U.S. patent application number 16/419144 was filed with the patent office on 2019-09-12 for mobile device inference and location prediction of a moving object of interest.
The applicant listed for this patent is International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Rafael C.S. Folco, Breno H. Leitao, Desnes A. Nunes do Rosario, Jose F. Santiago Filho.
Application Number | 20190281413 16/419144 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59928447 |
Filed Date | 2019-09-12 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190281413 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Folco; Rafael C.S. ; et
al. |
September 12, 2019 |
MOBILE DEVICE INFERENCE AND LOCATION PREDICTION OF A MOVING OBJECT
OF INTEREST
Abstract
A first set of data may be received indicating that an object of
interest has been identified. A second set of data may be received
indicating a first location of where the object of interest was
identified. The first location may correspond to a geographical
area. In response to the receiving of the first set of data and the
second set of data, the first location may be associated with a
first transceiver base station. In response to the associating, a
first list of one or more mobile devices may be obtained that are
within an active range of the first transceiver base station.
Inventors: |
Folco; Rafael C.S.; (Santa
Barbara d'Oeste, BR) ; Leitao; Breno H.; (Araraquara,
BR) ; Nunes do Rosario; Desnes A.; (Sao Paulo,
BR) ; Santiago Filho; Jose F.; (Campinas,
BR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
International Business Machines Corporation |
Armonk |
NY |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59928447 |
Appl. No.: |
16/419144 |
Filed: |
May 22, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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16121697 |
Sep 5, 2018 |
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16419144 |
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15709966 |
Sep 20, 2017 |
10231088 |
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16121697 |
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15169938 |
Jun 1, 2016 |
9781565 |
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15709966 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/027 20130101;
H04L 67/18 20130101; G10L 15/26 20130101; H04W 4/023 20130101; H04W
4/029 20180201; G06T 7/246 20170101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/02 20060101
H04W004/02; H04L 29/08 20060101 H04L029/08; G06T 7/246 20060101
G06T007/246; H04W 4/029 20060101 H04W004/029 |
Claims
1. A computer program product comprising a computer readable
storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program
code executable by a computing device to: receive a first set of
data indicating identification of an object of interest and a first
location of where the object of interest was identified, the object
of interest being a person and the first set of data including a
set of facial features; associate the first location with a first
transceiver base station, wherein the first transceiver base
station is proximate to the first location; receive a second set of
data indicating that the object of interest was identified at a
second location; associate, in response to the receiving of the
second set of data, the second location with a second transceiver
base station; determine one or more mobile device identifiers
associated with the first transceiver base station are in common
with mobile device identifiers associated with the second
transceiver base station; and in response to receiving the first
set of data indicating identification of the object of interest and
determining which mobile device identifiers are common among the
first transceiver base and the second transceiver base, transmit a
notification to a second computing device indicating identification
of the object of interest, the mobile device identifiers, and the
first and second locations.
2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the program
code is further executable by the computing device to: obtain a
first list of one or more mobile devices that are within an active
range of the first transceiver base station; and obtain a second
list of one or more mobile devices within an active range of the
second transceiver base station.
3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein determining one
or more mobile device identifiers includes determining which mobile
device identifiers associated with the first transceiver base
station are in common with the mobile device identifiers associated
with the second transceiver base station.
4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the program
code is further executable by the computing device to: infer a
first mobile device identifier associated with the object of
interest based on the mobile device identifiers which are
determined to be common among the first transceiver base station
and the second transceiver base station.
5. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the program
code is further executable by the computing device to: generate a
location prediction estimate for a position of the object of
interest at a future time based on identifying the object of
interest at the first location and the second location.
6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the location
prediction estimate is generated based on one or more of a history
of where the object of interest has been identified, a speed limit,
real time data provided by a mobile device associated with the
object of interest, a location interest associated with the object
of interest, a geographical layout of the first location, and
traffic data.
7. (canceled)
8. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a first set
of data indicating identification of an object of interest and a
first location of where the object of interest was identified, the
object of interest being a person and the first set of data
including a set of facial features; associating the first location
with a first transceiver base station, wherein the first
transceiver base station is proximate to the first location;
receiving a second set of data indicating that the object of
interest was identified at a second location; associating, in
response to the receiving of the second set of data, the second
location with a second transceiver base station; determining one or
more mobile device identifiers associated with the first
transceiver base station are in common with mobile device
identifiers associated with the second transceiver base station;
and in response to receiving the first set of data indicating
identification of the object of interest and determining which
mobile device identifiers are common among the first transceiver
base and the second transceiver base, transmitting a notification
to a second computing device indicating identification of the
object of interest, the mobile device identifiers, and the first
and second locations.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the method
further comprises: obtaining a first list of one or more mobile
devices that are within an active range of the first transceiver
base station; and obtaining a second list of one or more mobile
devices within an active range of the second transceiver base
station.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein determining
one or more mobile device identifiers includes determining which
mobile device identifiers associated with the first transceiver
base station are in common with the mobile device identifiers
associated with the second transceiver base station.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the method
further comprises: inferring a first mobile device identifier
associated with the object of interest based on the mobile device
identifiers which are determined to be common among the first
transceiver base station and the second transceiver base
station.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the method
further comprises: generating a location prediction estimate for a
position of the object of interest at a future time based on
identifying the object of interest at the first location and the
second location.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the
location prediction estimate is generated based on one or more of a
history of where the object of interest has been identified, a
speed limit, real time data provided by a mobile device associated
with the object of interest, a location interest associated with
the object of interest, a geographical layout of the first
location, and traffic data.
14. (canceled)
15. A system, comprising: one or more processors; and a computer
readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors, the
computer readable storage medium having program instructions
embodied therewith, the program instructions, when executed by the
one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
receive a first set of data indicating identification of an object
of interest and a first location of where the object of interest
was identified, the object of interest being a person and the first
set of data including a set of facial features; associate the first
location with a first transceiver base station, wherein the first
transceiver base station is proximate to the first location;
receive a second set of data indicating that the object of interest
was identified at a second location; associate, in response to the
receiving of the second set of data, the second location with a
second transceiver base station; determine one or more mobile
device identifiers associated with the first transceiver base
station are in common with mobile device identifiers associated
with the second transceiver base station; and in response to
receiving the first set of data indicating identification of the
object of interest and determining which mobile device identifiers
are common among the first transceiver base and the second
transceiver base, transmit a notification to a second computing
device indicating identification of the object of interest, the
mobile device identifiers, and the first and second locations.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the program code is further
executable by the one or more processors to: obtain a first list of
one or more mobile devices that are within an active range of the
first transceiver base station; and obtain a second list of one or
more mobile devices within an active range of the second
transceiver base station.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein determining one or more mobile
device identifiers includes determining which mobile device
identifiers associated with the first transceiver base station are
in common with the mobile device identifiers associated with the
second transceiver base station.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the program code is further
executable by the one or more processors to: infer a first mobile
device identifier associated with the object of interest based on
the mobile device identifiers which are determined to be common
among the first transceiver base station and the second transceiver
base station.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the program code is further
executable by the one or more processors to: generate a location
prediction estimate for a position of the object of interest at a
future time based on identifying the object of interest at the
first location and the second location.
20. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to object tracking
systems, and more specifically, to inferring a mobile device of a
particular object of interest that has been identified and
predicting a location of where the particular object of interest
will move at a future time.
[0002] Law enforcement officials, public safety officials, or other
entities may be continually searching for objects of interest such
as people. These people may have, for example, committed serious
felonies or have been reported as missing. Whether the searching
includes a hot pursuit of such individuals or an extended search,
it is important to catch these people as soon as possible for
various reasons such as keeping a community safe, helping these
people, and/or making the capturing of these people as effortless
and accurate as possible.
SUMMARY
[0003] One or more embodiments are directed to a
computer-implemented method, a system, and a computer program
product. A first set of data may be received indicating that an
object of interest has been identified. A second set of data may be
received indicating a first location of where the object of
interest was identified. The first location may correspond to a
geographical area. In response to the receiving of the first set of
data and the second set of data, the first location may be
associated with a first transceiver base station. In response to
the associating, a first list of one or more mobile devices may be
obtained that are within an active range of the first transceiver
base station.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing environment,
according to embodiments.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example cellular network
illustrating how mobile device identifiers may be obtained in order
to infer a mobile device of an object of interest, according to
embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating how an object of
interest's mobile device may be inferred based on identifying the
object of interest in multiple cell sites, according to
embodiments.
[0007] FIG. 3B is a more detailed view of the mobile device
inference of the object of interest of FIG. 3A, according to
embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating how an object of interest
location prediction and/or route may be estimated, according to
embodiments.
[0009] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating in more detail how the
location prediction and/or route the object of interest in FIG. 4A
may be estimated, according to embodiments.
[0010] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example process for inferring
a mobile device identifier associated with an object of interest
and generating a location prediction estimation or route estimation
of an object of interest, according to embodiments.
[0011] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process illustrating
how a tracking system identifies an object of interest, according
to embodiments.
[0012] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing device that
includes a device inference module and a prediction module,
according to embodiments.
[0013] While the invention is amenable to various modifications and
alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of
example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should
be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the
invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary,
the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and
alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to tracking
systems, and more specifically, to inferring a mobile device of a
particular object that has been identified. While the present
disclosure is not necessarily limited to such applications, various
aspects of the disclosure may be appreciated through a discussion
of various examples using this context. For example, the aspects of
the present disclosure also relate to generating a location
prediction estimate of where an object of interest will arrive.
[0015] Although particular tracking systems, such as surveillance
systems may be configured to capture images of particular objects,
these data may be static and have limited use for entities such as
law enforcement officials. For example, a surveillance system may
capture an image of a crime. Law enforcement officials may first
have to determine that the crime occurred in a particular area and
then query every nearby business entity to determine whether the
business entities utilize security cameras. The officials may then
have to run through hours of surveillance for each of the business
entities to find the crime in question. When the officials have
captured the crime, they then may have to determine that the image
is clear enough to generate suspects of the crime. In the meantime,
the person of interest who committed the crime may have rapidly
moved far from the scene of the crime by the time the law
enforcement officials begin serious pursuit of the person. It may
be useful for tracking systems to thus quickly identify objects of
interest and notify appropriate parties.
[0016] It may also be useful for tracking systems to estimate a
route or location that a fleeing object of interest will take
and/or arrive at in order to quickly capture the objects of
interest and keep them from endangering a community for
example.
[0017] Further, a mobile device identifier (e.g., a phone number)
of an object of interest may be useful for entities to obtain for
various reasons. For example, if a person of interest was
associated with a wanted suspect and that person of interest was
identified, government officials may desire to deactivate the
person's mobile device, obtain Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
information in order to track the mobile device (and thus the
person of interest), and/or infiltrate (gain unauthorized access
to) the mobile device to obtain mobile data or intercept
communication with other mobile devices in order to obtain
knowledge of or prevent future crimes. In another example, a
runaway teenager, lost child, or other missing person (e.g., an
elderly person with Alzheimer's) may be identified and their
associated mobile device EIR data may be utilized to track and find
them.
[0018] Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are
directed to tracking systems that efficiently identify objects of
interest, generate location prediction estimations and/or route
estimations of objects of interest, and/or infer mobile device
identifiers of objects of interest for the reasons stated above. As
disclosed herein, the terms "object(s)," "object(s) of interest,"
or the like refers to any apparatus, a living being or any feature
thereof (e.g., a human face), a machine, an article of manufacture,
a sound pattern (e.g., a human speech pattern), or any other
suitable tangible item that a user (e.g., a person or computing
device) has stored information about (e.g., speech recognition
and/or facial recognition digital fingerprints associated with the
object of interest). For example, in some embodiments, the object
of interest may be a particular missing person and/or a particular
license plate that is fastened to a stolen vehicle.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing environment 100,
according to embodiments. The computing environment 100 may include
one or more of: an object of interest information provider 106, a
device inference and prediction system 102 coupled to a datastore
104, the mobile devices 118, 114, and 116, a security camera 112
configured to identify the object of interest 110, a transceiver
base station 120 (i.e., a base station, cell tower, and/or an
access point in a cellular network, etc.) each or some of which may
be communicatively coupled (e.g., via the network 128 and/or the
network 108).
[0020] The computing environment 100 may also include various other
base stations and/or security cameras that are associated with
particular locations or geographical areas. Each cell site (e.g.,
cell site 103) may correspond to a particular range that a base
station may transmit and/or receive particular signals (above or
below a signal strength threshold). The particular range may be
associated with a particular location/geographical area and
distance (e.g., 2 square miles of a parcel of land). In some
embodiments, each base station and/or security camera of each cell
site may further be communicatively coupled to the object of
interest information provider 106 and/or the device inference and
prediction system 102. Accordingly, the components as shown to be
associated with cell site 101 may be for illustrative purposes
only, as the other cells' components may also communicate via the
networks 108 and/or 128.
[0021] The computing environment 100 may also be associated with
the cell sites 103, 101, 113, 111, 109, 105, and 107, as each or
some of these cell sites may include their own respective base
stations and/or security cameras. In some embodiments, the
computing environment 100 includes/does not include one or more
components as illustrated. For example, microphones may be utilized
instead of or in addition to the security camera 112 to perform
voice recognition analysis to identify the object of interest 110,
as described in more detail below. In another example, the
computing environment 100 may not include the object of interest
information provider 106. In some embodiments, the computing
environment 100 may be implemented within a cloud computing
environment, or use one or more cloud computing services.
Consistent with various embodiments, a cloud computing environment
may include a network-based, distributed/data processing system
that provides one or more cloud computing services. Further, a
cloud computing environment may include many computers, hundreds or
thousands of them or more, disposed within one or more data centers
and configured to share resources over the network 108 and/or
128.
[0022] In various embodiments, some or each of the
components--e.g., the device inference and prediction system 102,
the object of interest information provider 106, and the security
camera 112--represent separate computing devices. In some
embodiments, some or each of the components represent particular
compute instances of a single computing device (e.g., program
modules, computing components within a chassis, a blade server
within a blade enclosure, an I/O drawer, a processor chip, etc.).
In some embodiments, some or each of the components as illustrated
in FIG. 1 may represent a single computing system that includes
multiple computing devices responsible for a given task. For
example, the device inference and prediction system 102 may
represent a first computing device that infers a mobile device of
the object of interest 110 and also represent a second computing
device that predicts what route the object of interest 110 will
take for future endeavors.
[0023] In some embodiments, the object of interest information
provider 106 corresponds to a law enforcement computing device or
other system that defines what a particular object of interest is
and then provides the object of interest data (e.g., to the device
inference and prediction system 102, the security camera 112,
and/or a system associated with the base station 120). For example,
a prisoner may have escaped from prison. In response, a user may
upload the prisoner's picture (e.g., a digital fingerprint) to the
object of interest information provider 106. The object of
interest's 110 digital picture may then be transmitted to the
security camera 112 such that the security camera 112 may identify
the object of interest 110 based on matching the digital picture to
the object of interest 110.
[0024] In some embodiments, the device inference and prediction
system 102 corresponds to a central processing system that infers
what mobile device the object of interest 110 is carrying or
associated with and/or predicts where the object of interest 110
will travel, which is described in more detail below. These data
may be based on information received from one or more security
cameras and/or base stations, as described in more detail
below.
[0025] The device inference and prediction system 102, the security
camera 112, and/or the object of interest information provider 106
may communicate with each other via the network 108, which may be
any suitable network such as a Personal Area Network (PAN), a local
area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a
public network (e.g., the internet). In some embodiments, a system
of the base station 120 may also communicate with any of the
components (e.g., security camera 112, the object of interest
information provider, etc.) via any suitable network. In some
embodiments, the device inference and prediction system 102 may
communicate with a system of the base station 120 via the network
128, which may also be any suitable network such as a cellular
network or internet. In some embodiments, the networks 128 and 108
are the same networks.
[0026] The security camera 112 (or other non-security camera, such
as a web cam) may represent a surveillance system. This system may
be or include a computing device that stores one or more program
instructions or data (e.g., facial recognition fingerprints,
computer vision tracking algorithms, etc.). The security camera 112
and other security cameras may be scattered throughout and area and
fastened to different objects such as in traffic lights, train
stations, buses, parks, telephone poles, etc.
[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates that the object of interest 110 may be
identified and an initiation of inferring an associated mobile
device and/or generating a location prediction estimation or route
estimation may be made. For example, in some embodiments, the
object of interest information provider 106 first provides a
digital fingerprint of a missing person (corresponding to the
object of interest 110) to the security camera 112 (e.g., via the
network 108). The security camera 112 may then match the digital
fingerprint to an object to identify the object of interest 110.
The security camera 112 may then transmit (e.g., via the network
108) a set of data to the device inference and prediction system
102 indicating that an object of interest has been identified
(which may include an identifier (e.g., name) of the object of
interest), and that the object of interest was identified at a
particular location (corresponding to cell 101 and a geographical
location). The particular location may correspond to an identifier
(e.g., location 1) that is transmitted from the security camera and
stored to the datastore 104. The device inference and prediction
system 102 may then associate, in response to receiving the
location identifier, the location with the transceiver base station
120. For example, the datastore 104 may include a database table
that specifies for every location identifier record, what the
corresponding base station is in an adjacent field of the record. A
component of the datastore 104 (e.g., a database manager) may then
read the record to obtain the information. The device inference and
prediction system 102 may then transmit (e.g., via the network 128)
a query message to the base station 120 system in order to
determine active subscribers that are within a transmit/receive
range (corresponding to a threshold value of signal strength) of
the base station 120 (e.g., within the cell site 101). A system of
the base station 120 may then transmit and the device inference and
prediction system 102 may then obtain a list of the mobile
devices--mobile device 114, 116, and 118--that are within an active
range of the base transceiver station 120.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example cellular network
illustrating how mobile device identifiers may be obtained in order
to infer a mobile device of an object of interest, according to
embodiments. FIG. 2 includes the mobile devices 114, 116, and 118
of FIG. 1, a base station subsystem 205, which includes the base
station 120 of FIG. 1 and a base station controller 201, a core
network 207, which includes an active subscriber datastore 210, and
a switching center 203. FIG. 2 also includes the device inference
and prediction system 102 of FIG. 1, which may be communicatively
coupled (e.g., via the networks 128 and 208) to the base station
subsystem 205. In some embodiments, some or each cell site (e.g.,
cell sites 103, 105, 109, 11, 113, and 107) may also be associated
with its own base station controller, switching center, and active
subscriber datastore, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for cell site
101.
[0029] The base station controller 201 controls one or more base
stations and may perform multiple tasks. For example, the base
station controller 201 may manage radio network tasks (e.g., radio
frequency control) and control handover data between base stations
that are under the base station controller's control. "Handover"
data may be data that is passed from one base station to another.
For example, when a person drives from one cell site to another
while talking on a phone and/or while a person has a phone in
possession and the phone is emitting an active or roaming signal,
handover data may be passed from base station to base station.
[0030] The base station controller 201 may also be the intermediary
between the base station 120 and the switching center 203. The
switching center 203 (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC))
performs communication switching functions such as call set-up,
release of calls, routing of particular calls, routing of
particular Short Message Server (SMS) text messages, communicating
with other networks, and completing handover operations. For
example, the base station controller 201 may detect that the mobile
device 114 is falling below a signal strength threshold (i.e.
approaching the edge of the cell site it is currently in) via
information received from the base station 120. The base station
controller 201 may then request handover assistance from the
switching center 203. The switching center may then scan a list of
adjacent cells and their associated base station controller to hand
off data to the appropriate base station controller (i.e., the base
station controller of where the mobile device 114 is now in or will
be in).
[0031] The mobile switching center 203 may be communicatively
couple to various datastores, such as the active subscriber
datastore 210 in order to determine subscriber data (e.g., a mobile
telephone number) and other information for call routing, obtaining
active or roaming data, completing handoff operations, etc. The
active subscriber datastore 210 (e.g., a Visitor Location Register
(VLR) datastore) may include a list of subscribers (e.g., mobile
device identifiers) associated with users (e.g., the object of
interest 110) that are active or are roaming in a particular
location associated with the base station 120 (i.e., the mobile
devices are within a signal strength threshold of the base station
120). To be "active" means that one or more mobile devices register
(e.g., broadcast) their location, identifier, and/or signal
strength (and the signal strength is above a threshold and/or
within a range) to the base station 120, which is then stored in
the active subscriber datastore 210. Accordingly, active
information may specify/infer where a current location of a mobile
device is, particularly where mobile device triangulation occurs
via signals obtained by a plurality of base stations. This
registering may occur several times (e.g., 20 times) a minute to
determine whether a mobile device is active in a particular cell
site. Moreover, this registering may not be able to be turned off
as long as the base station 120 is receiving an active signal above
a threshold regardless of whether or not a mobile device is
currently processing a phone call. Accordingly, the switching
center 203 may be able to determine which mobile devices are
currently roaming or are active in a particular cell site.
[0032] In some embodiments, the switching center 203 may also
include other datastores, such as a Home Location Register (HLR)
database, an authentication center (AuC), and an Equipment Identity
Register (EIR). The HLR database may be associated with various
subscriber details specifying which subscribers are authorized to
use the core network 207. These subscriber details may include a
customer ID, current customer VLR data, subscriber status, etc. The
HLR database may also store details of every Subscriber Identity
Module (SIM) card issued by a mobile phone operation, which
includes International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of mobile
devices. These may be telephone numbers used by mobile phones to
make and receive calls. The AuC may authenticate each mobile
identifier attempting to connect to the core network 207. The EIR
may store a list of mobile phone identifiers (e.g., International
Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEIs)) that are banned and/or
monitored from the cellular network. For example, a network may
monitor a mobile device IMEI in order to track a stolen mobile
phone.
[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates that the device inference and prediction
system 102 may obtain some or all of the data contained in the
active subscriber datastore 210. For example, at a first time the
mobile devices 114, 116, and 118 may register their active
location, identifiers, and/or signal strength to the base station
120. The base station 120 may then relay this information to the
switching center 203. The switching center 203 may then store this
information in the active subscriber datastore 210. At a second
time, the device inference and prediction system 102 may query the
cellular network in order to obtain the active subscriber
information stored in the active subscriber datastore 210. For
example, the device inference and prediction system 102 may send a
query message (e.g., via the network 128) to the switching center
203 in order to obtain all the active subscribers (mobile
identifiers) within a range or signal strength threshold of the
base station 120.
[0034] As illustrated in FIG. 1, this query message may in some
embodiments be in response to the security camera 112 identifying
the object of interest 110. In order to transmit a message back to
the device inference and prediction system 102, the switching
center 203 and/or the base station controller 201 may send a packet
of active subscribers 230 to the device inference and prediction
system 102 (e.g., via the network 208). The packet of active
subscribers 230 may be routed through different network in order
to, for example, send the packet over the internet. For example,
the packet of active subscribers 230 may be routed (e.g., via the
node(s) 213) from the cellular network 128 or base station
controller 201 to the network 208. The node 213 may represent one
or more routing components, such as a Serving GPRS Support Node
(SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) in a General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) network.
[0035] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating how an object of
interest's mobile device may be inferred based on identifying the
object of interest in multiple cell sites, according to
embodiments. FIG. 3A includes cell sites 103, 101, 113, 111, 109,
105, and 107. FIG. 3A also includes the object of interest 110,
mobile devices 114, 116, and 118, base stations 120, 320, and 322,
and security cameras 112, 312, and 314. In some embodiments, the
cell sites may be relatively small (e.g., microcells or picocells)
such that there are more base stations and/or security cameras for
a particular area. This infrastructure may allow for better mobile
device inference accuracy (or location prediction estimations)
because the more an object of interest moves through more cell
sites, the more mobile device inference accuracy and/or estimation
accuracy a tracking system will have as explained in more detail
below.
[0036] FIG. 3A illustrates that in some situations the object of
interest 110 may be a person and that person may moving from cell
site to cell site (e.g., because he/she is running away), which may
make mobile device inference of the object of interest 110
stronger. For example, as illustrated, at a first time the security
camera 112 may identify the object of interest 110 (e.g., via
pre-stored facial recognition fingerprints). The security camera
112 may then transmit a first set of data to the device inference
and prediction system 102 indicating that the object of interest
110 has been identified and a second set of data indicating a first
location (e.g., cell site 101) of where the object of interest was
identified. The device inference and prediction system 102 may then
associate and in response to the receiving of the first set of data
and the second set of data, the first location with the base
station 120. The device inference and prediction system 102 may
then obtain a list of one or more mobile devices that are active
within a range of the base station 120 (e.g., via the active
subscriber datastore 210 of FIG. 2). Accordingly, and as
illustrated, the device inference and prediction system 102 may
then determine that mobile devices 114, 116, and 118 are within the
active range of the base station 120, without knowing which mobile
device belongs to or is associated with the object of interest
110.
[0037] The same process that occurred for cell site 101 may then be
repeated as the object of interest 110 moves from cell site to cell
site--from cell site 107 to 109. Therefore, when the object of
interest 110 moves into cell site 107, the security camera 312 may
identify the object of interest 110 and the mobile devices that are
within an active range of the base station 320 may be obtained. The
device inference and prediction system 102 may then determine which
mobile device identifiers associated with base station 120 are in
common (are shared with/are the same as/are identical to) with the
base station 320. As illustrated, mobile devices 116 and 118 are
within an active range of the base station 320, which were also
within an active range of the base station 120 (i.e., they are in
common with each other). The object of interest 110 may yet again
move into another cell site--cell site 109. The security camera 314
may then identify the object of interest 110 and the mobile devices
that are within an active range of the base station 322 may be
obtained. The device inference and prediction system 102 may then
determine which device identifiers associated with the base station
120 and/or 320 are in common with the base station 322. As
illustrated, the only mobile device that is in common with base
stations 101 and 107 is mobile device 116. Accordingly, a strong
inference can be made that the object of interest 110 is in
possession of or associated with mobile device 116. Therefore,
entities, such as law enforcement agencies may then inactivate,
track, and/or infiltrate the mobile device 116.
[0038] In some embodiments, instead of or in addition to
determining which mobile device identifiers associated with a
particular base station are in common with another base station,
timestamp intervals between identification events may be utilized
to infer mobile devices associated with objects of interest. For
example, if the security camera 112 identified the object of
interest 110 at a first time, and then the security camera 312
identified the object of interest 110 at a second time, the time
that has passed between the first and second time (e.g., 5 minutes)
may be utilized to filter the mobile devices that handed off from
base stations 120 to 320 within/between the first and second time
intervals. Accordingly, a snapshot (an identification of) of each
active mobile device identifier that was handed off from bases
stations 120 to 320 may be take in order to analyze or identify
(e.g., by a user) what mobile device identifiers may be associated
with the object of interest 110.
[0039] FIG. 3B is a more detailed view of the mobile device
inference of the object of interest of FIG. 3A, according to
embodiments. Each mobile device--mobile device 114, mobile device
116, and mobile device 118--within an active range of the base
station 120 may broadcast or send an active signal to the base
station 120 (which is then relayed and stored to the active
subscriber datastore 210 as shown in FIG. 2). Each of these mobile
devices may be possessed by various people as illustrated. At the
first time, when the security camera 112 identifies the object of
interest 110, the device inference and prediction system 102 may
then obtain (query the cellular network of FIG. 2) each active
subscriber or mobile device identifier (e.g., IMSI) from the
cellular network associated with base station 120. As illustrated
mobile devices 114, 116, and 118 may each be within an active
signal strength range of the base station 120.
[0040] When the object of interest 110 walks into cell site 107,
the security camera 312 may then identify the object of interest
110 and another query may be made to the cellular network
associated with the base station 320. Mobile devices 424, 116, 118,
420, and 422 may each register their active location to the
cellular network, which is then obtained by the device inference
and prediction system 102. The base station 120 may have provided
handoff information (e.g., mobile devices 114 and 116) to the base
station 320 as a signal strength fell below a threshold for the
base station 120 and rose above a threshold for the base station
320. The device inference and prediction system 102 may then
determine that the mobile device identifiers associated with base
station 120 that are in common with base station 320 are mobile
devices 116 and 118.
[0041] Further, when the object of interest 110 walks into the cell
site 109, the security camera 314 may then identify the object of
interest 110 and yet another query may be made to the cellular
network associated with the base station 322. Mobile devices 428,
116, 426, 432, and 430 may each register their active location to
the cellular network, which is then obtained by the device
inference and prediction system 102. The base station 320 may have
provided handoff information (e.g., mobile device 116) to the base
station 322 as a signal strength fell below a threshold for the
base station 320 and rose above a threshold for the base station
322. The device inference and prediction system 102 may then
determine that the only mobile device identifier that was
originally associated or registered with base station 120 and/or
320 that are in common with the base station 322 is mobile device
116. Accordingly, the device inference and prediction system 102
may then infer that the object of interest 110 is possessing the
mobile device 116. In some embodiments, after the device inference
and prediction system 102 infers the mobile device 116 it may then
notify or alert the object of interest provider 106, which may
correspond to a law enforcement agency computing device. In some
embodiments, the notification may include various data, such as the
mobile device identifier (mobile telephone number) of the object of
interest, the identity of the object of interest, the general
location of the object of interest 110 (e.g., somewhere within cell
site 109), the exact location of the object of interest 110 (e.g.,
via triangulation methods), a location and/or route estimate of the
object of interest 110, etc. Each of these notification data are
described in more detail below. In some embodiments, the operations
described in FIGS. 3A and 3B may instead be performed by computing
devices that include security cameras.
[0042] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating how an object of interest
location prediction and/or route may be estimated, according to
embodiments. FIG. 4A includes cell sites 403, 401, 413, 411, 409,
405, and 407. There are also streets that cross through or over
these cell sites--Power Rd. S. starts from cell site 411 and goes
through cell site 407 and becomes Power Rd. N. in cell site 403.
Two streets fork off Power Rd. at cell site 407--Brown Rd. forks
off from Power Rd. starting from cell site 407 and goes into cell
site 401. And Ellsworth Rd. also forks off from Power Rd. starting
from cell site 407 and goes into cell site 405. The object of
interest may be a license plate identifier that is coupled to the
object of interest vehicle 420. The object of interest vehicle 420
may be identified to be starting in a position south of cell site
411 and heading in a northern direction on Power Rd. S. As
described in more detail below, a system associated with the law
enforcement vehicle (e.g., device inference and prediction system
102 and/or the object of interest information provider 106) may
have provided information to an occupant of the law enforcement
vehicle 422 indicating that the object of interest vehicle 420 will
most likely keep travelling north on Power Rd. S. and take a right
on Brown Rd., instead of a left on Ellsworth Rd. or north on Power
Rd. N. Accordingly, the law enforcement vehicle 422 may be oriented
in a blocking or stopping position outside of cell 401 at Brown Rd.
so as to provide a major road block, and/or be in position to
utilize any other halting methods such as placing spike strips on
the street to stop the object of interest vehicle 420.
[0043] The object of interest license plate number or identifier
may first be located by a security camera south of cell site 411.
The license plate number may correspond to a stolen vehicle,
vehicle of a person of interest, etc. In some embodiments, a
specific location estimate may be generated (e.g., by the device
inference and prediction system 102) after the object of interest
and/or a mobile device of the object of interest has been
identified and associated with a particular location and base
station or cell site. For example, after a mobile device of an
object of interest has been identified or inferred (e.g. via the
methods described in FIGS. 3A and 3B), the tracking system may
infiltrate the mobile device and obtain Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) data such that coordinates of where the mobile device is
located (which may be in possession by a person in the object of
interest vehicle 420) may be obtained. Alternatively, once the
mobile device is inferred the mobile identifier may be blacklisted
and EIR data (e.g., IMEIs) may be obtained in order to monitor or
track the inferred mobile device IMEI such that a particular
position of the object of interest may be inferred.
[0044] In some embodiments cell tower triangulation methods may be
utilized to infer a particular position of a mobile device
associated with an object of interest. This is based on the
principle that multiple base stations may receive signals from a
particular mobile device regardless of what cell site the mobile
device is in. And based on a signal strength connection between
particular base stations and the mobile device and the base station
sectors that receive the signals, a particular location can be
inferred. For example, there may be three base stations that are
picking up a signal from a mobile device and each base station may
have three triangular sectors (i.e., Alpha, Beta, and Gamma
sectors) that receive signals associated with a particular
orientation range (e.g., Northeast). The Gamma sector of a first
base station may be picking up a signal at a particular signal
strength value (or may be picking up a time delay value a signal
takes to return to the Gamma sector). This may correspond to a
distance between the mobile device and the first base station. A
Beta sector of a second base station may be picking up a signal at
a particular signal strength value for the same mobile device.
Further, an Alpha sector of a third base station may be picking up
a signal at a particular signal strength value for the same mobile
device. Each of these signal strength value readings, sector
orientations, and distance inferences may be consolidated in order
to pinpoint a location of a mobile device (which an object of
interest may be in possession of).
[0045] In some embodiments, once an object of interest and/or
inferred mobile device has been located (e.g., via GPS coordinates
or by cell tower triangulation), various other information may be
obtained (e.g., GPS data) that specifies what geographical features
(e.g., Power Rd. S., Brown Rd., Power Rd. N., Ellsworth Rd., etc.)
surround the object of interest and/or inferred mobile device.
Other data (e.g., speed of the object of interest, the direction of
travel of the object of interest, etc.) may also be obtained (e.g.,
by a radar within a security camera or an infrared range finder,
etc.) in order to generate a location prediction estimate of where
the object of interest will move at a future time, as described in
more detail below.
[0046] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating in more detail how a
location prediction and/or rout the object of interest in FIG. 4A
may be estimated, according to embodiments. As disclosed herein a
"location prediction estimation" may be an estimated calculation of
where (e.g., specific GPS coordinates, base station location,
triangulated position, etc.) an object of interest will move to or
arrive at a future time given a particular set of data (e.g., the
starting point, direction of travel, the road an object of interest
is on, etc.). A "route estimation" as disclosed herein may refer to
a route (streets driven on, direction traveled, etc.) that an
object of interest will take in the midst of travelling to a
particular destination. The location prediction or route estimation
may be made in any suitable manner using various data mining
techniques, such as hidden Markov models, Kalman filters, or any
other method.
[0047] For example, the location prediction estimation and/or route
estimation may be calculated using a Dynamic Bayesian Network
(DBN), as illustrated by the graph 400. The graph 400 incudes
various nodes-411, 409, 413, 407, 405, 403, and 401--that directly
correspond to the cell cites 411, 409, 413, 407, 405, 403, and 401
of FIG. 4A. DBNs utilize probability theory to predict an outcome
and is premised on the paradigm that an environment can be viewed
as a series of snapshots or time slices (t). DBN assumes that a
same subset of variables is observable in each time slice. The
variables (Xt) denote the set of variables (i.e., nodes 411, 409,
413, 407, 405, 403, or 401) at time t, which may be assumed to be
unobservable. The variables e.sub.t (or E.sub.t) denote a set of
observable evidence variables (e.g., security camera identification
matches in each cell site), which may include multiple types of
evidence variables (e.g., vehicle speed, traffic data, road layout,
etc.), as described in more detail below.
[0048] In a DBN, the location prediction estimation and/or route
estimation may be calculated by inference techniques such as
filtering and prediction. "Filtering" is associated with the
principle of computing a "belief state"--the posterior distribution
over a most recent state--given all the evidence to date.
"Prediction" is the principle of computing the posterior
distribution over a future state, given all of the evidence to
date. Filtering and prediction in the context of FIGS. 4A and 4B
may be represented as follows: P(X.sub.(t+k)|e.sub.(1:t)), where
k>0 and is the quantity of steps predicted into the future, and
where P is the probability. Thus, the device inference and
prediction system 102 or other component may compute, for example,
the probability that the object of interest vehicle 420 will arrive
in cell site 405 in 5 minutes compared to other cell sites, given
all of the evidence observations. Prediction is therefore useful
for evaluation possible courses of action based on their expected
outcomes.
[0049] The location prediction estimation and/or route estimation
may further be estimated through a "most likely explanation" model
in addition to or instead of the filtering and prediction methods
described above. These models provide that given a sequence of
observations, it may be desirable to find the sequence of states
that is most likely to have generated one or more of the
observations. This may be represented by computing:
argmax.sub.(x.sub.(1:t).sub.)P(X.sub.1:t)|e.sub.(1:t)).
[0050] These calculations may be utilized to, for example, explain
why the object of interest license plate attached to the object of
interest vehicle 420 was identified in some cell sites but not
others. For example, if it was observed that the object of interest
vehicle 420 was identified going north on Power Rd. S. through the
cell sites 411 and 407 at slow speeds (e.g., 30 MPH), but then
accelerated to a fast speed (e.g., 90 MPH) at the northern end of
cell site 407, and was beginning to veer right from cell cite 407
onto Brown Rd., yet was not identified in cell site 401, then a
most likely explanation may be that the object of interest vehicle
420 was travelling too fast to be identified within cell site 401.
And if this occurs, in some embodiments, the device inference and
prediction system 102 or other component may still generate
location prediction estimations and/or route estimations,
particularly where the system is making these "most likely
explanation" inferences. Thus an object of interest does not
necessarily need to be identified in every cell site it enters to
make inferences.
[0051] Because DBNs may assume the probability of future
conditionally independent events
P(X.sub.t|X.sub.(0:t-1))=P(X.sub.t|X.sub.(t-1)), it can also be
considered that after identifying an object of interest on G.sub.t,
the inferring of P(A.sub.T|G.sub.T), P(F.sub.T|G.sub.T) and
P(E.sub.T|G.sub.T) would not depend on C.sub.t, B.sub.t, or
D.sub.t, where G=node 407, A=node 405, F=node 403, E=node 401,
C=node 411, B=node 409, and D=node 413. This may narrow down
considerably the possibilities of where the object of interest
vehicle 420 will go. For example, given that the object of interest
vehicle 420 is travelling north on Power Rd. S., and is approaching
cell site 411, and there is only the road configuration available
as illustrated, it must follow that the object of interest must
either take a left at Ellsworth, keep going straight on Power Rd.
N., or take a right at Brown Rd. Given these three possibilities,
the system can make even more inferences within this three-choice
pool, as described in more detail below. Accordingly, instead of
predicting that the object of interest vehicle 420 has a 33.33
percent chance (an equal chance) of taking one of these three
destinations, more calculations may be done to further generate a
location prediction estimate and/or route estimate.
[0052] FIGS. 4B (and 4A) illustrates how a location prediction
estimate and/or route estimate predicts that the object of interest
vehicle 420 will keep travelling north through cell sites 411 and
407 and then through cell site 401. The graph 400 illustrates a
relationship between any two variables denoted by an arrow
connecting one node with another node. The "strength" of the
relationship may be denoted by the thickness of the arrow
connecting the nodes. The graph 400 illustrates that the strongest
relationship is between nodes 411 and 407. The graph 400 also
illustrates that there is no relationship between any node and
nodes 409 or 413. Accordingly, for example, given that the object
of interest vehicle 420 is within the cell site 411, there is a
strong probability (e.g., 95%) that the object of interest vehicle
will travel north into cell site 407 and not deviate into cell
sites 409 or 413. This strong prediction may be made by making
particular observations and compounding various evidence variables.
For example, observations may be made (e.g., by a security camera
and/or device inference and prediction system 102) that the object
of interest vehicle 420 is currently heading north at 50 miles per
hour, that there is only one major road that connects cell site 411
to 407 (i.e., Power Rd. S.), that the object of interest has been
spotted in the past heading to cell site 407 via Power Rd. S.
(instead of taking side residential roads), etc.
[0053] FIGS. 4B (and 4A) also illustrates that there is varying
relationships between node 407 and node 405 (the weakest
relationship), node 407 and node 403, and node 407 and node 401 (a
stronger relationship than nodes 407 and 405). Accordingly, when
the object of interest vehicle 420 is travelling north and is in
cell site 407, it may: travel northwest (via Ellsworth Rd.) into
cell site 405, travel north (via Power Rd. N.) into cell site 403,
or travel northeast (via Brown Rd.) into cell site 401.
[0054] Even though theoretically the object of interest 420 may
take any of these three roads, various data may be obtained in
order to infer which route/destination the object of interest
vehicle 420 will likely take. Such data may include one or more of:
traffic data, traffic light data (e.g., whether a traffic light on
a particular street is or will turn red), speed limit(s) posted on
particular street(s), directions of location interest(s) associated
with the object of interest (e.g., an address of the object of
interest), real time data provided by a mobile device associated
with the object of interest (e.g., text messages, phone calls,
etc.), a history of where an object of interest has been, etc. In
some embodiments, these data may weighted or scored differently in
order to rank or prioritize the importance of data. For example,
real time data may be scored higher or be weighted more than any
other data because it may reflect an interest or intent of a person
associated with the object of interest 420 at a particular moment
in time.
[0055] In an example illustration, the object of interest vehicle
420 may have a 60% chance of taking a right on Brown Rd. and thus
going through cell site 401 (node 401) instead of a 30% chance of
going straight on Power Rd. N. and a 10% chance of going left at
Ellsworth because of various data. For example, the traffic data
(e.g., obtained by the device inference and prediction system 102
and/or security camera) may indicate that Brown Rd. has the least
amount of traffic (e.g., a least quantity of cars that have passed
over a given point (a point where a security camera is) for a
particular duration of time). A location interest, such as a home
address, associated with a person driving the object of interest
420 may be off of Brown Rd. or be at cell site 401. This location
interest may be obtained in various manners. For example, a mobile
phone identifier associated with an object of interest may be
inferred (e.g., via methods analogous to FIG. 3B). After inference,
a system (e.g., the device inference and prediction system 102
and/or the object of interest information provider 106) may query a
registration provider or network associated with the mobile device
in order to get a home address. For example, referring back to FIG.
2, in some embodiments, subscriber datastores may also include a
home address associated with each user or mobile device.
Accordingly, if the device inference and prediction system 102
queried the cellular network, the active subscriber datastore 210
may include a home address, which may then be forwarded to the
device inference and prediction system 102, the security camera
112, and/or the object of interest information provider 106.
Alternatively, an object of interest may be a person's face. The
corresponding facial digital fingerprint may be stored and
associated with a particular person of interest's home address
(e.g., via the object of interest information provide 106).
[0056] In some embodiments, real time data may indicate that the
object of interest vehicle 420 will go down Brown Rd. instead of
any other road. For example, if the mobile device associated with
the object of interest was inferred, the mobile phone may be
infiltrated to obtain data. Accordingly, for example, an object of
interest associated with the mobile phone may text or call another
person indicating that he/she is currently on her way to a
location, which may be at or associated with cell site 401. And
this data may be accessed (e.g., by the device inference and
prediction system 102) and utilized as a factor to generate a
location prediction estimation and/or route estimation.
[0057] In some embodiments, historical data indicating where an
object of interest has been identified in the past may be utilized
to generate a location prediction estimation and/or route
estimation. For example, the object of interest vehicle 420 may
have been identified two weeks ago and four weeks ago heading
northeast on Brown Rd. around the intersection of Power Rd and may
not have historically been identified taking Ellsworth Rd. or Power
Rd. N. It may therefore be inferred that the object of interest
will once again travel down Brown Rd. In some embodiments, this
historical data may also or instead be utilized to infer a mobile
device identifier. For example, using the illustration above, a
mobile device identifier for a particular cell site(s) that was in
common with the two week identification, the four week
identification, and the current identification, may be inferred to
be associated with an object of interest. Therefore, for each
reason stated above, node 407 may indicate a strong relationship
with node 401 thereby providing enough data such that the law
enforcement vehicle 422 may be located outside of cell site 401 in
order to capture or stop the object of interest vehicle 420.
[0058] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an example process for inferring
a mobile device identifier associated with an object of interest
and generating a location prediction estimation or route estimation
of an object of interest, according to embodiments. In some
embodiments, the example process may begin at block 502 when data
is received (e.g., by the device inference and prediction system
102 and/or the security camera 112) corresponding to an identity of
an object of interest. For example, a security camera system may
receive a digital fingerprint associated with an object of
interest's facial identity from the object of interest information
provider 106.
[0059] Per block 504, a first set of data may be received (e.g., by
the device inference and prediction system 102 and/or the security
camera 112) indicating that the object of interest has been
identified. For example, a security camera system may match the
digital fingerprint data received at block 502 to an object of
interest and transmit the first set of data to the device inference
and prediction system 102. Per block 506, a second set of data may
be received indicating a first location of where the object of
interest was identified. The first location may correspond to a
geographical area. For example, a security camera may have matched
a digital fingerprint with an object of interest along with a
location identifier indicating where the matching occurred.
[0060] Per block 508, the first location may be associated with a
first base station (e.g., by the security camera 112 and/or the
device inference and prediction system 102). This may be in
response to the receiving of the first set of data and the second
set of data. For example, the datastore 104 of FIG. 1 may include a
record that specifies the location that it was provided by the
security camera and the corresponding base station ID. Per block
510, it may be determined whether any mobile devices are active
within the first base station range (e.g., a signal strength
threshold). If no mobile devices are active within the first base
station, a counter may be set (e.g., for 2 minutes) to continually
poll a cellular network to determine whether any mobile devices
become active. If no mobile device are still found to be active,
then block 514 may occur. Per block 512, if one or more mobile
devise are active within the first base station range, then a first
list of one or more mobile devices within the active range of the
first base station may be obtained (e.g., by the security camera
112 and/or the device inference and prediction system 102). This
may be in response to the associating at block 508. The "list" of
mobile devices may include mobile device identifiers (e.g.,
telephone numbers) of the mobile devices that are active.
[0061] Per block 514 various estimation data may be generated
(e.g., by the security camera 112 and/or the device inference and
prediction system 102). For example, one or more components may:
generate a location estimation to estimate where exactly the object
of interest is (e.g., via cell tower triangulation, GPS
coordinates, etc.), infer a mobile device identifier of the object
of interest or generate a mobile device identifier estimate of the
object of interest, generate a location prediction estimation/route
estimation of where the object of interest will go. In some
embodiments, a time estimate of how fast the object of interest
will arrive at a particular location may be generated as well. For
example, the security camera 112 may include a speed radar module
configured to estimate a velocity of an object of interest and
based on the velocity and the direction of the velocity, the time
estimate of where the object of interest will go may be generated.
The time estimate may also be included in the operations specified
in block 536.
[0062] Per block 516, a history of where the object of interest has
been identified may be stored (e.g., to the security camera 112,
the object of interest information provider 106 and/or the device
inference and prediction system 102). This information may be
utilized to generate a location prediction estimation or route
estimation of an object of interest at a later time. For example,
if the object of interest was spotted several times going from area
1 to area 2, this may be stored data. The next time the object of
interest is identified in area 1, it may be predicted that the
object of interest will go into area 2. This historical data may be
utilized for "machine learning" in intelligent systems. Machine
learning is the ability learn or recognize patterns without
receiving explicit user input.
[0063] Per block 518, a computing device (e.g., the object of
interest information provider 106 and/or the device inference and
prediction system 102) may be notified that the object of interest
has been identified. For example, after a security camera
identifies a particular object of interest, the security camera may
notify the object of interest information provider 106
corresponding to law enforcement. This notification may include
various sets of information, such as what and where the object of
interest was located, a location prediction estimation, mobile
device identifier inferences, etc.
[0064] Per block 520, it may be determined whether the object of
interest was identified at a second location. Per block 522, if the
object of interest was identified at the second location then
another set of data may be received indicating that the object of
interest has been identified at the second location. Per block 524,
the second location may be associated with a second base station.
Per block 526, a second list of one or more mobile devices within
an active range of the second base station may be obtained.
[0065] Per block 528, it may be determined (e.g., by the device
inference and prediction system 102 and/or the security camera 112)
whether any mobile devices are in common (e.g., the same as)
between the first and second base stations (e.g., via the
operations specified in FIG. 3B). Per block 530, if there are any
mobile devices in common between the first and second base stations
then a mobile device identifier associated with the object of
interest (a mobile device in possession of the object of interest)
may be inferred based on the determining which mobile device
identifiers generated by the first base station are in common with
the second base station. And based on the receiving the set (the
third set) of data at block 522. For example, referring back to
FIG. 3B, if only one mobile device identifier--mobile device
116--was found to be in common with those identified around the
base station 120, then it may be inferred that mobile device 116 is
associated with an object of interest. Alternatively, per block
532, a mobile device identifier estimate of the object of interest
may be generated. For example, referring back to FIG. 3B, if by the
time the object of interest arrived at the base station 322 and
both mobile devices 116 and 118 were both identified in cell site
109, then it may be estimated that either the mobile devices 116 or
118 may belong to the object of interest 110, as these two mobile
device identifiers were the only common identifiers identified at
cell site 101.
[0066] Per block 534, a location estimation to estimate where
exactly the object of interest is may be generated (e.g., by the
security camera 112, the object of interest provider 106, and/or
the object of interest information provider 106). For example, as
described above, the exact (or near exact) location may be
generated via GPS coordinates, cell tower triangulation, etc. Per
block 536, a location prediction estimate may be generated (e.g.,
by the device inference and prediction system 102, the security
camera 112, and/or the object of interest information provider) of
where the object of interest will move at a future time may be
made. As discussed above, this estimation may be generated using
various data such as traffic data, handoff data, history of where
the object of interest has been identified, etc.
[0067] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of an example process 600
illustrating how a tracking system identifies an object of
interest, according to embodiments. The process 600 may begin at
block 602 when a device (e.g., a surveillance system or security
camera) identifies an object of interest. The identification may
occur in any suitable manner according to various embodiments. For
example, the security camera 112 may be a computing device that
stores various object of interest fingerprints. These fingerprints
may include digital patterns that directly correspond to a person
of interest's facial pattern or other objects. For example, these
fingerprints may be or include a computer-aided design (CAD) that
may be a graphical representation of an object of interest. The
security camera 112 may continuously monitor or scan its
environment in order to potentially match the fingerprints to an
object of interest. The matching or visual identification may occur
in any suitable manner. For example, the security camera 112 may
continuously run computer vision tracking or object recognition
algorithms such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Hidden
Markov Model, dynamic link matching, etc. in order to identify an
object of interest.
[0068] In some embodiments, the identification of the object of
interest at block 602 may occur via microphone instead of or in
addition to security cameras. For example, the security camera 112
may include a microphone configured to pick up voice patterns of
objects or people. The security camera 112 may include a speech
recognition or natural language processing (NLP) module configured
to identify words or sentences a person is saying based on a sound
input (e.g., processed by a "most likely explanation" algorithm
described above for DBN networks) of that person. In an example
illustration, the security camera may store coined phrases or voice
fingerprints associated with an object of interest. For example, an
object of interest may always say a particular unique phrase. That
unique phrase may be stored to the security such that any time the
security camera identifies the particular phrase (e.g., via NLP and
a microphone), the object of interest may be identified. In other
examples, the object of interest's voice itself regardless of the
content may be identified via voice matching algorithms (e.g., via
Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) and/or Dynamic Time
Warping (DTW) algorithms).
[0069] In some embodiments, the object of interest may already be
known (e.g., by law enforcement officers) before the object of
interest is identified by a tracking system. For example,
particular objects of interest may be missing or wanted for a
crime. Accordingly, the object of interest information provider
106, for example, may upload object of interest fingerprints to the
security camera 112 so that the security camera 112 knows what to
identify. Alternatively, objects of interest may not be known by
entities but may be dynamically identified based on one or more
real time input data that the tracking system receives from an
object. For example, the security camera 112 may identify (e.g.,
via NLP and a microphone) particular words or sentences that are
associated with particular crimes. For example, a NLP module and
microphone may identify a string of words "I'm going to rob the
store tonight," and associate this string with an actionable
response such as notifying the object of interest information
provider 106 and/or the device inference and prediction system 102.
The person saying this phrase could then become an object of
interest. The security camera 112 could then, for example, take a
snapshot digital picture of the object of interest and store (or
transmit) such information in order to track such individual
through various cell sites, as described above.
[0070] Per block 606, and in some embodiments, data may be
transmitted indicating the identity of the object of interest and
that the object of interest was identified at a first location. For
example, the security camera 112 may capture image information of
the object of interest to identify the object of interest and then
transmit a location identifier and identity of the object of
interest to the device inference and prediction system 102. In
other embodiments however, per block 604 the first location may be
associated with a first base station. And per block 608, a first
list of one or more mobile device within an active range of the
first base station may be obtained. Accordingly, the security
camera 112, for example may be the component (e.g., instead of or
in addition to the device inference and prediction system 102) that
does the associating or the obtaining of lists.
[0071] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computing device 700 that
includes a device inference module 702, a prediction module 704,
and object of interest fingerprints 706, according to embodiments.
In some embodiments, the computing device 700 represents the device
inference and prediction system 102, the security camera 112,
and/or the object of interest information provider 106. The
components of the computing device 700 can include one or more
processors 06, a memory 12, a terminal interface 18, a storage
interface 20, an Input/Output ("I/O") device interface 22, and a
network interface 24, all of which are communicatively coupled,
directly or indirectly, for inter-component communication via a
memory bus 10, an I/O bus 16, bus interface unit ("IF") 08, and an
I/O bus interface unit 14.
[0072] The computing device 700 may include one or more
general-purpose programmable central processing units (CPUs) 06A
and 06B, herein generically referred to as the processor 06. In an
embodiment, the computing device 700 may contain multiple
processors; however, in another embodiment, the computing device
700 may alternatively be a single CPU device. Each processor 06
executes instructions stored in the memory 12 (e.g., the device
inference module 702).
[0073] The computing device 700 may include a bus interface unit 08
to handle communications among the processor 06, the memory 12, the
display system 04, and the I/O bus interface unit 14. The I/O bus
interface unit 14 may be coupled with the I/O bus 16 for
transferring data to and from the various I/O units. The I/O bus
interface unit 14 may communicate with multiple I/O interface units
18, 20, 22, and 24, which are also known as I/O processors (IOPs)
or I/O adapters (IOAs), through the I/O bus 16. The display system
04 may include a display controller, a display memory, or both. The
display controller may provide video, audio, or both types of data
to a display device 02. The display memory may be a dedicated
memory for buffering video data. The display system 04 may be
coupled with a display device 02, such as a standalone display
screen, computer monitor, television, a tablet or handheld device
display, or another other displayable device. In an embodiment, the
display device 02 may include one or more speakers for rendering
audio. Alternatively, one or more speakers for rendering audio may
be coupled with an I/O interface unit.
[0074] In alternate embodiments, one or more functions provided by
the display system 04 may be on board an integrated circuit that
also includes the processor 06. In addition, one or more of the
functions provided by the bus interface unit 08 may be on board an
integrated circuit that also includes the processor 06.
[0075] The I/O interface units support communication with a variety
of storage and I/O devices. For example, the terminal interface
unit 18 supports the attachment of one or more user I/O devices,
which may include user output devices (such as a video display
devices, speaker, and/or television set) and user input devices
(such as a keyboard, mouse, keypad, touchpad, trackball, buttons,
light pen, or other pointing devices). A user may manipulate the
user input devices using a user interface, in order to provide
input data and commands to the user I/O device 26 and the computing
device 700, may receive output data via the user output devices.
For example, a user interface may be presented via the user I/O
device 26, such as displayed on a display device, played via a
speaker, or printed via a printer.
[0076] The storage interface 20 supports the attachment of one or
more disk drives or direct access storage devices 28 (which are
typically rotating magnetic disk drive storage devices, although
they could alternatively be other storage devices, including arrays
of disk drives configured to appear as a single large storage
device to a host computer, or solid-state drives, such as a flash
memory). In another embodiment, the storage device 28 may be
implemented via any type of secondary storage device. The contents
of the memory 12, or any portion thereof, may be stored to and
retrieved from the storage device 28 as needed. The storage devices
28 may be employed to store any of the databases or data store data
described herein. The I/O device interface 22 provides an interface
to any of various other I/O devices or devices of other types, such
as printers or fax machines. The network interface 24 provides one
or more communication paths from the computing device 700 to other
digital devices and computer systems.
[0077] Although the computing device 700 shown in FIG. 7
illustrates a particular bus structure providing a direct
communication path among the processors 06, the memory 12, the bus
interface 08, the display system 04, and the I/O bus interface unit
14, in alternative embodiments the computing device 700 may include
different buses or communication paths, which may be arranged in
any of various forms, such as point-to-point links in hierarchical,
star or web configurations, multiple hierarchical buses, parallel
and redundant paths, or any other appropriate type of
configuration. Furthermore, while the I/O bus interface unit 14 and
the I/O bus 08 are shown as single respective units, the computing
device 700, may include multiple I/O bus interface units 14 and/or
multiple I/O buses 16. While multiple I/O interface units are
shown, which separate the I/O bus 16 from various communication
paths running to the various I/O devices, in other embodiments,
some or all of the I/O devices are connected directly to one or
more system I/O buses.
[0078] In various embodiments, the computing device 700 is a
multi-user mainframe computer system, a single-user system, or a
server computer or similar device that has little or no direct user
interface, but receives requests from other computer systems
(clients). In other embodiments, the computing device 700 may be
implemented as a desktop computer, portable computer, laptop or
notebook computer, tablet computer, pocket computer, telephone,
smart phone, smart watch, or any other suitable type of electronic
device.
[0079] In an embodiment, the memory 12 may include a random-access
semiconductor memory, storage device, or storage medium (either
volatile or non-volatile) for storing or encoding data and
programs. In another embodiment, the memory 12 represents the
entire virtual memory of the computing device 700, and may also
include the virtual memory of other computer systems coupled to the
computing device 700 or connected via a network 30. The memory 12
may be a single monolithic entity, but in other embodiments the
memory 12 may include a hierarchy of caches and other memory
devices. For example, memory may exist in multiple levels of
caches, and these caches may be further divided by function, so
that one cache holds instructions while another holds
non-instruction data, which is used by the processor. Memory 12 may
be further distributed and associated with different CPUs or sets
of CPUs, as is known in any various so-called non-uniform memory
access (NUMA) computer architectures.
[0080] The memory 12 may store all or a portion of the components
and data (e.g., the device inference module 702) shown in FIG. 7.
These programs and data are illustrated in FIG. 7 as being included
within the memory 12 in the computing device 700; however, in other
embodiments, some or all of them may be on different computer
systems and may be accessed remotely, e.g., via a network 30. The
computing device 700 may use virtual addressing mechanisms that
allow the programs of the computing device 700 to behave as if they
only have access to a large, single storage entity instead of
access to multiple, smaller storage entities. Thus, while the
components and data shown in FIG. 7 are illustrated as being
included within the memory 12, these components and data are not
necessarily all completely contained in the same storage device at
the same time. Although the components and data shown in FIG. 7 are
illustrated as being separate entities, in other embodiments some
of them, portions of some of them, or all of them may be packaged
together.
[0081] In an embodiment, the components and data shown in the
memory 12 of FIG. 7 (the device inference module 702, the
prediction module 704, and/or the object of interest fingerprints
702) may include instructions or statements that are
executable/readable on the processor 06 or instructions or
statements that are interpreted by instructions or statements that
execute/read on the processor 06 to carry out the functions as
described above. In another embodiment, the components shown in
FIG. 7 may be implemented in hardware via semiconductor devices,
chips, logical gates, circuits, circuit cards, and/or other
physical hardware devices in lieu of, or in addition to, a
processor-based system. In an embodiment, the components shown in
FIG. 5 may include data in addition to instructions or
statements.
[0082] In some embodiments, the device inference module 702 is
configured to infer a mobile device or generate a mobile device
estimate of an object of interest. The device inference module 702
may be further configured to perform some or each of the operations
and/or block functions as specified in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B,
5, and/or 6. In some embodiments, the prediction module 704 may be
configured to generate a location prediction estimate of where the
object of interest is and/or will be. The prediction module 704 may
be further configured to perform some or each of the operations
and/or block functions as specified in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B,
5, and/or 6. The object of interest fingerprints 706 may be digital
pictures/fingerprints that correspond and are used to identify an
object of interest. The object of interest fingerprints 706 may in
addition or instead be stored to the storage device 28 (e.g., a
database). In some embodiments, the device inference module 702,
the prediction module 704, and/or the object of interest
fingerprints 706 may be combined to form a single module instead of
separate modules. This single module may perform each of the
operations and/or blocks as specified in each figure.
[0083] FIG. 7 is intended to depict representative components of
the computing device 700. Individual components, however, may have
greater complexity than represented in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7,
components other than or in addition to those shown may be present,
and the number, type, and configuration of such components may
vary. Several particular examples of additional complexity or
additional variations are disclosed herein; these are by way of
example only and are not necessarily the only such variations. The
various program components illustrated in FIG. 7 may be
implemented, in various embodiments, in a number of different ways,
including using various computer applications, routines,
components, programs, objects, modules, data pages etc., which may
be referred to herein as "software," "computer programs," or simply
"programs."
[0084] Aspects of the present invention may be a system, a method,
and/or a computer program product. The computer program product may
include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having
computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a
processor to carry out aspects of the various embodiments.
[0085] The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible
device that can retain and store instructions for use by an
instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium
may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage
device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an
electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or
any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of
more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium
includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk,
a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a
floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon,
and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
[0086] Computer readable program instructions described herein can
be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device.
[0087] Computer readable program instructions for carrying out
operations of embodiments of the present invention may be assembler
instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions,
machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode,
firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or
object code written in any combination of one or more programming
languages, including an object oriented programming language such
as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural
programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The computer readable program
instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on
the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on
the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on
the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote
computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type
of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external
computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet
Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry
including, for example, programmable logic circuitry,
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays
(PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by
utilizing state information of the computer readable program
instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to
perform aspects of embodiments of the present invention.
[0088] Aspects of the present invention are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program instructions.
[0089] These computer readable program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in
a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a
programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable
storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an
article of manufacture including instructions which implement
aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block
diagram block or blocks.
[0090] The computer readable program instructions may also be
loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing
apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps
to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or
other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that
the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable
apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0091] The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in
the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
[0092] The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present
invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are
not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments
disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope
and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used
herein was chosen to explain the principles of the embodiments, the
practical application or technical improvement over technologies
found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in
the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
* * * * *