CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] The present application does not claim priority from any patent application.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[002] The present disclosure in general relates to the field of navigation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for tracking and tracing a user in a geographical area.
BACKGROUND
[003] Nowadays, cities and towns are rapidly changing. The roads and directions to reach a particular destination may change rapidly with the construction of flyovers and service roads. For a new user, it is difficult to identify specific address, even if they have visited the place in the past. It is also risky to send children alone to nearby unknown area since they may forgot or miss the path to get back the source place.
[004] In case if natural disasters such as tsunami, floods, or earthquake, it is very difficult to trace the lost people. In order to perform a proper rescue operation, it is very important that the last location of a user to be traced is known. There are different navigation tools and mobile applications available in the art to track down users. However, these applications have their own limitations like dependency on GPS or mobile communication network, cost of the device used for tracking, the devices may not work without GPRS/cellular network and the like.
[005] Hence, without the use of GPS or GPRS/Cellular network, it becomes extremely difficult to trace down a person.
SUMMARY
[006] This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to systems and methods for tracking a user to a destination and the aspects are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
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[007] In one embodiment, a system for tracing a user in a geographical area is illustrated. The system is configured to communicate with wearable devices, of users, through a set of gateway devices distributed across the geographical area. In one embodiment, the system comprises a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to receive a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in the geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval. The time interval may be in terms of seconds or minutes. In one embodiment, the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices, located within a predefined range of the wearable device, wherein the gateway devices are spread across the geographical area. Further, the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to generate a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to receive, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced. Based on the user identifier, the processor may be configured to retrieve a routing map corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced from the database. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to display the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
[008] In one embodiment, a processor implemented method for tracing a user in a geographical area is illustrated. The method may comprise receiving a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval. The time interval may be in terms of seconds or minutes. In one embodiment, the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices, located within a predefined range of the wearable device, wherein the wearable devices are spread across the geographical area. Further, the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. The method may further comprise generating a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database. The method may further comprise receiving, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced. The method may further comprise retrieving a routing
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map corresponding to the user identifier, of the user to be traced, from the database. The method may further comprise displaying the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
[009] In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device for tracing a user in a geographical area is disclosed. The program comprises a program code for receiving a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval. The time interval may be in terms of seconds or minutes. In one embodiment, the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices, located within a predefined range of the wearable device, wherein the gateway devices are spread across the geographical area. Further, the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. The program comprises a program code for generating a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database. The program comprises a program code for receiving, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced. The program comprises a program code for retrieving a routing map corresponding to the user identifier, of the user to be traced, from the database. The program comprises a program code for displaying the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0010] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer like features and components.
[0011] Figure 1 illustrates a network implementation of a system for tracing a user in a geographical area, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0012] Figure 2 illustrates the system for tracing the user, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0013] Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram for tracing a user using the system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] The present subject matter relates to a system for tracing a user in a geographical location. The system is configured to communicate with a set of wearable devices of users, through a set of gateway devices distributed across the geographical area. In one embodiment, the system comprises a memory and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to receive a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from each user, of the set of users, at a regular time interval. The time interval may be in terms of seconds or minutes.
[0015] In one embodiment, the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices, located within a predefined range of the wearable device. Further, the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. The location identifier corresponds to the physical location of the gateway device in the geographical area. The system may receive different location identifiers for the same user identifier, since the user may be in the vicinity of different gateway devices at different timestamp. Hence, the system may receive a series of different location identifiers from different gateway devices for the same user identifier. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to generate a routing map for each user based on the location identifiers, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database.
[0016] In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to receive, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced. Based on the user identifier, the processor may retrieve a routing map corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced from the database. In one embodiment, processor may execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to display the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
[0017] In one embodiment, the system enables tracking of users (visitors/children/students) in a geographical area even when there is no GPRS/Cellular network or GPS receiver on a wearable device of the user. The system may be accessed by
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parents to monitor their children, their daily roaming places and the like. The system is specifically configured to trace a person using his last location. In one embodiment, the wearable devices are configured to communicate with one or more gateway devices in the vicinity of the wearable device and transmit the user identifier associated with the wearable device to the gateway device. The wearable devices may be in the form of a walking cane/stick, a smart phone, a table, a watch, a School/College ID card, or smart glasses. The wearable device is configured to communicate with the gateway device using short range communication channel such as Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, RFID or any other short range wireless communication channel. Each wearable device is assigned with a unique number hereafter referred to as user identifier. The wearable device is also enabled with. In one embodiment, the wearable device may be enabled with a touch screen display or a speaker for displaying routing information or audibly guiding the user.
[0018] In one embodiment, the wearable device may be enabled with an authentication module. The authentication module is configured to continuously monitor biometrics of the user and validate the identity of the user. The biometric authentication may be performed using heartbeat rate, eye retina/iris scan, finger scan, multi spectral skin texture scan of the user using the wearable device. The wearable device may also be configured to generate alerts and transmit the alerts to the system if the biometric authentication fails.
[0019] In one embodiment, the gateway device is configured to maintain the wearable devices information once the wearable device is detected in the vicinity/ predetermined range of the gateway device. Further, the user identifier obtained from the wearable device and timestamp is recorded at the gateway device. The user identifier corresponding to the wearable device and a location identifier associated with the gateway device in the range of the wearable device are communicated to the system, by the gateway device, on periodic bases. Each time the system may receive the same user identifier but a different location identifier depending on the current location of the user. Since the user is continually moving from one place to another, the user may be present at different location after each interval of time. Thus the wearable device may communicate with a different gateway device after the predefined time interval. Hence, the system may receive the same user identifier through different gateway devices in the geographical area at different point in time. The system is configured to generate a routing map for each user based on the location identifier received
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from one or more gateway device over a period of time. The routing map and the corresponding user identifier are stored in a database by the system.
[0020] In one embodiment, the system is enabled with a user interface to enable system users to trace the path followed by a user in the geographical area. The system users may be parents, police authority, rescue operation team and the like. For trace the path followed by a user in the geographical area, initially, the system is configured to accept a user identifier of a user to be searched. Based on the user identifier, the system is configured to retrieve a routing map of the user from the database. Further, the routing map is displayed over the user interface by the system. Based on the routing map, the last location/ current location of the user can be easily tracked.
[0021] While aspects of described system and method for tracing the user may be implemented in any number of different computing systems, environments, and/or configurations, the embodiments are described in the context of the following exemplary system.
[0022] Referring now to Figure 1, a network implementation 100 of central server hereafter referred to as the system 102 for tracking and tracing a user is disclosed. Although the present subject matter is explained considering that the method for tracking the user is implemented on a server, it may be understood that the method may also be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a notebook, a workstation, a mainframe computer, a server, a network server, and the like. In one implementation, the method may be implemented in a cloud-based environment. It will be understood that the system 102 may be accessed by multiple users through one or more client devices (not shown). Examples of the client devices may include, but are not limited to, a portable computer, a personal digital assistant, a handheld device, and a smart watch. The system 102 is communicatively coupled to a set of gateway device 108 through a network 106.
[0023] In one implementation, the network 106 may be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof. The network 106 can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the internet, and the like. The network 106 may either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network represents an association of the different types of networks that
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use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and the like, to communicate with one another. Further the network 106 may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, and the like.
[0024] Further, the system 102 is configured to communicate with the wearable device 104 through the set of gateway devices 108 installed over a set of traffic signals. The wearable device 104 is configured to communicate with one or more gateway devices 108 using a short range wireless communication channel. The short range wireless communication channel may be a Bluetooth channel, a ZigBee protocol or a Wi-Fi channel and the like. The process of tracking the user is further elaborated with respect to figure 2.
[0025] Referring now to Figure 2, the system 102 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. In one embodiment, the system 102 may include at least one processor 202, an input/output (I/O) interface 204, and a memory 206. The at least one processor 202 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the at least one processor 202 is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 206.
[0026] The I/O interface 204 may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces, for example, a web interface, a graphical user interface, and the like. The I/O interface 204 may allow a system user to interact with the system directly or through the client devices. Further, the I/O interface 204 may enable the wearable device 104 to communicate with system 102. The I/O interface 204 can facilitate multiple communications within a wide variety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks, for example, LAN, cable, etc., and wireless networks, such as WLAN, cellular, or satellite. The I/O interface 204 may include one or more ports for connecting a number of devices to one another or to another server.
[0027] The memory 206 may include any computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such as read
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only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes. The memory 206 may include modules 208 and data 210.
[0028] The modules 208 include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform particular tasks, functions or implement particular abstract data types. In one implementation, the modules 208 may include a communication module 212, a route generation module 214, a tracking module 216, and other modules 218. The other modules 218 may include programs or coded instructions that supplement applications and functions of the wearable device 104. The data 210, amongst other things, serves as a repository for storing data processed, received, and generated by one or more of the modules 208. The data 210 may also include a repository 226, and other data 228. The repository 226 is configured to store information to connect with the set of gateway devices.
[0029] In one embodiment, the communication module 212 is configured to communicate with the gateway devices 108 and receive a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval. The user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device, across the geographical area. Further, the communication module 212 is also configured to receive a location identifier from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device.
[0030] In one embodiment, after each predetermine time interval, the wearable device is configured to communicate with the nearest gateway device and transmit the user identifier to the nearest gateway device. Since the location of the user may change from time to time, the wearable device of the user may communicate with the system 102 through different gateway devices 108. Hence, the system 108 may receive the same user identifier but different location identifiers, based on the location of the user at which the wearable device is communicating with the system 102. The process of receiving the user identifiers and corresponding location identifiers is a continuous process.
[0031] In one embodiment, after receiving the user identifier and one or more location identifiers, the route generation module 214 is configured to generate a routing map for each user based on the one or more location identifiers received from the wearable device 104. The routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database hereafter referred to as the repository 226.
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[0032] In one embodiment, the tracking module 216 of the system 102 is configured to provide a system user to access the system 102 to trace and track a user. For this purpose, the tracking module 216 enables a user interface for receiving, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced.
[0033] Once the user identifier is received, in the next step, the tracking module 216 is configured to retrieve a routing map, corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced, from the repository 226.
[0034] In the next step, the tracking module 216 is configured to display the routing map over the graphical user interface for tracking the user. The system user may view the route traversed by the user as well as the current location of the user to be traced. The method for tracking the user is further illustrated with respect to the block diagram of figure 3.
[0035] Referring now to figure 3, a method 300 for tracking the user in a geographical area is disclosed, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The method 300 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, and the like, that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The method 300 may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.
[0036] The order in which the method 300 is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method 300 or alternate methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the method 300 without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method 300 can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof. However, for ease of explanation, in the embodiments described below, the method 300 may be considered to be implemented in the above described system 102.
[0037] At block 302, the communication module 212 is configured to communicate with the gateway devices 108 and receive a user identifier and a location identifier of each
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user, in a geographical area, and biometric information, from the set of users at a regular time interval. The user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. Further, the communication module 212 is also configured to receive a location identifier from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device. Since the location of the user may change from time to time, the wearable device of the user may communicate with the system 102 through different gateway devices 108. Hence, the system 108 may receive the same user identifier but different location identifiers, based on the location of the user from which the wearable device 104 is communicating with the system 102.
[0038] At block 304, after receiving the user identifier and one or more location identifiers, the route generation module 214 is configured to generate a routing map for each user based on the one or more location identifiers received from the wearable device 104. The routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in the repository 226.
[0039] At block 306, the tracking module 216 is configured to provide a system user to access the system to trace and track a particular user. For this purpose, the system 102 enables a user interface for receiving, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced.
[0040] At block 308, once the user identifier is received, in the next step, the tracking module 216 is configured to retrieve a routing map, corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced, from the repository 226.
[0041] At block 310, the tracking module 216 is configured to display the routing map over the graphical user interface for tracking the user. The system user may view the route traversed by the user as well as the current location of the user to be traced. The system user may also view when the user was detached from the wearable device, based on failure of biometric authentication process. This helps the system user to tracker when and where the user lost his wearable device.
[0042] Although implementations for methods and systems for tracking a user in a geographical location has been described, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as examples of implementations for tracking the user.
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WE CLAIM:
1. A system for tracing a user in a geographical area, the system comprising:
a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute programmed instructions stored in the memory to: receive a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval, wherein the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device, across the geographical area, and wherein the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device; generate a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database; receive, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced; retrieve a routing map corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced from the database; and display the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is configured to communicate with the set of gateway devices through one or more short-range communication protocols, wherein the one or more short-range communication protocols comprise Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the gateway device is configured to authenticate the user of the wearable device before accepting the user identifier and location identifier, wherein the authentication is performed using biometric sample of the user.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein each gateway device in the geographical area is assigned with a location identifier, and wherein the location identifier corresponds to a predefined area in the geographical area.
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5. A method for tracing a user in a geographical area, the method comprising steps of:
receiving, by a processor, a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval, wherein the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device, across the geographical area, and wherein the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device; generating, by the processor, a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database; receiving, by the processor, in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced; retrieving, by the processor, a routing map corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced from the database; and displaying, by the processor, the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wearable device is configured to communicate with the set of gateway devices through one or more short-range communication protocols, wherein the one or more short-range communication protocols comprise Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the gateway device is configured to authenticate the user of the wearable device before accepting the user identifier and location identifier, wherein the authentication is performed using biometric sample of the user.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein each gateway device in the geographical area is assigned with a location identifier, and wherein the location identifier corresponds to a predefined area in the geographical area.
9. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying a program executable in a computing device for tracing a user in a geographical area, the computer program product comprising:
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a program code for receiving a user identifier and a location identifier of each user, in a geographical area, from the set of users at a regular time interval, wherein the user identifier is received from a wearable device of each user, through one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device, across the geographical area, and wherein the location identifier is received from the one or more gateway devices located within a predefined range of the wearable device; a program code for generating a routing map for each user based on the location identifier, wherein the routing map for each user and the corresponding user identifier is stored in a database; a program code for receiving in real time, a user identifier of a user to be traced; a program code for retrieving a routing map corresponding to the user identifier of the user to be traced from the database; and a program code for displaying the routing map over a graphical user interface for tracking the user.