TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an attendance system, in particular to the
Bluetooth Beacon attendance system and method that automatically monitor and
record attendance. The present invention also related to optimized way of data transfer to and
from the server.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a
location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for
many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effectiveness of their
efforts and to plan for future efforts. In both classroom settings and workplaces, attendance
may be mandatory. Poor attendance by a student in a class may affect their grades or other
evaluations. For students in elementary school and high school, laws may require compulsory
attendance, while students at higher levels of education may be penalized by professors or by
the institution for lack of attendance. To date, class attendance monitoring can include live
classroom checks, personal correspondence with professors by advisors and academic
progress reports. Attendance tracking can be important in other industries too.
[0003] Attendance system in schools and offices are not new. Earlier attendance
systems are totally based on paper with manual entry. Later it has been changed to RFID,
Smart card based ID-card, RFC card attendance system and fingerprint sensors. These all
existing attendance system has either contact based I-card or Contactless I card. In fact, these
kinds of contact based or contactless attendance systems are being developed and their reach
has been expending day by day. In all these kind of systems, a person needs to go near the
card reader (Contact or contactless NFC/RF-ID base readers) in order to get registered for the
attendance. Contactless I-card/tag is based on near file communication, so can work only
within the range of few centimetres from the reader. These kinds of ID-cards are either used
for student/employ identification or just to mark school/company attendance (entry and exit)
or to provide the access of the particulate location. Marking of the attendance is not reliable
as someone can forget to mark attendance while entering and exiting even when he/she
carrying the card. Because of this human mistake, it is not possible to monitor the
3
student/employ has actually entered into the class/department and for how long he/she
remains there. Even the present attendance system does not have any safety mechanism to
prevent any mishapenning within the premises (School/office etc.). Further the existing
attendance systems do not provide any mechanisms for useful notifications like class bunk,
school bunk.
[0004] However, the present attendance system, which utilizes the Internet connection
to transfer attendance data to cloud or sever are not efficient. They transmit data to the server
or cloud periodically at a fix time interval, which increases the internet data consumption and
also increase the latency of the attendance being marked on server. Due to the data transfer
technique the overall cost of the system also rises as high data consumption and high memory
required on the reader side is required to store the attendance data locally at the readers.
[0005] After retrieval of prior art discovery, as technology development and
popularization of intelligent wireless mobile communications, specifically, mobile terminal
Beacon Bluetooth technology into the field of time and attendance, the new approach will
help companies to significantly reduce attendance systems work complexity and cost.
[0006] In the above said scenario there is a clear need of an attendance system which
can mark the attendance in the premises but also mark attendance in each and every desired
block in the premises, which can sense the authorized and unauthorized presence of a person
in a given area. Further, this information needs to be sent to an authorized person, say
administrator, to take a proper action. A system which can not only provide the attendance
but also provide the active safety and improve the standard of education/ work by
maintaining discipline. Therefore, it is desirable to find a new and unique low cost approach
to determine the chances that a user drops out of an educational institution.
[0007] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if
each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated
to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated
reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the
definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference
does not apply.
[0008] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or dimensions of
items, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be
understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, in some
embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached
4
claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be
obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters
should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying
ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters
setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the
numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.
The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain
errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing
measurements.
[0009] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the
meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates
otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and
“on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[00010] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a
shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification
as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in
any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by
context.
[00011] The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”)
provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate
the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed.
No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element
essential to the practice of the invention.
[00012] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed
herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and
claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other
elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from,
a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability.
SUMMARY
[00013] The present invention is mainly to solve the technical problems of the prior art
existed. The present invention relates to a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) based smart
5
attendance system which can mark the attendance in the premises and enables mark
attendance in each and every desired block in the premises, which can sense the authorized
and unauthorized presence of a person in a given area. Further, the presence information is
sent to an authorized person, say administrator, to take a proper action. In an embodiment,
the attendance system can not only provide the attendance but also provides an active safety
and improve the standard of education/ work by maintaining discipline.
[00014] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system to mark the attendance
and presence of the person/object in indoor or outdoor area i.e. School, offices, hotel,
university, park, garden, exhibition, society, malls, etc. with the help of a BLE beacon I-card,
and a BLE receiver. In an aspect, the BLE receiver detects a presence of the BLE beacon
based I-card/tag in the vicinity and sends it over to the cloud using GPRS and Sub-Giga Hz
RF Trans-receiver. The cloud web application performs a computation to find the presence of
person/object (having I-Card/Tag) in different location of the premises. I-card/Tag of the
system not only marks the attendance but also improve the quality of education/working with
active safety of the person/object within the premises carrying the card/tag.
[00015] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to an attendance system having
a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE version 4.2 and above) beacon based identification device
operatively coupled with a BLE beacon reader (dedicated hardware) that is configured to
detect presence of the identification device in its vicinity based on at least one BLE packet
received from the identification device, and transmit at least one unique attribute of the
identification device with time stamp to a central computing device, wherein the central
computing device performs computation to find presence of user associated with the
identification device based on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
[00016] In an aspect, the identification device is configured in the form of an
identification card or a wearable device or a tag. The reader is a dedicated hardware (not a
smart/mobile phone) having a firmware with mechanism in it. The reader can be placed at a
fixed location or can be portable. The central computing device is a cloud or a server.
[00017] In an aspect, the at least one unique attribute of the identification device is a
unique identification number (UID) of the user. The UID can be a MAC address, UUID or
any other unique number of the identification device.
[00018] In an aspect, the he attendance is marked when the identification device is in the
vicinity i.e., in the range of the BLE reader. The presence is determined based on virtual
coordinates of the BLE beacon reader.
6
[00019] In an aspect, the at least one unique attribute of the identification device is
transmitted to the central computing device directly or communicating to central node or hub
or gateway over any wired or wireless communication.
[00020] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to an attendance system having a
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader operatively coupled with a BLE beacon
identification device, wherein the reader is configured to detect presence of the identification
device in its vicinity based on at least one BLE packet received from the identification
device, and the reader processes the received packets by using a mechanism and filters the
desired packet and sends it to the central computing device. The central computing device
performs computation to find presence of user associated with the identification device based
on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
[00021] In an aspect, the beacon reader includes a mechanism that enhances the overall
performance of the attendance system. The mechanism enables the reader to provide more
real-time data by reducing the time latency between the detection of the identification device
and notify this to central computing device/server. Moreover, the computation time of the
server is also more optimised.
[00022] In an aspect, the beacon reader identifies the repetitive packet of the
identification device by comparing any BLE packet’s unique attribute. This unique attribute
is stored in the reader and can be stored either in run time on packet reception or pre-stored in
the reader’s internal or external memory.
[00023] In an aspect, the beacon reader transmits at least one unique attribute to server
when there is change in RSSI value or entry or exit of the identification device in the range of
beacon reader.
[00024] In an aspect, beacon reader adds identification device status (in and out), signal
strength, battery status and other operational information to the packets that are sent to the
server.
[00025] In an aspect, the central computing device is designed to receive filtered data
from multiple BLE beacon reader in bulk. ID card data can contain status of Card (In / out),
Signal Strength, and other operational information.
[00026] In an aspect, the central computing device discards data from unknown sources
(readers) and for unaccounted ID Cards, thus ensuring system integrity and security.
[00027] In an aspect, the central computing device verifies the data packet received by
performing checksum.
7
[00028] In an aspect, the central computing device updates database only with the
change in data, hence database operations are minimized.
[00029] In an aspect, the central computing device notifies of zone changes based on
source of card data. This provides instant tracking of Asset / User.
[00030] In an aspect, the central processing device determine and notify Class Bunk and
School Bunk, Late entry/exit, attendance and other features using SMS, email, web, mobile
application on desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
[00031] In an aspect, the central processing device is implemented in the form of an
application detecting the class bunk, school bunk, Danger zone, unauthorized zone using
BLE and notifies it using SMS, Email or desktop/server/mobile application.
[00032] In an aspect, the central processing device provides Active Safety and notifies
danger/restricted zone entry using SMS, email, web, mobile application on desktop/mobile
phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
[00033] Other features of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from
accompanying drawings and from detailed description that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00034] In the figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference
label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the
reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only
the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of
the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second
reference label.
[00035] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary network architecture in which or with which
embodiments of the present invention can be implemented.
[00036] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of the system on hardware layer in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00037] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations of a reader upon
detecting a presence to the identification device in its vicinity, in accordance with an
embodiment of the present.
[00038] FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations of a reader while
transmitting the captured data from the identification device to a server, in accordance with
an embodiment of the present.
8
[00039] FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary diagram showing a packet structure of a packet
being transmitted by the reader for the captured data from the identification device to a
server, in accordance with an embodiment of the present.
[00040] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud level application to mark attendance, notify for danger and restricted zone in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00041] FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud while taking a decision to notify the class bunk in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[00042] FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud while taking a decision to notify the school bunk in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention
[00043] FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud while taking a decision to find the presence of the student and notify the location
on the display with an embodiment of the present invention.
[00044] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a Bluetooth Beacon based
attendance system that automatically monitors and records attendance, in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00045] Bluetooth low energy (BLE) based smart attendance system with active safety is
disclosed for automatically monitor and record attendance. Embodiments of the present
disclosure include various steps, which will be described below. The steps may be performed
by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may
be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the
instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of
hardware, software, firmware, and/or by human operators.
[00046] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a computer program
product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying thereon
instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to
perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed
(hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only
memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs,
9
PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs),
erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory,
magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for
storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or
firmware).
[00047] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more
machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present disclosure with
appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus
for practicing various embodiments of the present disclosure may involve one or more
computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems
containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with
various methods described herein, and the method steps of the disclosure could be
accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.
[00048] If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”, “could”, or
“might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not
required to be included or have the characteristic.
[00049] Although the present disclosure has been described with the purpose of applying
a risk-based approach to security inspection of network flows, it should be appreciated that
the same has been done merely to illustrate the invention in an exemplary manner and any
other purpose or function for which explained structures or configurations can be used, is
covered within the scope of the present disclosure.
[00050] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This
invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed
as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this
disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to
those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the
invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and
functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both
currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements
developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).
[00051] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that
the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes
10
illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various
elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well
as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the
figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of
program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and
dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity
implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the
exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described
herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular
named.
[00052] The ensuing description provides exemplary embodiments only, and is not
intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, the
ensuing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with
an enabling description for implementing an exemplary embodiment. It should be understood
that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
[00053] Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough
understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in
the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example,
circuits, systems, networks, processes, and other components may be shown as components
in block diagram form in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In
other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be
shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments.
[00054] The term “machine-readable storage medium” or “computer-readable storage
medium” includes, but is not limited to, portable or non-portable storage devices, optical
storage devices, and various other mediums capable of storing, containing, or carrying
instruction(s) and/or data. A machine-readable medium may include a non-transitory medium
in which data can be stored and that does not include carrier waves and/or transitory
electronic signals propagating wirelessly or over wired connections. Examples of a nontransitory
medium may include, but are not limited to, a magnetic disk or tape, optical storage
media such as compact disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD), flash memory, memory or
memory devices. A computer-program product may include code and/or machine-executable
instructions that may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a
11
subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data
structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment
or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or
memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded,
or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token
passing, network transmission, etc.
[00055] Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software,
firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination
thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program
code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks (e.g., a computer-program product)
may be stored in a machine-readable medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary
tasks.
[00056] Systems depicted in some of the figures may be provided in various
configurations. In some embodiments, the systems may be configured as a distributed system
where one or more components of the system are distributed across one or more networks in
a cloud computing system.
[00057] A Bluetooth low energy (BLE) based smart attendance system with active safety
that automatically monitor and record attendance. In an embodiment, the system mark the
attendance and presence of the person/object in indoor or outdoor area i.e. School, offices,
hotel, university, park, garden, exhibition, society, malls, etc. Further, the monitored
information can be sent to the server or cloud and later can be viewed by the Administrator
for records or to take a proper action. The present invention relates to a Bluetooth low energy
(BLE) based smart attendance system which can mark the attendance in the premises and
enables mark attendance in each and every desired block in the premises, which can sense the
authorized and unauthorized presence of a person in a given area. Further, the presence
information is sent to an authorized person, say administrator, to take a proper action. In an
embodiment, the attendance system can not only provide the attendance but also provides an
active safety and improve the standard of education/ work by maintaining discipline.
[00058] In an aspect, the present disclosure relates to a system to mark the attendance
and presence of the person/object in indoor or outdoor area i.e. School, offices, hotel,
university, park, garden, exhibition, society, malls, etc. with the help of a BLE beacon I-card,
and a BLE receiver. In an aspect, the BLE receiver detects a presence of the BLE beacon
based I-card/tag in the vicinity and sends it over to the cloud using GPRS and Sub-Giga Hz
12
RF Trans-receiver. The cloud web application performs a computation to find the presence of
person/object (having I-Card/Tag) in different location of the premises. I-card/Tag of the
system not only marks the attendance but also improve the quality of education/working with
active safety of the person/object within the premises carrying the card/tag.
[00059] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to an attendance system having
a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE version 4.2 and above) beacon based identification device
operatively coupled with a BLE beacon reader (dedicated hardware) that is configured to
detect presence of the identification device in its vicinity based on at least one BLE packet
received from the identification device, and transmit at least one unique attribute of the
identification device with time stamp to a central computing device, wherein the central
computing device performs computation to find presence of user associated with the
identification device based on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
[00060] In an aspect, the identification device is configured in the form of an
identification card or a wearable device or a tag. The reader is a dedicated hardware (not a
smart/mobile phone) having a firmware with mechanism in it. The reader can be placed at a
fixed location or can be portable. The central computing device is a cloud or a server.
[00061] In an aspect, the at least one unique attribute of the identification device is a
unique identification number (UID) of the user. The UID can be a MAC address, UUID or
any other unique number of the identification device.
[00062] In an aspect, the he attendance is marked when the identification device is in the
vicinity i.e., in the range of the BLE reader. The presence is determined based on virtual
coordinates of the BLE beacon reader.
[00063] In an aspect, the at least one unique attribute of the identification device is
transmitted to the central computing device directly or communicating to central node or hub
or gateway over any wired or wireless communication.
[00064] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to an attendance system having a
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader operatively coupled with a BLE beacon
identification device, wherein the reader is configured to detect presence of the identification
device in its vicinity based on at least one BLE packet received from the identification
device, and the reader processes the received packets by using a mechanism and filters the
desired packet and sends it to the central computing device. The central computing device
performs computation to find presence of user associated with the identification device based
on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
13
[00065] In an aspect, the beacon reader includes a mechanism that enhances the overall
performance of the attendance system. The mechanism enables the reader to provide more
real-time data by reducing the time latency between the detection of the identification device
and notify this to central computing device/server. Moreover, the computation time of the
server is also more optimised.
[00066] In an aspect, the beacon reader identifies the repetitive packet of the
identification device by comparing any BLE packet’s unique attribute. This unique attribute
is stored in the reader and can be stored either in run time on packet reception or pre-stored in
the reader’s internal or external memory.
[00067] In an aspect, the beacon reader transmits at least one unique attribute to server
when there is change in RSSI value or entry or exit of the identification device in the range of
beacon reader.
[00068] In an aspect, beacon reader adds identification device status (in and out), signal
strength, battery status and other operational information to the packets that are sent to the
server.
[00069] In an aspect, the central computing device is designed to receive filtered data
from multiple BLE beacon reader in bulk. ID card data can contain status of Card (In / out),
Signal Strength, and other operational information.
[00070] In an aspect, the central computing device discards data from unknown sources
(readers) and for unaccounted ID Cards, thus ensuring system integrity and security.
[00071] In an aspect, the central computing device verifies the data packet received by
performing checksum.
[00072] In an aspect, the central computing device updates database only with the
change in data, hence database operations are minimized.
[00073] In an aspect, the central computing device notifies of zone changes based on
source of card data. This provides instant tracking of Asset / User.
[00074] In an aspect, the central processing device determine and notify Class Bunk and
School Bunk, Late entry/exit, attendance and other features using SMS, email, web, mobile
application on desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
[00075] In an aspect, the central processing device is implemented in the form of an
application detecting the class bunk, school bunk, Danger zone, unauthorized zone using
BLE and notifies it using SMS, Email or desktop/server/mobile application.
14
[00076] In an aspect, the central processing device provides Active Safety and notifies
danger/restricted zone entry using SMS, email, web, mobile application on desktop/mobile
phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
[00077] FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary network architecture 100 in which or with which
embodiments of the present invention can be implemented. It would be appreciated that
aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to a variety of network architectures, all of
which are well within the scope of the present disclosure.
[00078] As in a typical network architecture of the present disclosure can include a
plurality of network devices such as transmitter, receivers, and/or transceivers that may
include one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices. As used herein, an IoT devices can be a
device that includes sensing and/or control functionality as well as a WiFi™ transceiver radio
or interface, a Bluetooth™ transceiver radio or interface, a Zigbee™ transceiver radio or
interface, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) transceiver radio or interface, a WiFi-Direct transceiver
radio or interface, a Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) transceiver radio or interface, and/or any
other wireless network transceiver radio or interface that allows the IoT device to
communicate with a wide area network and with one or more other devices. In some
embodiments, an IoT device does not include a cellular network transceiver radio or
interface, and thus may not be configured to directly communicate with a cellular network. In
some embodiments, an IoT device may include a cellular transceiver radio, and may be
configured to communicate with a cellular network using the cellular network transceiver
radio. IoT devices may include home automation network devices that allow a user to access,
control, and/or configure various home appliances located within the user's home (e.g., a
television, radio, light, fan, humidifier, sensor, microwave, iron, and/or the like), or outside of
the user's home (e.g., exterior motion sensors, exterior lighting, garage door openers,
sprinkler systems, or the like). Network device may include a home automation switch that
may be coupled with a home appliance. In some embodiments, network devices may be used
in other environments, such as a business, a school, an establishment, a park, or any place
that can support a local area network to enable communication with network devices. For
example, a network device can allow a user to access, control, and/or configure devices, such
as office-related devices (e.g., copy machine, printer, fax machine, or the like), audio and/or
video related devices (e.g., a receiver, a speaker, a projector, a DVD player, a television, or
the like), media-playback devices (e.g., a compact disc player, a CD player, or the like),
computing devices (e.g., a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personal digital
15
assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device, or the like), lighting devices (e.g., a
lamp, recessed lighting, or the like), devices associated with a security system, devices
associated with an alarm system, devices that can be operated in an automobile (e.g., radio
devices, navigation devices), and/or the like.
[00079] A user may communicate with the network devices using an access device that
may include any human-to-machine interface with network connection capability that allows
access to a network. For example, the access device may include a stand-alone interface (e.g.,
a cellular telephone, a smartphone, a home computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a personal
digital assistant (PDA), a computing device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, a wall
panel, a keypad, or the like), an interface that is built into an appliance or other device e.g., a
television, a refrigerator, a security system, a game console, a browser, or the like), a speech
or gesture interface (e.g., a Kinect™ sensor, a Wiimote™, or the like), an IoT device
interface (e.g., an Internet enabled device such as a wall switch, a control interface, or other
suitable interface), or the like. In some embodiments, the access device may include a cellular
or other broadband network transceiver radio or interface, and may be configured to
communicate with a cellular or other broadband network using the cellular or broadband
network transceiver radio. In some embodiments, the access device may not include a cellular
network transceiver radio or interface. User may interact with the network devices using an
application, a web browser, a proprietary program, or any other program executed and
operated by the access device. In some embodiments, the access device may communicate
directly with the network devices (e.g., communication signal). For example, the access
device may communicate directly with network devices using Zigbee™ signals, Bluetooth™
signals, WiFi™ signals, infrared (IR) signals, UWB signals, WiFi-Direct signals, BLE
signals, sound frequency signals, or the like. In some embodiments, the access device may
communicate with the network devices via the gateways and/or a cloud network.
[00080] Local area network may include a wireless network, a wired network, or a
combination of a wired and wireless network. A wireless network may include any wireless
interface or combination of wireless interfaces (e.g., Zigbee™, Bluetooth™, WiFi™, IR,
UWB, WiFi-Direct, BLE, cellular, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), WiMax™, or the like). A
wired network may include any wired interface (e.g., fiber, Ethernet, powerline, Ethernet
over coaxial cable, digital signal line (DSL), or the like). The wired and/or wireless networks
may be implemented using various routers, access points, bridges, gateways, or the like, to
connect devices in the local area network. For example, the local area network may include
16
gateway and gateway. Gateway can provide communication capabilities to network devices
and/or access device via radio signals in order to provide communication, location, and/or
other services to the devices. The gateway is directly connected to the external network and
may provide other gateways and devices in the local area network with access to the external
network. The gateway may be designated as a primary gateway.
[00081] The network access provided by gateway may be of any type of network
familiar to those skilled in the art that can support data communications using any of a variety
of commercially-available protocols. For example, gateways may provide wireless
communication capabilities for the local area network 100 using particular communications
protocols, such as WiFi™ (e.g., IEEE 802.11 family standards, or other wireless
communication technologies, or any combination thereof). Using the communications
protocol(s), the gateways may provide radio frequencies on which wireless enabled devices
in the local area network can communicate. A gateway may also be referred to as a base
station, an access point, Node B, Evolved Node B (eNodeB), access point base station, a
Femtocell, home base station, home Node B, home eNodeB, or the like.
[00082] Gateways may include a router, a modem, a range extending device, and/or any
other device that provides network access among one or more computing devices and/or
external networks. For example, gateway may include a router or access point or a range
extending device. Examples of range extending devices may include a wireless range
extender, a wireless repeater, or the like.
[00083] A router gateway may include access point and router functionality, and may
further include an Ethernet switch and/or a modem. For example, a router gateway may
receive and forward data packets among different networks. When a data packet is received,
the router gateway may read identification information (e.g., a media access control (MAC)
address) in the packet to determine the intended destination for the packet. The router
gateway may then access information in a routing table or routing policy, and may direct the
packet to the next network or device in the transmission path of the packet. The data packet
may be forwarded from one gateway to another through the computer networks until the
packet is received at the intended destination.
[00084] FIG. 1 illustrates, for didactic purposes, network architecture 100 of BLE based
smart attendance system with active safety, in which a plurality of transmitting device such as
BLE beacon based I-card/Tag/devices 102-1,102-2…….102-N (hereinafter, referred to as
BLE beacon based I-card/Tag 102) can be operatively coupled with a plurality of receiving
17
device such as a BLE beacon reader 104-1, 104-2…104-N (hereinafter, referred to as BLE
beacon reader 104). The BLE beacon reader 104 is further operatively coupled with a cloud
web application 112 and/or a server using a network 106. For example, the BLE beacon
reader 104 detects the presence of the BLE beacon based I-card/tag 102 in vicinity based on
at least one beacon packet broadcasted by the BLE beacon based I-card/tag 102. The BLE
beacon reader 104 sends it over the cloud 112 using a network, say, a GPRS and Sub-Giga
Hz RF Trans-receiver. Then cloud web application in the cloud 112 does computation to find
the presence of person/Object (Having I-Card/Tag) in different location of the premises.
[00085] In an embodiment, the present invention provides a system that utilizes one or
more Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE enabled receivers 104 to detect presence of a moving
object/asset/human/animal which is having a Bluetooth LE enabled beacons bracelet/ tag/
Bluetooth capable mobile device as beacons 102.
[00086] Bluetooth I-Card has ubiquitous with Bluetooth chipsets being implanted
everywhere nowadays including most handheld devices. BLE is abbreviation of Bluetooth
low energy which is a wireless personal area network technology. In 30 June 2010, the
Bluetooth Special Interest Group (BT SIG) released specifications for Bluetooth 4.0 named
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). After that BT SIG released BLE v4.1 in 4 December 2013,
BLE V4.2 in December 2, 2014 and BLE V5 in 16 June 2016. All BLE operates in license
free ISM spectrum band (2402 – 2480 MHz). BLE based I-Card and have a chipset based on
any version of BLE specification or can be based on upcoming version on BLE specification.
BLE is usually used for transmission and reception over short distances. This BLE
specification is implemented in a chipset. In an implementation, the chipset may be used in
the I-Card. In an implementation, I-card can have a trans-receiver chipset with a BLE stack
running in the BLE trans-receiver chipset or running in an external microcontroller or
microprocessor. Even I-card can have a SOC having BLE trans-receiver, microcontroller and
BLE stack in a single chip.
[00087] The radio uses the 2.4 GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band to
communicate and divides this band into 40 channels from 2.4000 GHz to 2.4835 GHz. The
modulation chosen to encode the bit stream over the air is Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying
(GFSK). In this frequency range, radio waves are able to penetrate obstacles, such as walls
and human bodies. Moreover, Bluetooth is a low cost technology which results in low cost of
the BLE tag/beacon as well. Not only that, most of the mobile devices used today also has a
18
Bluetooth feature. This can also be used as an identity as it’s one of the carry along for
everyone these days.
[00088] It would be appreciated that, the Bluetooth I-Card 102 can transmit or receive
the beacons. The beacon is a small data packet transmitted over the air by BLE chipset
antenna. The BLE packet format can be customized as per the requirements. Most popular
beacon type or beacon formats are I-beacon and Eddy stone beacon. I-card 102 beacon can
also have any other customized packet format. These kinds if packet may or may not be
encrypted in any way.
[00089] In an implementation, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon based
identification device 102 is operatively coupled with a BLE beacon reader 104 that is
configured to detect presence to the identification device in its vicinity based on at least one
BLE packet received from the identification device 104, and transmit at least one unique
attribute of the identification device 102 to a central computing device 112. The central
computing device 112 thereby performs computation to find presence of user associated with
the identification device based on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
[00090] In an implementation, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader 104 is
operatively coupled with a BLE beacon identification device 102. The reader 104 is
configured to detect presence to the identification device 102 in its vicinity based on at least
one BLE packet received from the identification device 102, and transmit at least one unique
attribute of the identification device to a central computing device 112, and wherein the
central computing device 112 performs computation to find presence of user associated with
the identification device based on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
[00091] In an exemplary implementation, the BLE beacon based I-Card 102 can include
an electronically stored (Unique Identification Number) UUID or MAC address inside the
card and may have printed identity of the person for visual checking.
[00092] In an exemplary implementation, the BLE reader 104 can be any electronics
device having BLE reader IC with intelligent microcontroller or microprocessor in it. This
reader can be placed anywhere indoor/outdoor where ever we want to mark the attendance or
presence of the person/object. The reader can be placed at a fixed location or can be portable.
[00093] In an exemplary implementation, a gateway 110 is the device which will
connect the BLE reader 104 with the cloud/Server 112. This gateway can be based on GPRS
device, Wi-Fi, Ethernet or any means by which we can connect to internet. The gateway can
communicate with BLE reader 104 by any wired or wireless technologies 108. The most
19
common mode of communication is Sub-Giga Hz RF, Wi-Fi, ZigBee etc. in some cases gate
can be inbuilt inside the BLE reader itself.
[00094] In an exemplary implementation, could/server 112 can be a virtual or physical
computer. The computer receives data from gateway 110 or directly from the reader 104 for
processing it. The computer can also have the database about the person/ object
identification. The UUID or MAC address of the I-card is pre-stored in the database linked
with the person/object identity. This cloud can also have the information of all readers with
their Indoor or outdoor location.
[00095] In an exemplary implementation, the BLE device 102 keeps on broadcasting the
beacon/ packet in the air. The time interval between two beacons can be changed as per the
requirements. This interval is decided in such a way so that BLE reader can receive at least
one beacon/packet during its scan interval to ensure that this I-card 102 is detected by the
BLE reader 104. Any reader 104 near the I-Card 102 can receive these packets.
[00096] In an embodiment, the broadcasted packet/beacon can have many parameters in
this packet. In an implementation, the most common parameters can include but are not
limited to a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), a major value, a minor value, a MAC
address, Battery life, I-Card name, RSSI value. In an implementation, the UUID can be a
128-bit value that uniquely identifies one or more beacons as a certain type or from a certain
organization. The major value can be an optional 16-bit unsigned integer that can group
related beacons that have the same proximity UUID. The minor value can be optional 16-bit
unsigned integer that differentiates beacons with the same proximity UUID and major value.
The MAC address can be a 48-bit (6-byte) number uniquely identifies a device among peers.
There are two types of device addresses, viz. Public device address and Random device
address, and one or both can be set on a particular device. The Public device address can be
the equivalent to a fixed, BR/EDR, factory-programmed device address. It must be registered
with the IEEE Registration Authority and will never change during the lifetime of the device.
The Random device address can either be pre-programmed on the device or dynamically
generated at runtime. The transmitting power value may be programmed into the beacon to
facilitate determining distance from the beacon based on signal strength. It would be
appreciated that it is not necessary that I-card 103 will have all above parameter.
[00097] In an implementation, using above parameters a given I-card can have a Unique
ID to identify the person/Object having this card. This Unique ID can be used to find the
presence of a person/ Object in a given area.
20
[00098] In an embodiment, the I-Card chipset can be powered using a Coin cell battery,
Li-Po, Li-ion or any small size thin battery. The power consumption of the I-card can be
optimized by changing the time interval between the two BLE packets. Higher interval
between two packets/beacons will consume less power. Further using the SOC (MCU + BLE
transceiver + RF front End) can further reduce the power consumption. Depending upon the
requirement transmitter power can be further changed to save more and more power. The
above parameter (transmitted power and beacon interval) are configurable and can be
configured using a mobile application or with a BLE trans-receiver having proper
authentication.
[00099] In an embodiment, the receiver 104 can have a capability to receive the BLE
packets from I-card 102. These received packets can be transferred to the server/cloud 112,
through GPRS / Wi-Fi 106, directly from receiver 104 or optionally it can be sent to the
gateway 110 through wired (RS485, LAN) or wireless (Zigbee, Lora, Sub-Giga Hz)
connections 108. These BLE receivers 104 can optionally have a display unit to display the
name of the Person/object within the any giver area. These receivers 104 can also have its
own unique ID so that sever can identify that from which receiver he has received the data.
[000100] In an embodiment, the server/cloud 112 plays an important role to actually
identify the Unique ID, Distance. Server 112 calculate the distance of i-card 102 from the
given receiver 104 using Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) level measured in
decibels (dB), check the battery status of the I-card 102.
[000101] In an embodiment, the remote server 112 stores the data in the database of a
computer 116 and provides access to users with login credentials and necessary permissions.
The server is capable of bidirectional communication and can be accessed by user through a
display device. In an aspect of the present invention a mobile or web application with
capability of accessing the remote server can act as the display device.
[000102] In an embodiment, an attendance system having a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE
version 4.2 and above) beacon based identification device operatively coupled with a BLE
beacon reader (dedicated hardware) is disclosed. The BLE beacon reader is configured to
detect presence of the identification device in vicinity based on at least one BLE packet
received from the identification device, and transmit at least one unique attribute of the
identification device with time stamp to a central computing device. The central computing
device performs computation to find presence of user associated with the identification
device based on the reception of at least one unique attribute.
21
[000103] In an embodiment, the identification device is configured in the form of an
identification card or a wearable device or a tag. The reader is a dedicated hardware (not a
smart/mobile phone) having a firmware with the mechanism in it. The reader can be placed at
a fixed location or can be portable. The central computing device is a cloud or a server.
[000104] In an embodiment, at least one unique attribute of the identification device is a
unique identification number (UID) of the user. The UID can be a MAC address, UUID or
any other unique number of the identification device.
[000105] In an embodiment, the attendance is marked when the identification device is in
the vicinity i.e., in the range of the BLE reader. The presence is determined based on virtual
coordinates of the BLE beacon reader.
[000106] In an embodiment, at least one unique attribute of the identification device is
transmitted to the central computing device directly or communicating to central node or hub
or gateway over any wired or wireless communication.
[000107] In an embodiment, an attendance system having a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
beacon reader operatively coupled with a BLE beacon identification device is disclosed. The
reader is configured to detect presence of the identification device in its vicinity based on at
least one BLE packet received from the identification device, and the reader processes the
received packets by using a mechanism and filters the desired packet and sends it to the
central computing device. The central computing device performs computation to find
presence of user associated with the identification device based on the reception of at least
one unique attribute.
[000108] In an embodiment, a mechanism that enhance the overall performance of the
system. The method performed, after the configuration, the method provides the more realtime
data by reducing the time latency between the detection of the identification device and
notifies this to central computing device/server. Moreover, the computation time of the server
is also more optimised.
[000109] In an embodiment, the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader is further
configured to identify the repetitive packet of the identification device by comparing any
BLE packet’s unique attribute. This unique attribute is stored in the reader and can be stored
either in run time on packet reception or pre-stored in the reader’s internal or external
memory.
22
[000110] In an embodiment, the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader is further
configured to transmit at least one unique attribute to server when there is change in RSSI
value or entry or exit of the identification device in the range of beacon reader.
[000111] In an embodiment, the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader further adds
identification device status (in and out), signal strength, battery status and other operational
information to the packets that are sent to the server.
[000112] In an embodiment, the central computing device is designed to receive filtered
data from multiple BLE beacon reader in bulk. Card data can contain status of Card (in / out),
Signal Strength, and other operational information.
[000113] In an embodiment, the central computing device discards data from unknown
sources and for unaccounted ID Cards, thus ensuring system integrity and security.
[000114] In an embodiment, the central computing device verifies the data packet
received by performing checksum.
[000115] In an embodiment, the central computing device updates database only with the
change in data, hence database operations are minimized.
[000116] In an embodiment, the central computing device notifies of zone changes based
on source of card data. This provides instant tracking of Asset / User.
[000117] In an embodiment, the central processing device determine and notify class
bunk and school bunk, late entry/exit, attendance and other features using SMS, email, web,
mobile application on desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
Application detecting the class bunk, school bunk, danger zone, unauthorized zone using
BLE and notify it using SMS, Email or desktop/server/mobile application.
[000118] In an embodiment, the central processing device provides active safety and
notifies danger/restricted zone entry using SMS, email, web, mobile application on
desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.
[000119] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of the system on hardware layer in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It may be appreciated that, there
can be many zones/areas/sites at a particular organization/school. Thus, the present invention
enables to monitor the presence in each and every zones/areas/sites using the BLE readers
installed at that location.
[000120] In an implementation, when the proposed system is implemented in school
premises, the attendance of a student can be obtained from many locations, such as but not
23
limited to, the entry point of the school, the play ground, the entry door of the class room, the
class room itself and/or playgrounds.
[000121] As shown in FIG. 2, the BLE readers may be installed at entry point, at entry
door of the class room and at some restricted area of the school such as chemical labs, terrace
of the school, water tanks, and the like restricted or danger zones. Accordingly, wherever the
user is nearby the readers the presence would be located and marked in the database and if
required a necessary action may be taken.
[000122] In an example, as shown in FIG. 2, the student when enters the school at step
302 from the main gate, the reader installed at the main get detects the presence of the student
304 (the details of operations performed by the reader is referred to as “A” and is explained
in FIG. 3 below) and sends the unique information of the student such as I-card ID to the
server for attendance purpose or for any further processing at step 306 (the details of
operations performed by the server is referred to as “B” and is explained in FIGs. 5-8 below).
It may happen that the student may enter the main gate but may not reach the classrooms with
intent to bunk the class, thus a reader may also be installed at the doors of the classroom or
inside the classroom. Thus, when the student enters the classroom at step 308, the reader
detects the presence at the step 310 (the details of operations performed by the reader is
referred to as “A” and is explained in FIG. 3 below) and sends the unique information of the
student such as I-card ID to the server for attendance purpose or for any further processing at
step 312 (the details of operations performed by the server is referred to as “B” and is
explained in FIGs. 5-8 below). In some scenario, it may happen that, the student may
unknowingly or knowingly enter in a restricted or danger zone so it is responsibility of the
school authorities to make sure that nothing bad happens in such scenario. Thus, the reader
may be provided at such restricted or danger zone as well. When the student enters the
restricted or danger zone at step 314, the reader detects the presence at the step 316 (the
details of operations performed by the reader is referred to as “A” and is explained in FIG. 3
below) and sends the unique information of the student such as I-card ID to the server for
attendance purpose or for any further processing at step 318 (the details of operations
performed by the server is referred to as “B” and is explained in FIGs. 5-8 below).
[000123] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations of a reader upon
detecting a presence to the identification device in its vicinity, in accordance with an
embodiment of the present. In an embodiment, the reader utilizes the special mechanism that
24
filters the BLE packets received from the identification device. The output of this filter is
transmitted to the server or computing cloud.
[000124] In an embodiment the reader reads the identification device and reads all
attributes associated with the device. Then it store the required fields, such as but not limited
to, UUID, Major/Minor number MAC address, transmit power , RSSI value/s in the internal
or external memory and maintains a table of all device. The reader can also save the
timestamp of the packet received from the identification device. Time stamp and RSSI can be
the mandatory field to be stored, whereas other fields can be optional.
[000125] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, at step 402, every time while storing
attributes associated with identification device in the memory, the reader at step 404 checks if
this device is already stored in the table, if not then at step 406 it store it in table and set a flag
to remember that this is a new entry and need to transfer over the internet to cloud (the details
of operations performed by the reader while transmitting is referred to as “C” and is
explained in FIG. 4 below).
[000126] In an embodiment, at step 404 if device is already present in table then reader
checks if there is a change in RSSI value at step 408. If there is a change in RSSI value then
reader at step 410 again update the time stamp and RSSI value of the particular entry of the
identification device and set the transmit flag. If there is no change in RSSI value, then reader
at step 412 update only the time stamp of the particular identification device.
[000127] In an embodiment, the reader also checks the time stamp entry of each device
and check if it has been expired or not at step 414. If no data received from the identification
device for a defined time, then it is considered to be out of range. This timeout can be defined
by the programmer. This time out occurs then reader again modify the transmit flag
indicating that card if out of range, and this information is transmitted over the internet to
server at step 416 (the details of operations performed by the server is referred to as “B” and
is explained in FIGs. 6-9 below).
[000128] FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations of a reader while
transmitting the captured data from the identification device to a server, in accordance with
an embodiment of the present. FIG. 4A shows how reader sends the data over the internet to
server in parallel to filtering of the data from identification device at step 502. The reader at
step 504 checks the transmit flag status and takes the decision that if there is a change in
presence of the identification device. For example, if there is change in presence, the reader at
step 506 transmits the present sequence to the server for further processing.
25
[000129] In an embodiment, readers send the information about the identification device
only on location change at step 506. In this way over all transfer data to cloud reduced. Hence
save the prepositional cost. For example, if there is no change in location 508, 510, the reader
at step 512 transmits the present sequence to the server for further processing.
[000130] FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary diagram showing a packet structure of a packet
being transmitted by the reader for the captured data from the identification device to a
server, in accordance with an embodiment of the present. It would be appreciated that, the
packet structure has been provided for reference purposes; however, the packet structure is
not limited only to this specification and can be enhanced as per requirement.
[000131] In an exemplary implementation, the header as shown in FIG. 4B can include
reader ID, version, block type, blocks, checksum, and block as mandatory fields, wherein
reader ID and block may carry unique attributes associated with the identification device. The
block may carry details like RSSI value, MAC address, transmitter power, device name,
major or minor information associated with the student. Further, the header and the details
would be configurable and re-configurable as per the requirements.
[000132] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud level application to mark attendance, notify for danger and restricted zone in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In continuation with the scenario as
discussed in FIG. 2, the student when enters the school at step 602 from the main gate, the
reader detects its presence and marks the attendance step 604. Also, when the student enters
the classroom at step 606, the reader detects its presence and marks the attendance step 608.
[000133] When the student enters the danger zone, say water tank or sewage tank zones,
at step 610, the reader detects its presence and may send the ID card information for further
processing as such situation may need extra attention and accordingly sends a notification to
the administrator 612 about the same.
[000134] When the student enters the restricted zone at step 614, the reader detects its
presence and may send the ID card information at step 616. Alternatively, it may be possible
that the students may have access to the restricted zone in special scenarios, such as if a lab
work is being conducted in school and student has to be a part of the lab work he may enter in
the lab which may have been marked as restricted zone. In such scenario, the server checks
the access rights of the user in the zone at step 616. The server check the possibility of the
student being present in restricted zone based on pre-defined conditions and based on such
conditions send a notification to the administrator at step 612.
26
[000135] In an embodiment, all the processing’s such as attendance marking at that
particular time and notification, if any, are stored in the database of the server 618.
[000136] FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud take decision to notify the class bunk in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention. It may be appreciated that, in some scenarios the student may enter in the
class, however, may decide to bunk the class while the class in progress. Thus, for such and
many other scenarios, a reader may be provide in the classroom as well which may detect the
presence of all ID’s in the class room at step 702, and share the same with the server to
determine which ID is missing from the classroom at step 704. The server may then send a
class bunk notification to the administrator at step 706. All the details of missing ID and a
notification generated at a particular interval of time, if any, are stored in the database of the
server 708.
[000137] FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud take decision to notify the school bunk in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention. In a scenario, it may be possible that a student may leave the class in
between for a while and attends some other room such as washrooms rest rooms, canteen
based on the requirements. In this case, according to the processing of FIG. 6, the student
may be considered as bunking the class, however, the present invention provides an
additional confirmation facility by providing an accurate confirmation if actually the student
is missing or not. In this case, the reader receive details of all the IDs present in a classroom
at step 802, the details are further sent across to the server for determining missing IDs form
the classroom at step 804. Once the missing details are retrieved, the server at step 806
determines presence of such missing ID in all the premises. In case, if the ID is missing in the
premises, a school bunk notification is provided to the administrator at step 806. All the
details of missing ID and a notification generated at a particular interval of time, if any, are
stored in the database of the server 808.
[000138] FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram showing operations performed by the
server/cloud take decision to find the presence of the student and notify the presence on the
display with an embodiment of the present invention. In some scenario it may happen that an
authorized person such as teachers or principal may be looking for some student. In such
case, the present invention may help the authorized persons to track the exact presence of the
student in the premise and thereby contact them easily and efficiently. In an example, when
the authorized person such as administrator is looking for a specific student having a unique
27
ID at step 902, the server may scan through all the readers at step 904 to find the presence of
user. Upon retrieving the presence information of the unique ID the administrator can
calculate the exact presence the ID from the nearest reader using RSSI signals at step 906.
Upon such calculation, the reader location along with the students’ presence may be
displayed to the administrator at step 908. All the details of ID and the associated data
generated at a particular interval of time, if any, are stored in the database of the server 910.
[000139] FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram of a Bluetooth Beacon based
attendance system that automatically monitors and records attendance, in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment, FIG. 9 is exemplary diagram
showing working the overall flow of server application:
Step 0: Attendance processor is a Micro Service that runs independently of the entire system
waiting for data.
Step 1: Processor accepts data from only valid registered readers – readers can be
Smartphones, Tablets, Readers equipped with Wireless Card Readers and not limited to,
BLE, Active RFID, Passive RFID, and WiFi. This step also validates the health of reader.
Step 2: Processor verifies the data packet received from the reader by validating Header,
Packet Length, Version and Checksum
Step 3: Packet Count is extracted from the data packet and used to determine the number of
blocks / card data received.
Step 4: Counters are initialized to process the blocks / card data received
Step 5: If counter exceeds count of blocks / card data received, then the loop is terminated
and processor waits for more data to arrive.
Step 6: Block / Card data on the position determined by counter is extracted for further
processing.
Step 7: Card Identifier (such as, but not limited to, MAC, UUID etc) is extracted from the
Block / Card Data.
Step 8: If Card Identifier is not registered in the System, the Block is discarded and event is
recorded in the System Event Log. This ensures spurious cards and packets are rejected by
the system.
Step 9: This step increment counter to process the next data packet and is executed after Step
8 and Step 12.
Step 10: Card Status data such as Available / Unavailable, Last Reader ID, Signal Strength,
Major, Minor is extracted from database to perform Delta operation
28
Step 11: Compare whether last reader id matches the data received, in case of change in
reader execute Step 13.
Step 12: Perform Delta Update of Card data on the database and change only the fields that
are updated.
Step 13: Readers may be distributed across various Zones, this step enhances Asset tracking
by instantly notifying of Zone changes to other dependent services (such as, but not limited
to, Front-end, Alert Notification, Indoor Navigation etc.)
[000140] Although the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) based smart attendance system with
active safety that automatically monitor and record attendance, it should be understood that
the same or similar methods and systems may also be used to monitor, marks and detect
presence of the user.
[000141] Apart from what is disclosed above, the present invention includes some
addition technical advantages, few of them are as mentioned below:
i. The Bluetooth Low energy (BLE) based smart attendance system with active
safety automates the attendance thus eliminates the manual punching of
attendance.
ii. The system utilizes one or more Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE enabled receivers to
detect the precise location and strength of a moving object/asset/human/animal
which is having a Bluetooth LE enabled beacons bracelet/ tag/ Bluetooth
capable mobile device as beacons.
iii. The BLE based i-card works for a long range; it is more than 20 meters.
iv. The power consumption is very less as compared to existing systems.
v. Total running cost is low. The system involves low cost as it does not require
any complex hardware and wiring for installation resulting in affordable price
to market.
vi. Gives the presence of any object/person within the premises.
vii. It can locate any person/object within the premises with high degree of
accuracy.
viii. The system improves discipline and quality of education/work in the
institute/office as it gives many notifications and alarms such as
class/school/office bunk notification.
29
ix. The system provides active safety as it improves the safety of
students/people/objects within the premises as it gives danger zone/restriction
zone entry alarm/alert.
x. The system is very easy to install and does not require the user to have any
major technical background.
xi. Attendance can be marked based on position of a person with in the premises.
E.g.:- School entry attendance, class attendance, playground attendance, office
cabin attendance, lab attendance etc.
xii. Using the system it is not mandatory to see the attendance entries/history on a
computer. An authorized user can check all the details on Mobile Application
xiii. The system does not require a person to go near the reader to mark attendance.
As soon as person enters the configured area, attendance is marked
automatically.
xiv. The Reader is using a mechanism that enhances the overall performance of the
system. This method provides the more real-time data by reducing the time
latency between the detection of the identification device and notifies this to
central computing device/server. Moreover, the computation time of the server
is also more optimised.
xv. The system avoids the possibility to forget the attendance marking as system
will automatically do it as soon as person enters in to given area with BLE Icard.
xvi. Danger zone can be defined. As soon as a person enters a danger zone a
notification is sent to administrator/ security.
xvii. Unauthorized zone can be defined. As soon as an unauthorized person enters a
given area a notification is sent to administrator/ security.
xviii. Power consumption of the system is very low as BLE beacon requires very
compact size battery for operation. I-card can run up to multiple years with an
in-built small size battery, and I-card battery life can be monitored using
mobile application or server application.
xix. The position of the person/object can be determined using reader location and
RSSI value received from I-card.
xx. Range of the reader is very high. A receiver can detect an I-card up-to 20
Meter and this range can be dynamically modified through the server.
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[000142] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled
to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to
each other contact each other)and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element
is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with”
are used synonymously. Within the context of this document terms “coupled to” and
“coupled with” are also used euphemistically to mean “communicatively coupled with” over
a network, where two or more devices are able to exchange data with each other over the
network, possibly via one or more intermediary device.
[000143] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications
besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts
herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of
the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all
terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In
particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to
elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced
elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements,
components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers
to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C … and N, the text
should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus
N, etc. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general
nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily
modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing
from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are
intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed
embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is
for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein
have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize
that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of
the appended claims.
[000144] While embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and
described, it will be clear that the disclosure is not limited to these embodiments only.
Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, and equivalents will be apparent
31
to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as
described in the claims.

We Claim:
1. An attendance system comprising:
a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon based identification device operatively
coupled with a BLE beacon reader that is configured to detect presence to the
identification device in its vicinity based on at least one BLE packet received from the
identification device, and transmit at least one unique attribute of the identification device
to a central computing device, wherein the central computing device performs
computation to find presence of user associated with the identification device based on
the received at least one unique attribute.
2. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein the identification device is configured in
the form of an identification card or a wearable device or a tag.
3. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein the reader is a dedicated hardware, having
a firmware, which can be placed at a fixed location or can be portable.
4. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein the central computing device is a cloud or
a server.
5. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein the at least one unique attribute of the
identification device is a unique identification number (UID) of the user or of the
identification device or MAC address of the identification device or any unique number of
the identification device.
6. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein an attendance is marked when the
identification device is in vicinity or range of the BLE beacon reader, and wherein the
presence is determined based on virtual coordinates of the BLE beacon reader.
7. The attendance system of claim 1, wherein the at least one unique attribute of the
identification device is transmitted to the central computing device directly or communicating
to central node or hub or gateway over any wired or wireless communication.
8. An attendance system comprising:
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a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon reader operatively coupled with a BLE beacon
identification device, wherein:
the reader is configured to detect presence to the identification device in its
vicinity based on at least one BLE packet received from the identification device, and
transmit at least one unique attribute of the identification device to a central
computing device;
the central computing device performs computation to find presence of user
associated with the identification device based on the received at least one unique
attribute; and
the reader transmits the at least one unique attribute of the identification
device to the central computing device in real-time by reducing the time latency
between the detection of the identification device and transmission to the central
computing device.
9. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the reader is further configured to identify
at least one repetitive packet of the identification device by comparing the at least one unique
attribute associated received from the identification device, wherein the unique attributes are
pre-stored in the BLE beacon reader or is stored when the unique attribute associated
received from the identification device.
10. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the reader is further configured to transmit
the at least one unique attribute to server when there is any change in status of any of the at
least one unique attribute, preferably, RSSI value.
11. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the reader is further configured to
transmit at least one unique attribute to server when there is change in RSSI value or entry or
exit of the identification device in the range of beacon reader.
12. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the reader is further configured to add an
identification device status (in and out), signal strength, a battery status and at least
operational information to the packets being sent to the server.
34
13. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to receive a filtered data from one or more reader, wherein the filtered data includes a status
of Card (in / out), Signal Strength, and other operational information.
14. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to discard data from unknown readers and for unaccounted the identification devices, thus
ensuring system integrity and security.
15. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to verify the data packet received by performing checksum.
16. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to update a database only with the change in data.
17. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to notify change in a location of the reader based on source of the identification device.
18. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device is configured
to determine and notify class bunk, school bunk, Late entry/exit, attendance and features
using SMS, email, web, mobile application on desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other
display devices.
19. The attendance system of claim 8, wherein the central computing device provides an
active safety and notify danger/restricted zone entry using SMS, email, web, mobile
application on desktop/mobile phone/tablet/TV or any other display devices.