private code into the app to be inserted/added to the distribution list.

[0059] Referring to Fig. 8, a flowchart detailing the steps in another method according to another aspect of the present invention is illustrated. In this method, a tracked communications device is tracked and the device’s location is monitored to determine if any incidents are occurring near that location. The method begins at step 800, that of receiving location data for the tracked communications device. Simultaneous to this, in step 810, a data feed containing incident reports is also received, such incident reports would include the addresses of where the incidents have occurred or are occurring. Step 820 is that of determining the closest physical address for the location of the tracked communications device based on the location data. Ranges of physical addresses that are within a predetermined radius of the physical address of the tracked communications device are then determined (step 830). Step 840 then determines if any of the addresses from the incident reports are within the ranges of physical addresses determined in step 830. If no incident addresses are within the ranges, then the logic loops back to step 810. However, if one or more of these incident addresses are within the determined ranges of physical addresses, then the group listing from the corresponding database entry for the tracked communications device is retrieved (step 850). A suitable alert message is then composed (step 860). Such an alert message preferably details the incident(s), the incident addresses, and the address of the tracked communications device. This alert message is then transmitted to the communications devices listed in the group listing or distribution listing (step 870).

[0060] Referring to Fig. 9, provided is a schematic diagram with explanations regarding a whole-of-society approach to public safety, of which the various aspects of the present invention may form a part of. As can be seen in Fig. 9, the “Swivel Advanced Alerting System” may be implemented by using one or more of the various aspects of the present invention.

[0061] It can thus be seen that the various aspects of the present invention may be described as systems and methods relating to a public alerting system. A server receives location data for a tracked communications device and the closest physical address to the tracked communications device is determined. Incident reports of emergencies and other incidents are received by the server and the closest physical address is assessed in light of the incident reports to determine if one is within a predetermined radius of the other. If the location of the device is within that radius of the reported incident, an alert is transmitted to one or more designated communications devices. Similarly, when an alert message is received by the server, the payload message is extracted and forwarded to one or more designated devices in a predetermined distribution list. A device may be added to the distribution list simply by entering a suitable unique code associated with the list into the suitable application installed on the device.

[0062] It should be clear that the various aspects of the present invention may be implemented as software modules in an overall software system. As such, the present invention may thus take the form of computer executable instructions that, when executed, implements various software modules with predefined functions. [0063] Additionally, it should be clear that, unless otherwise specified, any references herein to 'image' or to 'images' refer to a digital image or to digital images, comprising pixels or picture cells. Likewise, any references to an 'audio file' or to 'audio files' refer to digital audio files, unless otherwise specified. 'Video', 'video files', 'data objects', 'data files' and all other such terms should be taken to mean digital files and/or data objects, unless otherwise specified.

[0064] The embodiments of the invention may be executed by a computer processor or similar device programmed in the manner of method steps, or may be executed by an electronic system which is provided with means for executing these steps. Similarly, an electronic memory means such as computer diskettes, CD-ROMs, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM) or similar computer software storage media known in the art, may be programmed to execute such method steps. As well, electronic signals representing these method steps may also be transmitted via a communication network.

[0065] Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any conventional computer programming language. For example, preferred embodiments may be implemented in a procedural programming language (e.g., "C" or "Go") or an object-oriented language (e.g., "C++", "java", "PHP", "PYTHON" or "C#"). Alternative embodiments of the invention may be implemented as preprogrammed hardware elements, other related components, or as a combination of hardware and software components.

[0066] Embodiments can be implemented as a computer program product for use with a computer system. Such implementations may include a series of computer instructions fixed either on a tangible medium, such as a computer readable medium (e.g., a diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, or fixed disk) or transmittable to a computer system, via a modem or other interface device, such as a communications adapter connected to a network over a medium. The medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or electrical communications lines) or a medium implemented with wireless techniques (e.g., micro wave, infrared or other transmission techniques). The series of computer instructions embodies all or part of the functionality previously described herein. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages for use with many computer architectures or operating systems. Furthermore, such instructions may be stored in any memory device, such as semiconductor, magnetic, optical or other memory devices, and may be transmitted using any communications technology, such as optical, infrared, microwave, or other transmission technologies. It is expected that such a computer program product may be distributed as a removable medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink-wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server over a network (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web). Of course, some embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a combination of both software (e.g., a computer program product) and hardware. Still other embodiments of the invention may be implemented as entirely hardware, or entirely software (e.g., a computer program product).

[0067] A person understanding this invention may now conceive of alternative structures and embodiments or variations of the above all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims that follow.

Claims

We claim:

1. A system for providing alert notifications, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device;

- a data feed reception module for receiving a direct data feed from at least one public authority that responds to public emergencies and incidents;

- an alert message reception module for receiving alert messages from specific representatives of said public authority;

- an extraction module for receiving said data feed and for extracting incident addresses detailed in said data feed and for determining incidents occurring at said incident addresses based on data in said data feed;

- a database of entries relating to monitored locations, each entry corresponding to a monitored location, said monitored location being associated with a specific physical address and each entry for a monitored location comprising:

- at least one first range of physical addresses, said first range of physical addresses being within a specific physical distance from said specific physical address associated with said monitored location;

- a listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive alerts relating to said monitored location; - a matching module for matching incident addresses extracted from said direct data feed with physical addresses stored in said entries in said database wherein a match occurs when an incident address is within a range of physical addresses in a specific entry in said database and when said match occurs, said listing in said specific entry is retrieved and a notification message is sent to communications devices listed in said listing, said notification message comprising said physical address associated with said specific entry and a nature of said incident occurring at said incident address as derived from said direct data feed;

- wherein when said alert message reception module receives an alert message, said alert message comprises an identification of at least one monitored location relating to said alert message and a message, reception of said alert message causing said server to

- retrieve said listing of unique identifiers from database entries corresponding to at least one monitored location identified in said alert message and to

- transmit said message to communication devices identified by said unique identifiers in said listing that has been retrieved from said database entries;

- wherein said directed data received by each of said plurality of communications devices from said server includes any of:

- said messages derived from alert messages and

- notification messages resulting from matches occurring between incident addresses and ranges of physical addresses stored in entries in said database. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system further includes

- a location reception module for receiving location data relating to locations of tracked communications devices; and wherein said system determines a mobile physical address associated with each of said locations and, for each of said locations, said system determines at least one range of mobile addresses that is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location; and further wherein said matching module determines if an extracted incident address from said data feed is within said at least one range of mobile addresses; and wherein said database includes a plurality of group entries, each group entry corresponding to one or more tracked communications device, each group entry comprising:

- an identification of said group entry;

- a group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive alerts whenever said system determines that an extracted incident address is within a range of mobile addresses for one or more tracked communications devices corresponding to said group entry; wherein after said system has determined that at least one range of mobile addresses is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location, an alert message is composed and sent to communications devices listed in said group listing.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system implements a method comprising: a) receiving an alert message from specific representatives of said public authority; said alert message comprising said message and said identification of at least monitored location; b) extracting said identification and accessing said database to retrieve at least one entry, said at least one entry corresponding to said at least one monitored location identified in said alert message; c) extracting one or more of said listings of unique identifiers for communications devices from said at least one entry retrieved in step b); d) transmitting said message to communication devices identified by said unique identifiers in said one or more listings that have been retrieved from said database entries.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein a communication device’s unique ID is added to a listing for a monitored location when a user enters a unique code into a software application installed on said communication device, said unique code being associated with said monitored location.

5. A system for providing alert notifications, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device;

- a data feed reception module for receiving a direct data feed from at least one public authority that responds to public emergencies and incidents;

- an extraction module for receiving said data feed and for extracting incident addresses detailed in said data feed and for determining incidents occurring at said incident addresses based on data in said data feed;

- a database of entries, said entries including a plurality of group entries, each group entry corresponding to one or more tracked communications devices, each group entry comprising:

- an identification of said group entry;

- a group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive alerts whenever said system determines that an extracted incident address is within a range of mobile addresses for one or more tracked communications devices corresponding to said group entry; - a location reception module for receiving location data relating to locations of tracked communications devices; wherein said system determines a mobile physical address associated with each of said locations of tracked communications devices and, for each of said locations, said system determines at least one range of mobile addresses that is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location;

- a matching module for determining if an extracted incident address from said data feed is within said at least one range of mobile addresses;

- wherein after said system has determined that at least one range of mobile addresses is within a specific physical distance from said mobile physical address associated with said location, an alert message is composed and sent to communications devices listed in said group listing.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said system implements a method comprising: a) receiving location data for a specific tracked communications device; b) receiving a data feed, said data feed containing incident reports that include incident addresses where incidents in said incident reports have occurred; c) determining a closest physical address for said specific tracked communications device from said location data; d) determining ranges of physical addresses that are within a predetermined radius of said closest physical address; e) determining if any of said incident addresses are within said ranges of physical addresses determined in step d); f) in the event at least one of said incident addresses is within said ranges of physical addresses, retrieving said group listing from a database entry corresponding to said specific tracked communications device and transmitting an alert message to communications devices listed in said group listing.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein a communication device’s unique ID is added to a group entry’s group listing when a user enters a unique code into a software application installed on said communication device, said unique code being associated with said group entry.

8. A system for forwarding alert messages from a source to a predetermined group of communications devices, the system comprising:

- a server comprising:

- a communications module for transmitting directed data to a plurality of consumer communication devices, each of said communication devices having installed a software application configured to receive directed data from said server, each of said plurality of communication devices having a unique identifier such that said communications module is able to transmit said directed data to said software application in a specific communication device only when said communication module has said unique identifier for said specific communication device;

- a database of entries, said entries including a plurality of group entries, each group entry comprising:

- an identification of said group entry;

- a group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponding to a communications device that is to receive content of said alert messages;

- an alert message reception module for receiving alert messages from said source, said alert messages comprising a payload message and an identification of at least one group to receive said payload message, said at least one group corresponding to at least one group entry in said database;

- wherein when said alert message reception module receives an alert message, at least one group identified in said alert message is extracted along with said payload message, reception of said alert message causing said server to - retrieve said listing of unique identifiers from database entries corresponding to said at least one group identified in said alert message and to

- transmit said payload message to communication devices identified by said unique identifiers in said listing that has been retrieved;

- wherein said directed data received by each of said plurality of communications devices from said server includes said payload message.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said system implements a method comprising: a) receiving an alert message from said source, said alert message comprising said payload message and said identification of at least one group to receive said payload message; b) extracting said identification and accessing said database to retrieve one or more group listings for database entries corresponding to said at least one group identified in said alert message; c) extracting said payload message and forwarding said payload message to communications devices listed in said one or more group listings retrieved in step b).

10. The system according to claim 8 wherein said source of said alert message is at least one of: a police department, a fire department, an ambulance dispatch department, a department serviced by a computer aided dispatch system, a school authority, a transit authority, and a public authority with jurisdiction in an area in which said communications devices are operating.

11. The system according to claim 8, wherein a communication device’s unique ID is added to a group entry’s group listing when a user enters a unique code into a software application installed on said communication device, said unique code being associated with said group entry.

12. The system according to claim 8, wherein said database of entries includes at least one entry relating to a monitored location, said monitored location being associated with a specific physical address and wherein, for said group listing of unique identifiers for communications devices, each of said communications devices listed in said group listing corresponds to a communications device that is also to receive alerts relating to said monitored location.