Method and apparatus for predicting object properties and events using similarity-based information retrieval and modeling

Abstract

Method and apparatus for predicting properties of a target object comprise application of a search manager for analyzing parameters of a plurality of databases for a plurality of objects, the databases comprising an electrical, electromagnetic, acoustic spectral database (ESD), a micro-body assemblage database (MAD) and a database of image data whereby the databases store data objects containing identifying features, source information and information on site properties and context including time and frequency varying data. The method comprises application of multivariate statistical analysis and principal component analysis in combination with content-based image retrieval for providing two-dimensional attributes of three dimensional objects, for example, via preferential image segmentation using a tree of shapes and to predict further properties of objects by means of k-means clustering and related methods. By way of example, one of a criminal activity and a fraudulent activity event, an intrusion event and a fire event and residual objects may be predicted and located and qualified such that, for example, properties of the residual objects may be qualified, for example, via black body radiation and micro-body databases including charcoal assemblages.

What we claim is: 
     
         1 . A method of detecting a pattern of one of a fraudulent activity and a criminal activity by recording an object in a transaction database, the object comprising at least one suspicious transaction in a transaction database, the transaction database being coupled to processor search manager apparatus, the processor search manager apparatus comprising a processor and memory, the memory coupled to the transaction database, the method comprising
 testing by said processor of hypotheses representing a possible organizational structure of a criminal or fraudulent conspiracy, said transaction database comprising one of a similarity-based and a nearest neighbor search; and   applying at least one model to results returned from the database in response to a query, the query requesting objects in said transaction database most similar to a target object, the queried objects, responsive to the query, being most similar to each other, the testing including testing at least one hypothesis and detecting the pattern of one of the fraudulent activity and the criminal activity; the pattern detection comprising a prediction of attributes including two of gender, marital status, occupation and age of an offender of the suspicious transaction and member of the criminal or fraudulent conspiracy.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , the transaction database comprising purchasing patterns of a plurality of consumers, the method further comprising applying the model to consumer members of a cluster of similar consumer behavior to obtain a relationship comprising a flow of one of capital, goods and services between consumer members of the cluster. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  an organizational structure hypothesis comprising interactions among a plurality of communication devices forming nodes of a communications network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the transaction comprises a medical record of medical data of a medical claim of a consumer of medical services to detect a pattern of fraudulent activity of the consumer. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , the transaction database comprising a financial transaction database, the method comprising predicting an instance of medical insurance fraud by one of a consumer and an enterprise responsive to a query of the financial transaction database. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the pattern comprises equities that move as a group in a first transaction or move as a plurality of transactions delayed in time with respect to one another. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising mining transaction information stored in the transaction database to identify a cluster representing a similar behavior including a purchasing pattern of one of a consumer and an enterprise. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of databases, the plurality of databases including the transaction database, a spectral property database, a micro-body assemblage database and an image database, the method further comprising predicting one of a source, an origin and a location of one of an object responsive to the query with reference to the spectral database, the micro-body assemblage database or the image database. 
     
     
         9 . A method of detecting a pattern of a fraudulent activity by recording an object in a transaction database, the object comprising at least one suspicious transaction in a transaction database, the transaction database being coupled to processor search manager apparatus, the processor search manager apparatus comprising a processor and memory, the memory coupled to the transaction database, the method comprising
 testing by said processor of hypotheses representing possible organizational structures of fraudulent activity, said transaction database comprising one of a similarity-based and a nearest neighbor search; and   applying at least one model to results returned from the database in response to a query, the query requesting objects in said transaction database most similar to a target object, the queried objects, responsive to the query, being most similar to each other, the testing including testing at least one hypothesis and detecting the pattern of fraudulent activity.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , the transaction database comprising purchasing patterns of a plurality of consumers, the method further comprising applying the model to consumer members of a cluster of similar consumer behavior to obtain a relationship comprising a flow of one of capital, goods and services between consumer members of the cluster. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9  an organizational structure hypothesis comprising interactions among a plurality of communication devices forming nodes of a communications network. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the transaction comprises a medical record of medical data of a medical claim of a consumer of medical services to detect a pattern of fraudulent activity of one of the consumer and an enterprise. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , the transaction database comprising a medical transaction database, the method comprising predicting an instance of medical insurance fraud by one of a consumer and an enterprise responsive to a query of the transaction database. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the pattern comprises one of equities and money that move as a group in a first transaction or the one of equities and money move as a plurality of transactions delayed in time with respect to one another and the possible organizational structure. 
     
     
         15 . A method of detecting a pattern of a criminal activity by recording an object in a criminal transaction database, the object comprising at least one suspicious criminal transaction in the criminal transaction database, the criminal transaction database being coupled to processor search manager apparatus, the processor search manager apparatus comprising a processor and memory, the memory coupled to the criminal transaction database, the method comprising
 testing by said processor of hypotheses representing a possible organizational structure of a criminal conspiracy, said criminal transaction database comprising one of a similarity-based and a nearest neighbor search; and   applying at least one model to results returned from the database in response to a query, the query requesting objects in said criminal transaction database most similar to a target object, the queried objects, responsive to the query, being most similar to each other, the testing including testing at least one hypothesis and detecting the pattern of the criminal activity; the pattern detection comprising a prediction of attributes including two of gender, marital status, occupation and age of an offender of the criminal transaction and member of the criminal conspiracy.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , the model comprising one of a Bayesian model and a belief network, the model comprising a graph of hypothetical relationships between objects responsive to the query. 
     
     
         17 . The method of claim  30  further comprising performing a search of the transaction database against itself to determine a list of most similar clusters. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising predicting one of an individual offender and an entity engaged in an illicit enterprise. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising predicting one of a type of material used to accelerate a fire and a type of carried weapon. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , the hypotheses comprising first and second hypothesis comprising first and second likelihoods, the set of first and second likelihoods comprising a likelihood ratio.