System and method for demarkating smart areas

Abstract

A method, system and computer readable media for detecting entry of an IoT pack into a geofenced location. The method may begin by broadcasting a Bluetooth inquiry message from a Bluetooth radio that forms a part of an IoT pack. Upon receipt of one or more responses to the inquiry message a Bluetooth radio that forms a part of a given beacon used to demark a geofenced location, the IoT pack energizes an ultra wide band radio that forms a part of the IoT pack and begins sending and receiving ultra wide band signals to an ultra wide band radios that form a part of the given beacon. Ranging information is calculated from the IoT pack to the one or more beacons on the basis of the received ultra wide band signals, which is analyzed to determine the location of the IoT pack relative to the geofenced location.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for detecting entry of an IoT pack into a geofenced location, the system comprising:
 a plurality of beacons arranged along the perimeter of a geofenced location, a given one of the plurality of beacons operative to transmit one or more signals; and   an IoT pack operative to receive the one or more signals from one or more of the plurality of beacons and determine its location on the basis thereof relative to the geofenced location.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein a given one of the plurality of beacons comprises:
 a base by which to affix the given beacon to a surface; 
 a durable enclosure that defines an internal volume for the storage of one or more electrical and mechanical components; 
 one or more radio transceivers disposed of within the internal volume of the durable enclosure; and 
 a power source to energize the one or more radios. 
 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  wherein a given one of the one or more radios is an ultra wide band radio. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2  wherein a given one of the one or more radios is a Bluetooth radio. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the geofenced location is a polygon and the plurality of beacons are arranged at the vertices of the geofenced location 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the IoT pack comprises an ultra wide band radio and is operative to receive one or more ultra wide band signals. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the IoT pack comprises a Bluetooth radio. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the IoT pack engages the ultra wide band radio in response to the receipt of a response to a Bluetooth inquiry message. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the IoT pack disengages the ultra wide band radio after expiration of a timeout period. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the IoT pack comprises:
 a programmable processor; 
 one or more radio transceivers to receive signals; 
 a storage device; and 
 program code retrievable from the storage device and executable by the programmable processor to determine the location of the IoT pack relative to the geofenced location on the basis of the received one or more signals from one or more of the plurality of beacons. 
 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the processor executes program code to perform an action in response to determining the location of the IoT pack relative to the geofenced location. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the processor executes program code to perform an action in response to determining that the IoT pack has entered the geofenced location. 
     
     
         13 . A method for detecting entry of an IoT pack into a geofenced location, the method comprising:
 broadcasting a Bluetooth inquiry message from a Bluetooth radio that forms a part of an IoT pack;   Upon receipt of one or more responses to the inquiry message from one or more Bluetooth radios that form a part of one or more beacons that are used to demark a geofenced location, energizing an ultra wide band radio that forms a part of the IoT pack and receiving ultra wide band signals from one or more ultra wide band radios that form a part of the one or more beacons;   Calculating ranging information from the IoT pack to the one or more beacons on the basis of the received ultra wide band signals; and   Analyzing the calculated ranging information to determine the location of the IoT pack relative to the geofenced location.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein analyzing the calculated ranging information comprises determining if the IoT pack is located within the geofenced location. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein calculating ranging information from the IoT pack to the one or more beacons comprises using Two-Way Ranging (“TWR”) to determine the location of the IoT pack 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein using TWR to determine the location of the IoT pack comprises multiplying the round-trip time of the ultra wide band signals between the IoT pack and a given beacon by the speed of light and then dividing by two. 
     
     
         17 . Non-transitory computer readable media comprising program code that when executed by a programmable processor causes execution of a method for detecting entry of an IoT pack into a geofenced location, the computer readable media comprising:
 computer program code for broadcasting a Bluetooth inquiry message from a Bluetooth radio that forms a part of an IoT pack;   computer program code for energizing an ultra wide band radio that forms a part of the IoT pack and receiving ultra wide band signals from one or more ultra wide band radios that form a part of the one or more beacons upon receipt of one or more responses to the inquiry message from one or more Bluetooth radios that form a part of one or more beacons that are used to demark a geofenced location;   computer program code for calculating ranging information from the IoT pack to the one or more beacons on the basis of the received ultra wide band signals; and   computer program code for analyzing the calculated ranging information to determine the location of the IoT pack relative to the geofenced location.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program code of  claim 17  wherein the computer program code for analyzing the calculated ranging information comprises computer program code for determining if the IoT pack is located within the geofenced location 
     
     
         19 . The computer program code of  claim 17  wherein the computer program code for calculating ranging information from the IoT pack to the one or more beacons comprises computer program code for using Two-Way Ranging (“TWR”) to determine the location of the IoT pack. 
     
     
         20 . The computer program code of  claim 17  wherein the computer program code for using TWR to determine the location of the IoT pack comprises computer program code for multiplying the round-trip time of the ultra wide band signals between the IoT pack and a given beacon by the speed of light and then dividing by two.