FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing location based analytics in an indoor environment.
BACKGROUND
Conventional location determination systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), provide the ability to track location of subjects, such as devices or people. The GPS refers to a system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. Although fairly accurate for large open spaces, these systems fail to detect when a subject is in closed or indoor spaces. Many times it becomes desirable to locate or track subjects in small or in door spaces, for applications such as staff presence management, conference attendee tracking, retail employee movement tracking and the like.
Conventional prior arts relate to individual identification and tracking systems using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagged items carried by the individuals. Conventionally, solutions have been proposed for locating subjects in indoor environment involving Bluetooth with RFID tagging. However, these conventional solutions and systems are expensive and are thus difficult to deploy. Further, these conventional systems necessitate high battery consumption of an associated electronic device in order to work and require additional hardware which makes these systems expensive to own.
Therefore, there is a need to alleviate problems associated with prior arts. There is a need to locate a subject in small spaces or indoor spaces without the need for an added hardware or a complex machinery. There is a need to drastically reduce an investment including but not limited to time, battery upgradation, and the cost involved in upgrading the tracking infrastructure which includes RFID and Bluetooth compatible hardware.
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SUMMARY
The present invention address the aforementioned drawbacks in the state of the art and provides a solution to make the system time and cost effective. In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for tracking a subject in an indoor environment to provide location-based analytics. The system includes a computing cloud in communication through a network with an electronic device associated with the subject. The computing cloud receives checkin data collected at predetermined time intervals by the electronic device in the indoor environment. The computing cloud analyses the checkin data collected by the electronic device to determine the location-based analytics for the indoor environment. The electronic device receives signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device, to collect and create the checkin data.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of tracking a subject in an indoor environment to provide location-based analytics. The method includes receiving, by a computing cloud, checkin data from the electronic device associated with the subject, the checkin data being collected at predetermined time intervals by the electronic device in the indoor environment. The computing cloud is in communication through a network with the electronic device. The method includes analysing the received checkin data to determine the location-based analytics for the indoor environment. The electronic device receives signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device, to collect and create the checkin data.
In accordance with one more aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device associated with a subject in an indoor environment to facilitate location-based analytics for the indoor environment. The electronic device includes a receiver for receiving signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device. The electronic device further includes a processor for processing the received signals to generate checkin data. Further, the electronic device includes a transmitter for transmitting the checkin data to a computing cloud which is in communication through a network with the electronic device. The transmitted checkin data is analysed by the computing cloud to determine location-based analytics for the indoor environment.
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Further, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of facilitating location-based analytics for an indoor environment. The method includes, in an electronic device, receiving, by a receiver, signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device. The method further includes processing, by a processor, the received signals, to generate checkin data. Further, the method includes transmitting, by a transmitter, the checkin data to a computing cloud which is in communication through a network with the electronic device. The transmitted checkin data is analysed by the computing cloud to determine location-based analytics for the indoor environment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 illustrates an architecture of the system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a computing cloud of the system of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an operation of the system of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary diagram for implementing the system of Figure 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Exemplary embodiments now will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.
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The specification may refer to “an”, “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations. This does not necessarily imply that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”, “comprises”, “including” and/or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations and arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
The figures depict a simplified structure only showing some elements and functional entities, all being logical units whose implementation may differ from what is shown. The connections shown are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different.
In accordance with Figures 1-4, the system 100 includes an electronic device 104 which is configured to receive messages/signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. . The electronic device receives the signals from one or more of the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n to collect and create checkin data. The electronic device 104 is connected to a computing cloud 108
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through a network 106. The electronic device 104 sends the collected and created checkin data to the computing cloud 108 through the network 106. The computing cloud 108 analyses the checkin data to provide location-based analytics.
In an embodiment, the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n are hardware transmitters - a class of Bluetooth low energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices. The present invention utilizes a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, which is a protocol for minimal and energy efficient information transfer between the Bluetooth beacons and an electronic device acting as a receiver, over short distances. As the present invention utilizes a low-cost, low-footprint wireless technology for data transfer between the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n and the electronic device 104, the present invention provides a cost-effective way of tracking as compared to existing prior arts which utilizes a costly hardware for their operation.
In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may record messages/signals transmitted from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n and stores them for further upload on the computing cloud 108 on a periodic basis. The electronic device 104 receives signals from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n at predetermined time intervals. In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may scan for signals from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n every 10 minutes. The electronic device 104 may receive signals from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n to collect and create checkin data. In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may analyse the signals received from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n to collect and create the checkin data. In an embodiment, the electronic device may be a digital device including Personal Digital Assistants (PAD), notebook computers, laptops and communication devices such as mobile phones, satellite phones and tablets.
In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may receive identifiers of the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n in the signals received from the respective Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may determine timestamps when the signals are received from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. The timestamps may correspond to an instant of time during the predetermined time intervals at which the electronic device 104 receives the signals from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. Further, the electronic device 104 may determine signal strength information of the signals received from the Bluetooth beacons 102 … 102n. In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may store the identifiers received from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. The electronic device 104 may further store the determined time stamps and the signal strength information along with the identifiers. In an embodiment, the electronic
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device 104 further calculates a relative distance of each of the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n with the electronic device 104 based on the signals received from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n.
The electronic device 104 uploads the received identifiers, determined timestamps, signal strength information, and the determined relative distance as checkin data to the computing cloud 108. As illustrated in Figure 2, the computing cloud 108 includes an I/O interface 206 which facilitates reception of the checkin data at the computing cloud 108. The computing cloud 108 includes a processor 202 which is operatively connected with a memory 204. The processor 202 processes the received checkin data to generate the location-based analytics for an indoor environment.
In one embodiment, the location-based analytics includes movement pattern of a subject within the indoor environment. The computing cloud 108 identifies Bluetooth beacons from which the signals received are having a signal strength greater than a predetermined threshold. In an embodiment, the predetermined threshold may correspond to a strength below which the electronic device 104 may not be able to receive the identifiers of the corresponding Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. The computing cloud 108 correlates location of the identified Bluetooth beacons with a pre-stored localization data of the indoor environment to determine the movement pattern of the subject. The localization data may correspond to data about the indoor environment where the Bluetooth beacons are 102a … 102n are located.
In another embodiment, the location-based analytics includes an amount of time spent by the subject at particular locations within the indoor environment. The electronic device 104 is associated with the subject. As described above, the computing cloud 108 identifies the Bluetooth beacons from which the signals received by the electronic device 104 are having a signal strength greater than the predetermined threshold. The computing cloud 108 determines the timestamp when the electronic device 104 receives the signals from the above identified Bluetooth beacons. Based on the determined timestamps, the computing cloud 108 determines the time interval during which the electronic device 104 received the signals from the above identified Bluetooth beacons. The computing cloud 108 correlates the location information of the above identified Bluetooth beacons with the pre-stored localization information along with the determined time interval to calculate the amount of time spent by the subject at the particular locations within the indoor environment.
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In another embodiment, the location-based analytics includes count of all subjects present within a predetermined distance range from a pre-selected Bluetooth beacon located in the indoor environment. The computing cloud 108 may receive checkin data from one or more electronic devices present in the indoor environment. Herein this present disclosure, only one electronic device 104 is described in the Figure 1 for the sake of clarity, however any number of electronic devices associated respectively with a subject may be present in the indoor environment. Based on the received checkin data from a plurality of electronic devices, the computing cloud 108 may count all the subjects present within the predetermined distance range from the pre-selected Bluetooth beacon located in the indoor environment.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the electronic device 104 may also facilitate the location-based analytics for the indoor environment. The electronic device 104 may include a receiver (not shown in Figures) for receiving signals from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n which are located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range. In an embodiment, the pre-determined distance range corresponds to a minimum distance required to establish a connection between the Bluetooth beacons and the electronic device 104. The electronic device 104 may include a processor (not shown in Figures) to process the signal received by the receiver, for generating checkin data. The electronic device 104 transmits the checkin data to the computing cloud 108 which analyses the checkin data to generate the location-based analytics. In an embodiment, the electronic device 104 may receive the generated location-based analytics from the computing cloud 108. In another embodiment, the electronic device 104 may display the received location-based analytics.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the system 100 of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the flow chart 300 illustrates exemplary steps of generating location-based analytics of an indoor environment. At step 302, checkin data is collected by the electronic device 104 from the Bluetooth beacons 102a … 102n. At step 304, checkin data is sent to the computing cloud 108 by the electronic device 104. At step 306, checkin data is analysed by the computing cloud 108. At step 308, the location-based analytics are generated by the computing cloud 108 based on the analysis of the checkin data.
Figure 4 describes an exemplary embodiment of an implementation of the system of the present disclosure. For the sake of description of Figure 4, the Bluetooth beacons of the Figure 1 are referred
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herein as a BLE transmitter devices. As illustrated in Figure 4, in the indoor environment there is an attendee A1 having an electronic device at a distance d from a BLE transmitter device S1, wherein the electronic device of the attendee A1 is able to receive signals/messages from BLE transmitter devices in booth 1 and booth 2. The estimated distances of the BLE transmitter devices S1 and S2 from the attendee are shown by dA1S1 and dA1S2. Similarly attendee A2 is able to receive signals/messages from BLE transmitter devices S2 and S3 in booth 2 and booth 3, and has estimated distances from the attendee shown by dA2S2 and dA1S3. Similarly, attendee n can receive signals/messages from BLE transmitter devices Sn and Sn+1 in booth n and booth n+1 and has estimated distances from the attendee shown by dAmSn and dAmSn+1.
The electronic device associated with the attendee may detect and register the ‘advertisements’ from the nearest BLE Transmitter devices and upload data corresponding to the ‘advertisements’ as a checkin to a cloud API with a relative distance, signal strength information, and identifiers of the BLE transmitting devices. The BLE transmitter devices send message/advertisements after a fixed time interval. Attendee A1 may receive signal from booth S1, S2…Sn comprising BLE transmitter devices. The checkin data is stored in the attendee smartphone and automatically sent to the computing cloud after a fixed time interval. The checkin data includes unique identifying information about the actual device, as well as a lot of detailed data about the distance and relative signal strengths of the nearest N BLE transmitter devices between particular time intervals and is gathered for each attendee. This checkin data may then be analysed to generate detailed impression and handshake ‘scene’ analytics, where the exact indoor location of the electronic device at the time of the checkin may be estimated.
The analysis that takes place on the computing cloud consists of impression analysis and handshake analysis. In an embodiment, impressions relate to counting all the attendees over a time period who were in the range of a particular distance, for instance, 10 m of closed area where the number of attendees who were at a particular booth and the time spent by each attendees at the booth. In another non-limiting embodiment, unique impressions can be impressions for unique attendees where unique attendees refers to a single unique attendee not counted twice.
In an embodiment, handshakes are impressions for a longer period of time preferably over 3 minutes. Handshakes consist of counting all the attendees within a time period and within a particular distance from a particular booth. In another non-limiting embodiment, unique
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handshakes are handshakes for unique attendees (repeated ‘handshakes’ between attendees and booths being not counted).
In an embodiment, the location-based analytics refers to Location insight data related to event organizers, based on where (and how long) various attendees are spending their time inside a closed indoor event. Further, the location-based analytics facilitates ranking of the booths in order of preference for attendees. In an embodiment, the present invention may be utilized for any indoor location where an entry is controlled and closely monitored, but the attendees have the freedom to spend their time at more than one location.
The present invention is useful for the organizers of any public event, since it would give them deep insights into the patterns of movements (within the enclosed indoor space) of attendees. By classifying interactions between the attendees and exhibitors (based on the captured checkin data) as either ‘impressions’ (a short duration interaction) or ‘handshakes’ (a longer duration interaction) a clearer picture of the attendee interactions may emerge.
Furthermore, the present invention was described in part above with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention.
It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer- readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of
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manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus like a scanner/check scanner to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The flowchart and schematic diagrams illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operations of some embodiments of methods, systems, and computer program products for managing security associations over a communication network. In this regard, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in other implementations, the function(s) noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention. Although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

We claim:
1. A system for tracking a subject in an indoor environment to provide location-based analytics, the system comprising:
a computing cloud in communication through a network with an electronic device associated with the subject, the computing cloud is configured to:
receive checkin data collected at predetermined time intervals by the electronic device in the indoor environment; and
analyse the checkin data collected by the electronic device to determine the location-based analytics for the indoor environment,
wherein the electronic device is configured to receive signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device, to collect and create the checkin data.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the checkin data comprises identification information of the one or more Bluetooth beacons.
3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the checkin data comprises signal strength information of the signals received from the one or more Bluetooth beacons.
4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the checkin data comprises timestamps which reflects the predetermined time intervals at which the checkin data is collected.
5. The system as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the location-based analytics comprises movement pattern of the subject within the indoor environment, and
wherein the movement pattern is determined by correlating the identification information of the one or more Bluetooth beacons with a pre-stored localization data of the indoor environment, and
wherein the identification information of the Bluetooth beacons from which signals are having signal strength greater than a predetermined threshold, is correlated with the pre-stored localization data.
6. The system as claimed in claim 5,
wherein the location-based analytics comprises an amount of time spent by the subject at particular locations within the indoor environment, and
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wherein the amount of time spent by the subject at the particular location is determined based on the timestamps at which the signal strength information of a signal from a Bluetooth beacon at the particular location is equal to or greater than a threshold.
7. The system as claimed in claim 6,
wherein the location-based analytics comprises a count of all subjects present within a predetermined distance range from a pre-selected Bluetooth beacon located in the indoor environment, and
wherein the location-based analytics comprises the amount of time spent by each of the subjects present within the predetermined distance range from the pre-selected Bluetooth beacon.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth beacons are transmitters from a class of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.
9. A method of tracking a subject in an indoor environment to provide location-based analytics, the method comprising:
receiving, by a computing cloud, checkin data from the electronic device associated with the subject, the checkin data being collected at predetermined time intervals by the electronic device in the indoor environment, wherein the computing cloud is in communication through a network with the electronic device; and
analysing the received checkin data to determine the location-based analytics for the indoor environment,
wherein the electronic device is configured to receive signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device, to collect the checkin data.
10. An electronic device associated with a subject in an indoor environment to facilitate location-based analytics for the indoor environment, the electronic device comprising:
a receiver for receiving signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device;
a processor for processing the received signals to generate checkin data; and
a transmitter for transmitting the checkin data to a computing cloud which is in communication through a network with the electronic device,
wherein the transmitted checkin data is analysed by the computing cloud to determine location-based analytics for the indoor environment.
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11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to process the received signals to determine identification information of the one or more Bluetooth beacons.
12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to process the received signals to determine signal strength information of the received signals.
13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to determine timestamps which reflects the predetermined time intervals at which the checkin data is generated.
14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the location-based analytics comprises movement pattern of the subject within the indoor environment, and wherein the movement pattern is determined by correlating the identification information of the one or more Bluetooth beacons with a pre-stored localization data of the indoor environment, and wherein the identification information of the Bluetooth beacons from which signals are having strength greater than a predetermined threshold, is correlated with the pre-stored localization data.
15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the location-based analytics comprises an amount of time spent by the subject at particular locations within the indoor environment, and wherein the amount of time spent by the subject at the particular location is determined based on the timestamps at which the signal strength information of a signal from a Bluetooth beacon at the particular location is equal to or greater than a threshold.
16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the location-based analytics comprises a count of all subjects present within a predetermined distance range from a pre-selected Bluetooth beacon located in the indoor environment, and wherein the location-based analytics comprises the amount of time spent by each of the subjects present within the predetermined distance range from the pre-selected Bluetooth beacon.
17. A method of facilitating location-based analytics for an indoor environment, the method comprising:
in an electronic device,
receiving, by a receiver, signals from one or more Bluetooth beacons located in the indoor environment within a predetermined distance range from the electronic device;
processing, by a processor, the received signals, to generate checkin data; and
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transmitting, by a transmitter, the checkin data to a computing cloud which is in communication through a network with the electronic device,
wherein the transmitted checkin data is analysed by the computing cloud to determine location-based analytics for the indoor environment