FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The embodiments herein relates to location tracking systems and more particularly relates to a method and system for tracking, by a first electronic device, location information of a second electronic device using a third electronic device. The present application is based on, and claims priority 5 from an Indian Application Number 2639/DEL/2014 filed on 12th September, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] Location tracking systems can be divided into systems for an indoor environment and systems for an outdoor environment. Location 10 tracking in an indoor environment has various applications. For example, the location of exhibits in a museum can be detected through a navigation application. That is, a visitor can detect information on their current location and the location of exhibits using map information of the museum and personalized navigation information. As another example, a network by which 15 the locations of doctors and nurses in a hospital are shared among hospital staff to improve medical support, particularly in the event of an emergency, can be realized using location information regarding the medical staff. As yet another example, an environment in which a shopper can obtain price information, etc. at a current location in a shopping mall or a department store can be created, 20 and thus a business model such as content manufacturing can be supported.
[0003] Location tracking systems in an indoor environment include vision-based systems using a camera and sensor-based systems using an infrared sensor. However, vision-based systems are disadvantageous because they raise privacy concerns and require heavy computation. Accordingly, 25 sensor-based location tracking systems are the focus of ongoing study.
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[0004] Although these systems provide adequate outcomes in tracking the person or the device in a specific environment, these system require installation of a plurality of devices in order to work and require complicated additional hardware in the device to be tracked. Further, these systems fail to provide a user-friendly and quick mechanism to access the 5 location information of another device and constantly track the location of another device. For example, a tracking system implemented using GPS suffers from line-of-site issues in that it cannot penetrate through objects (e.g., buildings) to track the tagged objects. As a result, the GPS is ill-suited for many applications, such as those requiring tracking of objects below 10 ground. As another example, a tracking system implemented using Bluetooth suffers from drawbacks. For example, Bluetooth is very limited in the number of end nodes that can be attached to a host. It is not uncommon for a Bluetooth network to be limited to 1 to 7 devices. As a result, Bluetooth is ill-suited for many applications, such as those requiring increased scalability of the network 15 size.
[0005] Conventionally, the tracking systems generate plurality of signals that can be detected by the tracker unit in order to indicate the presence of the devices to be tracked. Frequently, users of known tracking systems meet the difficulty of having to use a specially designed device to perform the 20 specific tracking functions. The need to count with these specific tracking devices discourages many users.
[0006] The above information is presented as background information only to help the reader to understand the present invention. Applicants have made no determination and make no assertion as to whether any of the above 25 might be applicable as Prior Art with regard to the present application.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
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[0007] The principal objective of the embodiments herein is to provide a method and system for tracking location, by a first device, location information of a second device using a third device.
[0008] Another object of the embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism for broadcasting, by a first device, a hotspot signal; where the 5 hotspot signal indicates proximity of the first device to a second device.
[0009] Another object of the embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism for receiving, by the first device, a location information of the second device from a third device using a first wireless mode, where the first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to the first wireless mode, to 10 request the location information of the second device to the third device.
[0010] Another objective of the embodiments herein is to provide a mechanism for switching from hotspot mode to a Wi-Fi mode and vice versa for determining a location information of a user in a particular region and periodically send an enquiry to a third device for current status of a second 15 device.
SUMMARY
[0011] Various embodiments herein provide a method and system for tracking location. The method includes broadcasting, by a first device, a hotspot signal, where the hotspot signal indicates proximity of the first device 20 to a second device. Further, the method comprises receiving, by the first device, a location information of the second device from a third device using a first wireless mode. The first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to the first wireless mode, to request the location of the second device to the third device. 25
[0012] Embodiments herein also provide a system for tracking location. The system comprising a first device configured to broadcast a
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hotspot signal, where the hotspot signal indicates proximity of the first device to the second device. Further, the first device is configured to receive a location information of the second device from a third device using a first wireless mode. The first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to the first wireless mode to request the location of the second device to the third 5 device. Further, the system comprises the second device configured to establish a wireless connection using second wireless mode with the third device to identify the hotspot signal corresponding to the first device. Furthermore, the second device is configured to determine whether a signal strength of the hotspot mode received from the first device is greater than a 10 predefined threshold value, where the signal strength indicates the proximity of the first device with respect to the second device. Additionally, the second device is configured to notify the third device when the signal strength of the hotspot mode is greater than a predefined threshold value. Further, the system comprises the third device configured to update the location information of the 15 second device based on a notification received from the second device when the second device is in proximity with the first device. Moreover, the third device is configured to send the location information to the first device using the first wireless mode in response to receiving a request from the first device.
[0013] Embodiments herein also provide an apparatus for tracking 20 location. The apparatus comprises a control unit configured to broadcast a hotspot signal, where the hotspot signal indicates proximity of the apparatus to a first device. Further, the control unit is configured to receive a location information of the first device from a second device using a first wireless mode. The apparatus dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to the first 25 wireless mode to request the location of the first device to the second device.
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[0014] The foregoing has outlined, in general, the various aspects of the invention and is to serve as an aid to better understanding the more complete detailed description which is to follow. In reference to such, there is to be a clear understanding that the present invention is not limited to the method or application of use described and illustrated herein. It is intended that 5 any other advantages and objects of the present invention that become apparent or obvious from the detailed description or illustrations contained herein are within the scope of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0015] The other objects, features and advantages will occur to those 10 skilled in the art from the following description of the preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:
[0016] FIG.1aillustrates a block diagram of a location tracking system, according to embodiments as described herein;
[0017] FIG. 1b illustrates an example implementation of a location 15 tracking system 100, according to embodiments as described herein;
[0018] FIG.2Aillustrates a block diagram of a first device, such as those shown in FIG. 1, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein;
[0019] FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of a second device, such as 20 those shown in FIG. 1, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein;
[0020] FIG. 2C illustrates a block diagram of a third device, such as those shown in FIG. 1, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein; 25
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[0021] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating various operations performed among the first device, second device and the third device to track the location, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein;
[0022] FIG. 4is a flowchart illustrating a method for tracking location, according to embodiments as described herein; 5
[0023] FIG.5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for tracking location in a hospital environment, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein;
[0024] FIG.6is a schematic representation of a process of tracking location, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein; 10
[0025] FIG. 7A is a schematic representation of a process of tracking location of a second device when the second device comes in proximity of the first device, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein;
[0026] FIG. 7B is a schematic representation of a process of tracking location of a second device when the second device goes out of proximity from 15 the first device, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein;
[0027] FIG.8is a schematic representation of a process of switching by the first device from a first wireless mode to a hotspot mode and vice versa, according to embodiments as described herein;
[0028] FIG.9 is a schematic representation of a process of tracking 20 location of a second device during an emergency situation, according to embodiments as described herein;
[0029] FIG. 10 illustrates example operations performed by the system implementing subscriber-publisher pattern when a call from the first device 102 (for example, patient device) to the second device 104 (for 25 example, nurse device);
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[0030] FIG. 11 illustrates example operations performed by the system implementing subscriber-publisher pattern to provide notifications from the second device 104 (for example, nurse device) to the first device 102 (for example, patient device); and
[0031] FIG. 12 is block diagram of a computing environment 5 implementing the method for tracking location, according to embodiments as described herein.
[0032] Although specific features of the present invention are shown in some drawings and not in others, this is done for convenience only as each feature may be combined with any or all of the other features in accordance 10 with the present invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known 5 components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. Also, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The term “or” as used herein, refers to a non-exclusive or, unless otherwise 10 indicated. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein can be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. 15
[0034] The embodiments herein achieve a method and system for tracking location. The embodiments herein provide a location tracking mechanism of a person within a particular region using smart phones. According to an embodiment, the method includes broadcasting, by a first device, a hotspot signal, wherein the hotspot signal indicates proximity of the 20 first device to a second device; and receiving, by the first device, a location information of the second device from a third device using a first wireless mode, wherein the first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to the first wireless mode, to request the location information of the second device to the third device. 25
[0035] Embodiments of the proposed invention provides an auto nurse detection method providing location information when the nurse enters or exits
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the patient room. Unlike conventional systems, the embodiments herein provides a method where the first device switches from a Wi-Fi mode (to know the current status of the second device, e.g., a nurse device) to a mobile hotspot mode (so that the second device that is scanning the hotspot signal strength can detect whether the second device is near to the first device based 5 on the hotspot signal strength).
[0036] Unlike conventional systems, the location and total time spent by a person in any room (or place) of the particular region can be tracked accurately. The embodiments herein allow any device to detect any other device’s presence based on Wi-Fi signal strength of the other device. For 10 example, patients can detect the presence of nurses based on the Wi-Fi signal strength of a patient device. Further, the embodiments herein allow any device to trigger specific action when the device detects someone's presence on the basis of a new Wi-Fi detected near to the device. The specific actions may include, but not limited to, notifying a server about the presence of the other 15 device or triggering an alarm to notify a plurality of other devices about someone's presence near this device. Furthermore, the embodiments herein allow any device to ping the server and request for location information by switching from the hotspot mode to the Wi-Fi mode and ping the server on a local area network (LAN). For example, the patient device can ping the server 20 to check whether he is being served by the nurse.
[0037] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 12, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown preferred embodiments.
[0038] FIG. 1a illustrates a block diagram of a location tracking 25 system 100, according to embodiments as described herein. As shown in the FIG.1, the location tracking system 100 comprises a first device 102, a second
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device 104, and a third device 106. The first device 102 and the second device 104 are connected to the third device 106 via a wireless network 108. The first device 102 and the second device 104 described herein can be, for example,a smart phone, tablet computer, Phablet or the like. The first device 102 includes a hotspot capability. Further, the first device 102 and the second device 104 5 supports Wi-Fi connectivity. The third device 106 may be a centralized server, computers, or the like. The third device 106 acts as a mediator for processing and handling communications with each of the first device 102 and the second device 104. The third device 106 receives periodic updates from the second device 104 indicating current location of the second device 104. The third 10 device 106 further updates the received location information of the second device 104 in a database. Further, the third device 106 forwards the received location information of the second device 104 to the first device 102 using a first wireless mode whenever the first device 102 enquires the same with the third device 106.In an embodiment, the second device 104 acts as the third 15 device106 by directly broadcasting the location information of the second device 104 with a plurality of second devices 104 in the location tracking system 100.
[0039] Unlike the conventional systems, the first device 102 dynamically switches from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot modeand vice versa 20 for the predetermined time interval to track the location of the second device 104. Also, the embodiments herein allow the first device 102 to periodically check for current status of the second device 104 with the third device 106 and periodically receive the update on the current status of the second device 104 from the third device 106. Further, the embodiments herein allow the second 25 device 104 to detect the presence of the first device 102 based on the signal strength of the first device’s hotspot.
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[0040] According to an embodiment, the first device 102 such as those, but not limited to, a tablet, a smart phone are fixed at each location which is to be tracked. Further, each person whose location is to be tracked require to carry the second device 104 along with them. The third device 106, such as those, but not limited to, a centralized server, is used for cloud 5 messaging and tracking data. In an embodiment, the first device 102 at every location (target location), the person who carries the second device 104 which needs to be tracked and the third device 106 are to be connected onto a same network. For example, in a hospital, the first device 102 corresponding to a patient device placed at every patient’s room, the second device 104 10 corresponding to a nurse device that is carried with each nurse and the third device 106 corresponding to the centralized server are connected to a same network such as those, but not limited to, an internet, an intranet or the LAN. The centralized server is connected to the other devices in the tracking system using a wired or a wireless connection. The other devices in the location 15 tracking system are required to be connected to the network using a wireless connection. Further, the first device 102 placed at each location that is to be tracked has tethering capability. That is, the first device 102 placed at each location support Wi-Fi hotspot feature.
[0041] FIG. 1b illustrates an example implementation of a location 20 tracking system 100, according to embodiments as described herein. In an embodiment, the system 100 can implement Publisher-Subscriber Pattern or model in which subscribers typically receive only a subset of the total messages published by a publisher. The process of selecting messages for reception and processing can be based on a topic. In such implementation, the 25 third device 103 can be an application server acting as a publisher for all the messages it received from the subscribers through Hyper Text Transfer
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Protocol (HTTP) request. The second device 102 (such as patient device) or the second device 104(such as nurse device, head nurse device, or the like) may act as subscribers of the system. The messages to the subscriber from the publisher is shared based on a particular topic.
[0042] In an embodiment, the messages are published to "topics" or 5 named logical channels. The subscribers in a topic-based system can receive all messages published to the topics to which they subscribe, and all subscribers to a topic can receive the same messages. The publisher is responsible for defining the classes of messages to which subscribers can subscribe. For example, each nurse is associated with a particular topic and is 10 subscribed with the publisher to receive messages corresponding to the topic. After receiving the message, the application server can publish the messages with a particular topic to a message broker. The message broker described herein can be configured to include information about all the subscribers subscribe to a particular topic. The message broker can find the subscribers 15 subscribed to that particular topic and send the message to all the subscribers.
[0043] After receiving message from a client, Application server will publish it with a particular TOPIC (to which the message will finally be sent) to the broker.
[0044] The FIGS. 1a and 1b illustrates a limited overview of the 20 system100 but, it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereto. The system 100 can include components interacting locally or remotely along with other hardware or software components to track, by the first device, the location information of the second device using the third device. For example, the component can be, but is not limited to, a process 25 running in the controller or processor, an object, an executable process, a thread of execution, a program, or a computer.
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[0045] FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of a first device 102, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein. As shown in the FIG. 2, the first device102comprises a control unit 202a, a Wi-Fi module 204a, a hotspot module 206a, a storage unit 208a, a communication interface 210a, and a display unit 212a. 5
[0046] In an embodiment, the term “device” and “apparatus” are used interchangeably.
[0047] The control unit 202a is configured for broadcasting the hotspot signal, where the hotspot signal indicates proximity of the first device 102 to the second device 104. Further, the control unit 202a is configured for 10 receiving the location information of the second device 104 from the third device 106 using the first wireless mode, where the first device 102 dynamically switches from the hotspot mode to the first wireless mode to request the location information of the second device 104 to the third device 106.The location information indicates one of in-proximity, out-of-proximity, 15 busy, and available. Further, the control unit 202a is configured for switching from the hotspot mode to the first wireless mode after a time interval. The time interval may be predefined by a user or the location tracking system 100. Furthermore, the control unit 202a is configured for sending the hotspot signal to the second device 104 after switching from the first wireless mode to the 20 hotspot mode after a time interval. The time interval may be predefined by a user or the location tracking system 100. The control unit 202a is further configured for sending a request to acquire the location of the second device 104 to the third device 106 using the first wireless mode, where the third device 106 periodically receives the location information of the second device 25 104 from the second device 104 using the second wireless mode. Furthermore,
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the control unit 202a is configured for receiving the location information of the second device 104 from the third device 106 using the first wireless mode.
[0048] The Wi-Fi module 204a is configured for receiving and transmitting a wireless signal to the control unit 202a. The Wi-Fi module 204a may include a variety of components used for Wi-Fi wireless 5 communication. For example, the Wi-Fi module 204a may include an antenna unit, a radio frequency (RF) transmitting unit for performing rising conversion and amplification of the frequency of transmitted signals, an RF receiving unit which amplifies received signals with low noise and performs descending conversion of the frequency of the signals, a modulating/demodulating unit for 10 the RF signals, a signal process unit, and so on.
[0049] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi module 204a may perform communication with the network by connecting to an access point or, alternatively, with other external device(s) which can perform Wi-Fi P2P communication according to the WFA Wi-15 Fi communication standard.
[0050] The hotspot module 206a is configured for enabling the first device102to behave as a Wi-Fi source for other devices in the network. Further, the hotspot module 206a may be configured to recognize a plurality of events and subsequently, instruct the control unit 202a to execute policies in 20 response to recognizing any events. In an embodiment, the hotspot module 206a may be used to allow the Wi-Fi hotspot to determine and set permission levels for all devices, including administrative devices and target devices. Further, the hotspot module 206a may be configured to perform portable WLAN hotspot parameter configuration. 25
[0051] The storage unit 208a may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The storage device 208a may include non-volatile
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storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the storage device 208a may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The 5 term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted to mean that the storage device 208a is non-movable. In some examples, the storage device may 208a be configured to store larger amounts of information than the memory. In certain examples, a non-transitory 10 storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).
[0052] The communication interface 210a is configured for communicating with external devices via one or more networks, such as one or more wireless networks. 15
[0053] The display unit 212a is configured for displaying a set of dialog boxes on a display screen of the first device 102based on the status of the session established between the first device 102 and the third device 106. For example, the display unit 212a is configured for displaying the dialog box indicating “message received by a nurse” when a nurse (acting as the second 20 device 104) has accepted the incoming wireless call from a centralized server (acting as the third device 106).
[0054] The FIG. 2A illustrates a limited overview of the first device102 but, it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereto. The labels provided to each module or component is only for 25 illustrative purpose and does not limit the scope of the invention. Further, the one or more modules can be combined or separated to perform the similar or
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substantially similar functionalities without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the various modules can interact locally or remotely along with other hardware or software components to track, by the first device 102, the location information of the second device 104 using the third device 106. 5
[0055] FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of the second device 104, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein. As shown in the FIG. 2B, the second device104 comprises a control unit 202b, a Wi-Fi module 204b, a storage unit 206b, a communication interface 208b, and a display unit 210b. 10
[0056] The control unit 202b is configured for determining whether signal strength of the hotspot received from the first device 102 is greater than a predefined threshold value, where the signal strength indicates the proximity of the first device 102 with respect to the second device 104. Further, the control unit 202b is configured for notifying the third device 106 when the 15 signal strength of the hotspot associated with the first device 102 is greater than the predefined threshold value. In an embodiment, the control unit 202b is configured for raising an emergency to the third device 106 based on the priority of the first device 102 when the second device 104 identifies the emergency for the first device 102. Furthermore, the control unit 202b is 20 configured for broadcasting the emergency to the plurality of second devices 104 using the second wireless mode.
[0057] The Wi-Fi module 204b is configured for receiving and transmitting a wireless signal to the control unit 202b. The Wi-Fi module 204b may include a variety of components used for Wi-Fi wireless 25 communication. For example, the Wi-Fi module 204b may include an antenna unit, a radio frequency (RF) transmitting unit for performing rising conversion
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and amplification of the frequency of transmitted signals, an RF receiving unit which amplifies received signals with low noise and performs descending conversion of the frequency of the signals, a modulating/demodulating unit for the RF signals, a signal process unit, and so on.
[0058] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-5 Fi module 204b may perform communication with the network by connecting to an access point or, alternatively, with other external device(s) which can perform Wi-Fi P2P communication according to the WFA Wi-Fi communication standard.
[0059] The storage unit 206b may include one or more computer-10 readable storage media. The storage device 206b may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the storage device 206b 15 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted to mean that the storage device 206b is non-movable. In some examples, the storage device may 206b be configured to store larger 20 amounts of information than the memory. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).
[0060] The communication interface 208b is configured for communicating with external devices via one or more networks, such as one or 25 more wireless networks.
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[0061] The display unit 210b is configured for displaying a set of dialog boxes on a display screen of the second device 104 based on the status of the session established between the second device 104 and the third device 106. For example, the display unit 210b is configured for displaying the dialog box indicating “currently attending a patient” when a nurse (acting as the 5 second device 104) has accepted the incoming wireless call from a centralized server (acting as the third device 106.The display unit 210b may also display a plurality of dialog boxes such as, but not limited to call count, calling, accepted, forwarding and attending.
[0062] The FIG. 2B illustrates a limited overview of the second 10 device104 but, it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereto. The labels provided to each module or component is only for illustrative purpose and does not limit the scope of the invention. Further, the one or more modules can be combined or separated to perform the similar or substantially similar functionalities without departing from the scope of the 15 invention. Furthermore, the various modules can interact locally or remotely along with other hardware or software components to update, by the second device 104, the location information of the second device 104 using the third device 106.
[0063] FIG. 2C illustrates a block diagram of the third device 106, 20 such as those shown in the FIG. 1, showing various components for implementing embodiments as described herein. As shown in the FIG. 2C, the third device106 comprises a control unit 202c, a Wi-Fi module 204c, a storage unit 206c, a communication interface 208c, and a display unit 210c. The storage unit 206c further comprises a database 212c configured for storing 25 location information of the plurality of second devices 104. The control unit 202c is configured for establishing a connection with each of the first device
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102 and the second device 104 using the first wireless mode and the second wireless mode. Also, the control unit 202c is configured for receiving a periodic request from the first device 102 enquiring current status of the second device 104.Further, the control unit 202c is configure for receiving location information of the second device 104 from the second device 104. 5 Further, the control unit 202c is configured for updating the received location information of the second device 104 in the database 212c when the second device 104 is in proximity with the first device 102. Further, the control unit 202c is configured for sending the location information to the first device 102 using the first wireless mode in response to receiving a request from said first 10 device. In an embodiment, the control unit 202c is further configured for broadcasting emergency requests to the plurality of second devices 104 when the second device 104 raises an emergency.
[0064] The Wi-Fi module 204c is configured for receiving and transmitting a wireless signal to the control unit 202c. The Wi-15 Fi module 204c may include a variety of components used for Wi-Fi wireless communication. For example, the Wi-Fi module 204c may include an antenna unit, a radio frequency (RF) transmitting unit for performing rising conversion and amplification of the frequency of transmitted signals, an RF receiving unit which amplifies received signals with low noise and performs descending 20 conversion of the frequency of the signals, a modulating/demodulating unit for the RF signals, a signal process unit, and so on.
[0065] In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, the Wi-Fi module 204c may perform communication with the network by connecting to an access point or, alternatively, with other external device(s) which can 25 perform Wi-Fi P2P communication according to the WFA Wi-Fi communication standard.
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[0066] The storage unit 206c may include one or more computer-readable storage media. The storage device 206c may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and 5 programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the storage device 206c may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted to mean that the storage device 206c is non-movable. 10 In some examples, the storage device may 206c be configured to store larger amounts of information than the memory. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).
[0067] The communication interface 208c is configured for 15 communicating with external devices via one or more networks, such as one or more wireless networks.
[0068] The display unit 210c is configured for displaying a set of dialog boxes on a display screen of the third device 106 based on the status of the session established between the first device 102 and the third device 106 20 and the second device 104 and the third device 106. For example, the display unit 210c is configured for displaying the dialog box indicating “allotted nurse”, “nurse availability” and other status known in the art when a nurse (acting as the second device 104) has accepted the incoming wireless call from the centralized server (acting as the third device 106). The current status of the 25 nurse device may include one or more of bed allocation to patient (whether bed
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free/allocated), current nurse call status of beds, image of nurse who is supposed to attend the call, number of calls served for that bed and so on.
[0069] The FIG. 2C illustrates a limited overview of the third device106 but, it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereto. The labels provided to each module or component is only for 5 illustrative purpose and does not limit the scope of the invention. Further, the one or more modules can be combined or separated to perform the similar or substantially similar functionalities without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the various modules can interact locally or remotely along with other hardware or software components to track, by the third device 10 106, the location information of the second device 104.
[0070] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating various operations 300 performed among the first device 102, the second device 104, and the third device 106 to track the location, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein. At step 302, the first device 102 can be configured to send a 15 request to acquire the location of the second device 104 using a first wireless mode to the third device 106. In an embodiment, the first wireless mode can be a Wi-Fi mode. At step 304, the third device 106 can be configured to identify the request and to initiate an incoming wireless call with the second device 104 indicating the request received from the first device 102. At step 306, the third 20 device 106 receives an acknowledgement from the second device 104 indicating that the second device 104 has accepted the incoming wireless call. At step 308, the third device 106 can be configured to send an acknowledgement message to the first device 102 indicating that the second device 104 is now aware of the request upon initiating the incoming wireless 25 call with the second device 104. Subsequently, at step 310, the first device 102 can be configured to dynamically switch from the first wireless mode to the
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hotspot mode. During this process, the firs device calculates the time interval to stay in the hotspot mode for sufficient duration so that the second device 104 takes enough samples of signal strength. In an embodiment, the first device 102can be configured to remain in the hotspot mode for a predetermined time interval. The time interval may be predefined by a user or 5 the location tracking system 100. At step 312, the first device 102 can be configured to constantly broadcast the hotspot signal to the plurality of secondary devices 104 in the location tracking system during the hotspot mode. At step 314, the first device 102 can be configured to switch back to the Wi-Fi mode to connect with the third device 106 upon expiry of the 10 predetermined time interval. The time interval may be predefined by a user or the location tracking system 100. Before switching to the Wi-Fi mode, the first device 104 calculates the time required to switch to Wi-Fi mode. The sample collection time by the second device 104 should be greater than the duration of the Wi-Fi mode. 15
[0071] At step 316, the first device 102, in the Wi-Fi mode, can be configured to send an enquiry to the third device 106 asking if the location information of the second device 104 is received. At step 318, the third device 106 can be configured to send the location information of the second device 104 as indicating “out of proximity” to the first device 102. The third device 20 106 can be configured to send the location information of the second device 104 to the first device 102 upon receiving the enquiry from the first device 102. The location information can include the status of the second device 104 such as, but not limited to, in-proximity, out of proximity, busy, and available. The third device 106 can be configured to send the location information 25 containing status of the second device 104 as out of proximity to the first device 102 until the third device 106 receives an update for the location of the
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second device 104 from the second device 104. In an embodiment, if the second device 104 provides the update to the third device 106 indicating that the second device 104 is currently busy, then the third device 106 can be configured to update the database 212c accordingly and to send the location information of the second device 104 as indicating “busy” status of the second 5 device 104 to the first device 102. In an alternate embodiment, if the second device 104 sends the update to the third device 106 as its status indicating available, then the third device 106 can be configured to send the location information of the second device 104 as indicating “available” but not in proximity to the first device 102. 10
[0072] At step 320, the second device 104 can be configured to detect the hotspot signal broadcasted by the first device 102 based on the signal strength. For example, the second device 104 is constantly in the Wi-Fi mode, detecting available Wi-Fi sources. During this process, when the first device 102 broadcasts the hotspot signal, where the first device 102 is acting as a Wi-15 Fi source, the second device 104can be configured to detect this Wi-Fi hotspot signal of the first device 102 and to start measuring the signal strength of this hotspot signal. When the second device 104 ensures signal strength of the hotspot signal above a threshold being received from the first device 102, then at step 322, the second device 104can be configured to notify the location 20 information of the second device 104 to the third device 106 indicating that the second device 104 is in-proximity to the first device 102 using the second wireless mode. In an embodiment, the second wireless mode may include the Wi-Fi mode. The second wireless mode corresponds to the connection between the second device 104 and the third device 106. At step 324, the third device 25 106 can be configured to receive the notification from the second device 104 and to update the database 212c with the location information of the second
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device 104. At step 326, the third device 106 can be configured to send the updated location information of the second device 104 to the first device 102 using the first wireless mode.
[0073] The embodiments herein describe a method of switching, by the first device 102, from the hotspot mode to the Wi-Fi mode and ping the 5 third device 106 (for example, by an HTTP request) for the current status of the second device 104. Further, the first device 102 again switches to the hotspot mode so that second device 104 which is scanning for the hotspot signal strength can detect the strength and can trigger a particular action accordingly with respect to the range. This switching from the Wi-Fi mode to 10 the hotspot mode occurs after every n seconds.
[0074] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for tracking location, according to embodiments as described herein. At step 402, the method 400 includes sending a request to acquire location of the second device 104 to the third device 106 using the first wireless mode by the first device 15 102. At step 404, the method 400 includes dynamically switching from the first wireless mode to the hotspot mode for the predetermined time interval by the first device 102. At step 406, the method 400 includes broadcasting the hotspot signal from the first device 102 for the predetermined time interval during the hotspot mode. After the expiry of the predetermined time interval, the 20 method400 includes dynamically switching back to the first wireless mode from the hotspot mode by the first device 102 and remaining in the hotspot mode for the time interval. In an embodiment, the first wireless mode corresponds to the Wi-Fi mode. At step 410, the method400 includes checking if the location information of the second device 104 is received from the third 25 device 106 when the first device 102 remains in the Wi-Fi mode. If the location information of the second device 104 is received from the third device
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106, then at step 412, the method 400includes receiving the location information of the second device 104 from the third device 106 using the first wireless mode. At step 414, the method 400includes terminating the switching cycle from the first wireless mode to the hotspot mode and vice versa at the first device 102 and switching on only the first wireless mode at the first 5 device 102.
[0075] On the other hand, if the location information of the second device 104 is not received from the third device 106, then at step 416, the method 400includes sending a request to update the location information of the second device 104 to the third device 106 by the first device 102 and the 10 process is then transferred back to step 404.
[0076] The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like in the method 400 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, or the like 15 without departing from the scope of the invention. The various steps of the method 400 are summarized into individual block where some of the steps are performed by first device 102 or the third device 106. The method 400 and other description provide a basis of a control program which can be implemented using microcontroller, microprocessor, or equivalent thereof. 20
[0077] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 for tracking location in a hospital environment, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, consider the location tracking system 100 is implemented in a hospital. In this scenario, let the first device 102 corresponds to the patient device, the second device 104 corresponds to 25 the nurse device and the third device 106 corresponds to the centralized server. In an embodiment, patient devices may correspond to a tablet and nurse
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devices may correspond to a smart phone or a tablet or the like. In an embodiment, the patient devices are placed at each patient room, and the nurse devices are carried with every nurse in the hospital. Hence, the patient devices are stationary and the nurse devices move through the hospital. The centralized server may be fixed at one location inside the hospital, such as basement or at 5 any floor. The centralized server may be monitored by an authority of the hospital such as head nurse or administrative people in the hospital. Further, the nurse device, the patient device and the centralized server are connected to a same network such as those, but not limited to, the internet, the intranet or the LAN. The patient device has a dual mode in the location tracking system 10 100. The patient device communicates with the centralized server using the wireless connection, for example, the Wi-Fi, when the patient device is in the Wi-Fi mode. Further, the patient device broadcasts the hotspot signal in the location tracking system 100 to a plurality of devices in order to indicate its presence to other devices in the location tracking system 100. The hotspot 15 signal is broadcasted by the patient device when the patient device is in the hotspot mode. It is to be understood that the patient device has the capability of both Wi-Fi and the tethering. With these considerations, at step 502, the method 500 includes initiating a wireless call by the patient device for tracking the nurse device to the centralized server. The patient device communicates 20 with the centralized server and then the centralized server forwards the communication to the nurse device. When the patient device seeks attention, the patient device initiates a request through the wireless call with the centralized server using the Wi-Fi connection. Here, the patient device is in the Wi-Fi mode as it is connected to the Wi-Fi connection. When the centralized 25 server receives this request from the patient device, the centralized server forwards the request to the nurse device through the wireless call indicating
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which patient is seeking attention. At step 504, the method 500 includes identifying the incoming wireless call from the centralized server by the nurse device and accepting the incoming wireless call indicating that the nurse shall attend the patient in some time. Meanwhile, at step 506, the method 500 includes switching off the Wi-Fi connection and turning on the hotspot by the 5 patient device. The patient device keeps switching from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot mode until the patient is attended by the nurse. Each time the patient device is switched from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot mode and vice versa, it remains in that mode for the predetermined time interval. This time interval is user configurable or may be configured by the patient device. 10
[0078] At step 508, after the expiry of the time interval, say m seconds, the method 500 includes switching off the hotspot mode and turning on the Wi-Fi mode by the patient device. The patient device remains in the Wi-Fi mode for say, n seconds. During the Wi-Fi mode, at step 510, the centralized server is pinged by the patient device in order to check whether the 15 nurse has attended the patient. If the centralized server updates the patient device indicating that the nurse has served the patient, then at step 512, the method 500 includes terminating the Wi-Fi to the hotspot switching cycle and switching on only the Wi-Fi by the patient device.
[0079] On the other hand, if the centralized server updates the patient 20 device indicating that the nurse has not yet served the patient, then the method 500 includes repeating the steps 506 to 510.
[0080] In an embodiment, when the nurse leaves patient’s room temporarily (for fetching medicines, cotton, syringe, or the like.) and if the nurse enters in proximity of same MAC ID in predefined time limit, then a call 25 from the patient’s device is automatically invoked to the nurse. Further, the
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call is automatically accepted on the nurse device, such as to maintain continuity of attending the patient.
[0081] In an embodiment, the patient can send feedback to the server about ratings of hospital, nurse feedback, or the like.
[0082] The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like in the 5 method 500 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the invention. The method 500 and other description provide a basis of a control program which can be implemented 10 using microcontroller, microprocessor, or equivalent thereof.
[0083] Although the above embodiments are described with respect to a hospital scenario, it is to be understood by a person skilled in the art that other embodiments are not limited thereto.
[0084] The proposed system and method can be used to track the 15 location of an electronic device in any other field. For example, a passenger in a train can be tracked by a ticket checker. Here, the first device 102 corresponds to a specific device in each coach of the train, the second device 104 may corresponds to a device with each of the passengers and the third device may correspond to a device with the ticket checker. The passengers 20 enter the coach of the train equipped with the Wi-Fi and a device emitting hotspot signals placed in each coach. The mobile associated with the passengers (acting as the second device 104) starts scanning the signal strength of the hotspot signal corresponding to the MAC address it got at the time of ticket registration. As soon as the mobile associated with the passengers find 25 itself that it is near to a particular range of the device emitting hotspot signals, it sends the notification to the ticket examiner that he has come to his seat.
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After getting the notification, the ticket examiner understands that the passenger has arrived and hence he need not visit that passenger to check his ticket.
[0085] In an alternate embodiment, a student can be tracked for attendance in educational organizations, and a passenger can tracked in airports 5 using the above embodiments.
[0086] FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a process 600 of tracking location, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, consider the location tracking system 100 is implemented in the hospital. In this scenario, let the first device 102 10 corresponds to the patient device, the second device 104 corresponds to the nurse device and the third device 106 corresponds to the centralized server. At step 602, the patient device sends the request to the centralized server using the first wireless mode seeking attention from the nurse. The centralized server then initiates the wireless call to the nurse device using the second wireless 15 mode in order to indicate the nurse device that the patient is seeking her attention. Meanwhile, the patient device keeps switching from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot mode until the patient device receives an intimation from the centralized server that the nurse has attended the patient. In the Wi-Fi mode, the patient device constantly enquires the centralized server to update on the 20 location information of the nurse device. The centralized server sends an acknowledgement message in response to each enquiry indicating that the nurse device is still out of proximity as the centralized server has not received any update from the nurse device. Upon expiry of the time interval, the patient device switches to the hotspot mode in which the patient device broadcasts the 25 hotspot signal in order to indicate its presence to other devices for the predetermined interval. Upon expiry of this predetermined time interval, the
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patient device again switches back to the Wi-Fi mode in order to further enquire the centralized server about the update on the location information of the nurse device. This process keeps on going until the centralized server indicates the patient device that the nurse has served the patient.
[0087] Further, when the nurse device receives the wireless call, the 5 display screen of the nurse device indicates the incoming wireless call from the patient along with a specific Identification (ID) associated with the patient. The display screen of the nurse device provides two options to the nurse when the wireless call is received, namely, accept and forward. Consider that the nurse accepts the incoming call from the centralized server then, at step 604, the 10 centralized server notifies the same to the patient device. The display screen of the patient device now indicates the patient that the message is received by the nurse.
[0088] At step 606, the display screen of the nurse device changes from patient calling to patient waiting along with the time. For example, if it 15 has been 30 seconds since when the nurse has accepted the wireless incoming call from the centralized server, then the display screen of the nurse device indicates that the patient has been waiting since 30 seconds.
[0089] At step 608, the nurse device keeps monitoring the hotspot signal broadcasted by the patient device and measures the hotspot signal 20 strength. As soon as the nurse device measure the hotspot signal strength to be greater than a predefined threshold (for example, -48), the nurse device considers itself to be near to patient’s room (for example, within 3 meters). When the nurse device detects that the nurse is in proximity to the patient, then the nurse device sends this status to the centralized server over the Wi-Fi 25 network. Here, the nurse device is not connected to the patient device’s hotspot, but only measure the hotspot signal strength. Once, the nurse device
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indicates the centralized server that the nurse is in proximity to the patient, then the display screen of the nurse device changes to currently attending the patient. Further, the centralized server forwards the location information of the nurse device using the first wireless mode, indicating that the nurse is near to the patient device. 5
[0090] At step 610, the notifying dialog on patient side is closed automatically when the patient device receives the location information of the nurse device indicating that the nurse is near to the patient. However, the patient device continues to switch from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot mode and vice versa until the patient device receives an update from the centralized 10 server indicating that the nurse has served the patient and left the room.
[0091] At step 612, the nurse attends the patient and leaves the room. Meanwhile, the nurse device automatically detects a weak signal strength of the hotspot signal when the nurse leaves the patient room after serving. Then, the nurse device notifies the centralized server that it has served the patient 15 using the second wireless mode. The display screen of the nurse device closes the dialog box corresponding to the session with the centralized server for the patient and then displays a screen indicating that the nurse has currently attended one patient. Now, when the patient device enquires the centralized server to provide the location information of the nurse device using the first 20 wireless mode, the centralized server forwards the updated location information of the nurse device currently received from the nurse device to the patient device, indicating the patient that the nurse has served the patient and left the room. Upon receiving this location information of the nurse device, patient device stops the Wi-Fi hotspot cycle and switches on the Wi-Fi. 25
[0092] The embodiment described herein allow for a “CURRENT” nurse to forward the call, for example, to a warden, in which case, the warden
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can assign it to free nurse or cater to the call in person. Once the wireless call is forwarded by “CURRENT” nurse to the warden, on call status page of the centralized server, nurse details (such as name or image) is automatically replaced by the warden’s details. Also, the wireless call status is updated from “calling” to “forwarding”. 5
[0093] The embodiment described herein allow the “CURRENT” nurse to forward the wireless call to the warden even after accepting the wireless call. In such a case, the wireless call status is updated from “accepted” to “forwarding.
[0094] FIG. 7A is a schematic representation of a process 700a of 10 tracking the location of the second device 104 when the second device 104 comes in proximity of the first device 102, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, consider the location tracking system 100 is implemented in the hospital. In this scenario, let the first device 102 corresponds to the patient device, the second device 104 15 corresponds to the nurse device and the third device 106 corresponds to the centralized server. Consider a scenario where the nurse device has accepted the incoming wireless call from the centralized server and the patient device is broadcasting the hotspot signal to the plurality of devices in the location tracking system 100 as the patient device is currently in the hotspot mode. 20
[0095] At step 702a, the nurse device detects the hotspot signal of the patient device by measuring the signal strength of the hotspot signal and determines the proximity of the nurse device with the patient device as described earlier. Since the nurse device is not in close proximity of the patient device, the display screen of the nurse device shows “bed waiting” as the status 25 along with the time. For example, if the nurse device has received a request for a patient from Bed 208, then the display screen of the nurse device indicates
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“Bed 208 waiting” along with the time from which the patient is waiting as described earlier.
[0096] At step 704a, the display screen of the nurse device changes to “currently attending” when the nurse device determines that the nurse device is in proximity with the patient device. For example, when the nurse has entered 5 the patient’s room, the display screen of the nurse device changes to “currently attending”. Further, the nurse device informs the centralized server indicating that the nurse device is in proximity to the patient device using the second wireless mode.
[0097] At step 706a, the centralized server receives the location 10 information of the nurse device indicating that the nurse device is currently in proximity with the patient device and displays the current status of the nurse associated with the nurse device on the display screen. Each time the third device 106 receives a new notification from either the first device 102 or the second device 104, the display screen of the third device 106 displays a pop-up 15 box indicating the new notification. For example, the pop up indicates number of updates received from the first device 102 or the second device 104, and the status of wireless call associated with each second device 104.
[0098] FIG. 7B is a schematic representation of a process 700b of tracking location of the second device 104 when the second device 104 goes 20 out of proximity from the first device 102, according to an exemplary embodiment as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, consider the location tracking system 100 is implemented in the hospital. In this scenario, let the first device 102 corresponds to the patient device, the second device 104 corresponds to the nurse device and the third device 106 corresponds to the 25 centralized server. Consider, that the nurse device has served the patient and left the room.
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[0099] At step 702b, the nurse device keeps monitoring the hotspot signal of the patient device.
[00100] At step 704b, the nurse device determines that the signal strength of the hotspot signal is lesser than the predetermined threshold and hence detects a weak signal strength. The nurse device then informs the 5 centralized server that the nurse has moved out of the patient room and hence, the nurse device terminates the session with the centralized server for the patient. The display screen of the nurse device now indicates that the nurse has attended one patient.
[00101] At step 706b, the centralized server receives the location 10 information of the nurse device indicating that the nurse has moved out of the patient’s room and accordingly updates the status of the nurse associated with the nurse device in the database 212c. This information in the database is fetched by the patient’s device, as the patient device kept switching from the Wi-Fi mode to the hotspot mode. On receiving the “Attended” information, 15 this switching stops on the patient’s device. Each time the third device 106 receives a new notification from either the first device 102 or the second device 104, the display screen of the third device 106 displays a pop-up box indicating the new notification. For example, the pop up indicates number of updates received from the first device 102 or the second device 104, and the 20 status of wireless call associated with each second device 104.
[00102] FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of a process 800 of switching by the first device 102 from the first wireless mode to the hotspot and vice versa, according to embodiments as described herein. At step 802, the first device 102 broadcasts the hotspot signal in the hotspot mode to the 25 plurality of devices in the location tracking system 100. At step 804, the second device 104 scans hotspot range of the first device 102 MAC and
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notifies the third device 106 for its presence and time spent. The second device 104 scans the Wi-Fi signal strength corresponding to particular MAC address. At step 806, the third device 106 receives the location information of the second device 104 and further monitors the location and time spent by the second device 104. In an embodiment, the second device 104 may also send 5 the status to the third device 106 via a HTTP request and the third device 106 may show the current location of the second device 104 and monitor the time for which nurse serves the patient. The second device 104 may send the information Staff ID, Call ID, Message Type (Like Call Closed in this Case), or the like to the third device 106. 10
[00103] In an embodiment, the first device 102 is in the Wi-Fi mode in which the first device 102 is connected to the Wi-Fi network. The functionality of the first device 102 in the Wi-Fi mode is shown using a dotted structure at 808, where the first device 102 constantly enquires the third device 106 about the current location status of the second device 104. In the hotspot 15 mode, the first device 102 constantly broadcasts the hotspot signal to the plurality of devices in the location tracking system 100. In an embodiment, the first device 102 then switch to Wi-Fi and then ping the third device 106 again for the current location of the nurse and when it detects that the nurse has served the patient, it closes the call. 20
[00104] In an exemplary scenario, guests can be provided a dashboard for access to services of a hotel over the apparatus which can be, but not limited to a Smartphone. Using the embodiments of the proposed method, the guests can call for a room service staff, who can visit to serve the guest with his/her Smartphone. Presence status and duration of the guest in the room can 25 be tracked by the proposed method.
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[00105] FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a process 900 of tracking location of the second device 104 during an emergency situation, according to embodiments as described herein. In an embodiment, the patient device starts the wireless call using the first wireless mode with the centralized server to seek attention from the nurse. The centralized server forwards the 5 incoming wireless call to the allotted nurse device using the second wireless mode. The allotted nurse device accepts the incoming wireless call from the centralized server indicating that the patient seeks attention. At step 902, the nurse device identifies that the nurse has reached the patient’s room based on the signal strength of the hotspot signal broadcasted by the patient device and 10 hence accordingly informs the centralized server that the nurse device is in proximity to the patient device using the second wireless mode. As soon as the nurse device informs the centralized server that the nurse device is in proximity to the patient device, the display screen of the nurse device displays a dialog box indicating the nurse status as “currently attending the patient”. 15
[00106] At step 904, the nurse realizes that the patient needs an emergency situation when the nurse enters the patient’s room and thus the nurse through her nurse device raises an emergency to the centralized server based on the priority of the patient.
[00107] At step 906,the nurse device broadcasts an emergency request 20 to a plurality of nurse devices of the same team and as well as to the nurses devices which are in close proximity range with the patient. The emergency request sent by the nurse device may be first sent to the centralized server and then the centralized server identifies the emergency, identifies the plurality of nurse devices of the same team and the nurse device which are in close 25 proximity of the patient and then forwards the emergency request to the
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identified nurse devices. The emergency request may include details of the patient, kind of emergency, and location of the patient.
[00108] In an embodiment, the display screen of the nurse device who has raised this emergency is depicted at 906a and the display screens of the nurse devices which have received this emergency requests have been depicted 5 at 906b.
[00109] FIG. 10 illustrates example operations performed by the system implementing subscriber-publisher pattern when a call from the first device 102(for example, patient device) to the second device 104 (for example, nurse device). In an embodiment, at 1002, the patient may send a one or more 10 parameters to the application server through a HTTP request. The parameters described herein can include for example Patient ID, Message Type(To indicate that it is initiating call), Mac Address (which nurse will scan to detect the range), or the like. At 1004, the application server may search the nurse allocated to that particular patient and then fetch the topic from database which 15 that particular nurse has been subscribed. It then creates a message including one or more fields and send it to a messaging server. The fields described herein can be, for example, Call initiated time, Patient ID, Message Type (Like call initiated), Call ID (Generated by the application server), Mac Address of the patient, Nurse ID, or the like. At 1006, the messaging server may find all 20 the subscriber subscribed to that particular topic (in this case Nurse) from the database and push the message to those subscribers.
[00110] FIG. 11 illustrates example operations performed by the system implementing subscriber-publisher pattern to provide notifications from the second device 104 (for example, nurse device) to the first device 102 25 (for example, patient device). In an embodiment, at 1102, after getting a call on the nurse device, The nurse may accept the call and send the fields such as
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Nurse ID, Call ID (corresponding to which reply has come), Message Type (Accepted in this case), or the like to the application server. At 1102, the application server may search the topics corresponding to the head nurse ID and, patient ID related to the call ID from the database. Further, the application server can send the information such as Call Initiated Time, Nurse ID, User 5 Type (Like Nurse, Head Nurse, Patient), Message Type (Accepted in this case), Nurse information (such as name, gender, or the like), Patient ID to whom message will be sent, Head Nurse ID (to notify the head nurse that nurse has accepted the call), or the like to the messaging broker. At 1106, the messaging server may find all the subscriber subscribed to that particular topic 10 (in this case patient and head nurse) from the database and push the message to those subscribers.
[00111] FIG. 12 is block diagram of a computing environment1200 implementing the method for tracking location, according to embodiments as described herein. As depicted in the FIG. 12, the computing environment 1200 15 comprises at least one processing unit 1202 that is equipped with a control unit 202 and an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) 1212, a memory 1204, a storage unit 1206, plurality of networking devices 1208, and a plurality Input output (I/O) devices 1210. The computing environment 1200 may include other functional components not shown in the figure but can be understood by a person skilled 20 in the art.
[00112] The processing unit 1202 is responsible for processing the instructions of the method. The processing unit 1202 receives commands from the control unit 202 in order to perform its processing. Further, any logical and arithmetic operations involved in the execution of the instructions are 25 computed with the help of the ALU 1212. The method comprising of instructions and codes required for the implementation are stored in either the
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memory unit 1204 or the storage 1206 or both. At the time of execution, the instructions may be fetched from the corresponding memory 1204 or storage 1206, and executed by the processing unit 1202. The processing unit 1202, as used herein, refers to any type of computational circuit, such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a complex instruction set computing 5 microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing microprocessor, a very long instruction word microprocessor, an explicitly parallel instruction computing microprocessor, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, or any other type of processing circuit. The processing unit 1202 may also include embedded controllers, such as generic or programmable logic devices 10 or arrays, application specific integrated circuits, single-chip computers, smart cards, or the like.
[00113] The memory 1204 may be volatile memory and non-volatile memory. A variety of computer-readable storage media may be stored in and accessed from the memory elements. Memory elements may include any 15 suitable memory device(s) for storing data and machine-readable instructions, such as read only memory, random access memory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory, hard drive, removable media drive for handling compact disks, digital video disks, diskettes, magnetic tape cartridges, memory cards, or the like. 20
[00114] The storage unit 1206 is configured for storing the location information received from the third device 106. The storage unit 1206may include any suitable memory device(s) for storing data and machine-readable instructions, such as read only memory, random access memory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasable programmable read 25 only memory, hard drive, removable media drive for handling compact disks,
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digital video disks, diskettes, magnetic tape cartridges, memory cards, Memory Sticks TM, or the like.
[00115] Embodiments of the present subject matter may be implemented in conjunction with modules, including functions, procedures, data structures, and application programs, for performing tasks, or defining 5 abstract data types or low-level hardware contexts. The control unit 202 may be stored in the form of machine-readable instructions on any of the above-mentioned storage media and may be executed by the processing unit 1202. For example, a computer program may include machine-readable instructions, that when executed by the processing unit 1202cause the processing unit 1202 10 to perform the process of tracking location according to the teachings and herein described embodiments of the present subject matter. In one embodiment, the computer program may be included on a compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) and loaded from the CD-ROM to a hard drive in the non-volatile memory. 15
[00116] In case of any hardware implementations various networking devices 1208 or external I/O devices 1210 may be connected to the computing environment to support the implementation through the networking unit and the I/O device unit.
[00117] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented 20 through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the elements. The elements shown in the FIGS. 1 and 12include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module. 25
[00118] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by
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applying current knowledge, readily modify 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 5 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 embodiments as described herein. 10

We Claim:
1. A method for tracking location, comprising:
broadcasting, by a first device, a hotspot signal, wherein said hotspot signal indicates proximity of said first device to a second device; and
receiving, by said first device, a location information of said second device from a third device using a first wireless mode, wherein said first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to said first wireless mode, to request said location information of said second device to said third device.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first device switches from said hotspot mode to said first wireless mode after a time interval.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said hotspot signal is sent to said second device after switching from said first wireless mode to said hotspot mode after a time interval.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second device establishes a wireless connection using a second wireless mode with said third device to identify said hotspot signal corresponding to said first device.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said first device is notified in response to establishing said wireless connection using said second wireless mode with said second device by said third device.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein receiving, by said first device, said location information of said second device from said third device using said first wireless mode comprises:
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sending a request to acquire said location information of said second device to said third device using said first wireless mode, wherein said third device periodically receives said location information of said second device from said second device using second wireless mode; and
receiving said location information of said second device from said third device using said first wireless mode.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second device is configured to determine whether a signal strength of said hotspot mode received from said first device is greater than a predefined threshold value, wherein said signal strength indicates the proximity of said first device with respect to said second device.
8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said second device notifies said third device when signal strength of hotspot mode associated with said first device is greater than a predefined threshold value.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said location information indicates one of in-proximity, out-of-proximity, busy, and available.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second device raises an emergency to said third device based on priority of said first device when said second device identifies said emergency for said first device and broadcasts said emergency to one or more second devices using said second wireless mode.
11. A system for tracking location, the system comprising a first device configured to:
broadcast a hotspot signal, wherein said hotspot signal indicates proximity of said first device to a second device; and
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receive a location information of said second device from a third device using a first wireless mode, wherein said first device dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to said first wireless mode to request said location information of said second device to said third device.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein said second device is configured to:
establish a wireless connection using second wireless mode with said third device to identify said hotspot signal corresponding to said first device;
determine whether a signal strength of said hotspot mode received from said first device is greater than a predefined threshold value, wherein said signal strength indicates the proximity of said first device with respect to said second device; and
notify said third device when said signal strength of said hotspot mode is greater than a predefined threshold value.
13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein said first device is notified in response to establishing said wireless connection using said second wireless mode with said second device by said third device.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein said third device is configured to:
update said location information of said second device based on a notification received from said second device when said second device is in proximity with said first device; and
send said location information to said first device using said first wireless mode in response to receiving a request from said first device.
15. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said third device is configured to:
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identify an emergency of said first device; and
broadcast an emergency request to a plurality of second devices using a second wireless mode.
16. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said first device is configured to switch from said hotspot mode to said first wireless mode after a time interval.
17. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said hotspot signal is sent to said second device after switching from said first wireless mode to said hotspot mode after a time interval.
18. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said location information indicates one of in-proximity, out-of-proximity, busy, and available.
19. An apparatus for tracking location, the apparatus comprising:
a control unit configured to:
broadcast a hotspot signal, wherein said hotspot signal indicates proximity of said apparatus to a first device; and
receive a location information of said first device from a second device using a first wireless mode, wherein said apparatus dynamically switches from a hotspot mode to said first wireless mode to request said location information of said first device to said second device.
20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said apparatus switches from said hotspot mode to said first wireless mode after a time interval.
21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said hotspot signal is sent to said first device after switching from said first wireless mode to said hotspot mode after a time interval.
22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first device establishes a wireless connection using a second wireless mode with
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said second device to identify said hotspot signal corresponding to said apparatus.
23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein said apparatus is notified in response to establishing said wireless connection using said second wireless mode with said first device by said second device.
24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein in receive said location information of said first device from said second device using said first wireless mode, said apparatus is configured to:
send a request to acquire said location information of said first device to said second device using said first wireless mode, wherein said second device periodically receives said location information of said first device from said first device using second wireless mode; and
receive said location information of said first device from said second device using said first wireless mode.
25. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first device is configured to determine whether a signal strength of said hotspot mode received from said apparatus is greater than a predefined threshold value, wherein said signal strength indicates the proximity of said apparatus with respect to said first device.
26. The apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein said first device notifies said second device when signal strength of hotspot mode associated with said apparatus is greater than a predefined threshold value.
27. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said location information indicates one of in-proximity, out-of-proximity, busy, and available.
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28. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said first device identifies an emergency of said apparatus and broadcast an emergency request to a plurality of first devices using said second wireless mode.