WO2006043882A1

WO2006043882A1 - Safety and tracking method and device

Info

Publication number: WO2006043882A1
Application number: PCT/SE2005/001551
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tahamtani Hooman
Original assignee: Upfront Consulting Ab
Priority date: 2004-10-18
Filing date: 2005-10-17
Publication date: 2006-04-27
Also published as: SE0402528D0; EP1803319A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and device for communicating with a person in distress comprising the steps of: providing a communication device (1); initiating an event in said communication device (1) for opening a two-way communication link with a monitoring entity (404); starting a camera (20) and display unit (40) on said communication device (1); transmitting communication signals between said communication device (1) and said monitoring entity (404); transmitting position data of and images from said communication device (1) to said monitoring entity (404).

Description

Safety and tracking method and device

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a safety method and a device, and particularly a method and device for increasing the safety for a person.

Background of the invention

As the population grows older and people want to be more active higher in age this change of behavior will have to be met by the agencies working with elderly people and having responsibility for their safety and whereabouts. For these-reasons, it is possible to use modern and innovative information technology as an aid in these types of responsibilities.

The same need is present in other areas such as children care, functionally challenged people, or sick people.

Several different devices have been proposed and are available on the market, such as panic button devices for people at nursing homes, wherein a carrier of the panic button may raise attention of the staff that he or she need some kind of assistance. However, these types of devices have drawbacks such as limited range of transmission and disability to provide positioning information of the person in distress, etc.

Moreover, occasionally there is a need to communicate interactively with the person in distress in order to establish the actual need and level of distress. Many times, it might be possible to help the person by only communicating on distance and solving a minor problem for the person. This illustrates a need for a device and method of using such a device for enabling this type of interactive communication. Summary of the invention

Thus, it is the object of the present invention to provide such a device and method of communication that may provide several communication advantages depending on situations.

The present invention relates to a communication device providing enhanced communication solutions for people in distress and ensures a secure and reliable service for care takers and other responsible agencies. The method and device provide multiple communication channels while at the same time being able to provide an aid or rescue team, service center or support organization with location data.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A method is provided for communicating with a person in distress comprising the steps of: providing a communication device, initiating an event in said communication device for opening a two-way communication link with a monitoring entity, starting a camera and display unit on said communication device, transmitting communication signals between said communication device and said monitoring entity, and transmitting position data of and images from said communication device to said monitoring entity. The method may further comprising using said images in order to assist an aid team for assessment of a condition of said person in distress and/or for assisting said aid team in locating said person in distress. The event is triggered by one or several of: pushing a button, activation by voice, input signal from a sensor; or input from said communication link. Preferably, the position data are obtained from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS or Galileo. The communication signals may be one or several of sound, text, or image data.

The invention also relates to a device for alerting a monitoring entity and communicating with a person in distress. The device comprises: a communication arrangement, a camera, a positioning arrangement for obtaining position coordinates, an arrangement for triggering a response, and a microphone and/or speaker; The communication arrangement is arranged to establish a communication link upon activation of said trigger arrangement and to provide said position coordinates, and data from said camera, and/or said microphone to a monitoring entity receiver in order to acquire aid in a distress situation. The invention also relates to a system for alerting a monitoring- entity and, communicating with a person in distress, comprising: a positioning network, a device as previously lined out, a communication network, a monitoring entity. The device comprises means for activation upon a trigger event, means for establishing a two-way communication link with said monitoring, entity in response to said event via said communication network, means for providing position coordinates of said device obtained from said positioning network, and means for providing at least one of image data, voice data, text data, and physiological data to said monitoring entity in order for said monitoring entity to assist said person in distress. Preferably, the position coordinates are provided through at least one of said device or positioning network.

The invention also relates to a device for monitoring the location of a person under surveillance, comprising: a communication arrangement for communicating with an infrastructure; a positioning arrangement for obtaining position coordinates. The device continuously transmits said position coordinates to a monitoring entity.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

Brief description of the drawings

In the following the invention will be described in a non limiting way and in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the enclosed drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates schematically a device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates block diagram illustrating the steps of a method according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of some functional units in the device as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 illustrates in schematic way a system setup according to the present invention. Detailed description of the invention

The present invention describes a method and device for increasing the safety and confidence for persons with special needs. The device provides a plurality of communication channels and may also transmit location coordinates concerning the geographical location of the device.

Fig. 1 illustrates a device according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Such a device may comprise several interfacing and interacting units depending on application area. However, in a more general solution, from which components or functions may be removed, the following parts and functions may be provided.

For instance the device 1 may be provided with a wireless communication link to a support organization, the communication link being one of , but not limited to NMT, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, mobile phone systems 1, 2, 2.5, and 3G, satellite phone system, WCDMA, CDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The communication link is not limited to above mentioned cellular radio protocols and systems but may also comprise radio standards found within rescue frequency bands, radio standards for local communication (e.g. WLAN within 802.11 range, 802.16, the so called WiFi related systems, and WiMax systems), ISM frequency bands and so on. The radio part of the device may be of a modular concept wherein the radio part may be changed at production time or at a later staqe depending on the application area. The device 1 a housing 11 in which is arranged: - An antenna 10,

A camera 20, - One or several indicators 30,

A display unit 40, A speaker 61 , - A microphone 62,

A bottom 80. - Band 90, and - Bottom 100.

One or several antennas 10 may be located externally on and/or internally in the housing 11 of the device 1 in order to facilitate the communication link and an as GPS or Galileo satellite systems. GPS is a satellite based positioning system launched and controlled by USA while the Galileo system is launched and controlled by a European initiative part of a GNSS.

In order to further facilitate the positioning of the person in distress the camera 20 is be provided, which may provide a rescue team with a visual observation of the local surroundings. Images may be transmitted as MMS messages or in a video stream depending on communication protocol and complexity of the device 1. The camera 20 may also be utilized In a two-way communication between the person carrying the device and a support organization. This may aid in an assessment of the condition of the person. Since the communication can be of two-way type, the display unit 40 may be provided with or in the device 1. The display unit 40 may display general information about location coordinates, the current time, personal data (e.g. name, address, and medical data), images/video of a person from the support organization, map or direction indication for guiding the person to a location, and so on. The display unit 40 may further contain text messages transmitted from the support organization generated by a person in the support organization or automaticalIy by a software system. These text messages may be transmitted as SMS messages or as packet based data (e.g. using the IP protocol).

The Speaker 61 and/or microphone 62 are provided in the device in order to communicate with sound between the person and support organization. The speaker may also be used as a siren controllable either from the support organization or by the person. For instance, if a person is hidden in some way and a rescue team has difficulties finding the person, the support organization may trigger the siren and thus the rescue team can trace the sound for finding the person. If a microphone is provided, an alarm or establishment of communication link may be voice activated as a triggering event.

Otherways of initiating a communication link may be through the activation of an event button 80, such as a distress or panic button. The person presses the button and this activates the chain of steps for establishing a communication link with the support organization. The establishment may be through a predetermined destination (e. g. a predetermined phone number) or dependent on the geographical location of the device 1. In a preferred embodiment, the device 1 is provided in such a way that it can be attached to a wrist of a person with watchbands 90 for securing the device 1 on the arm. However, the invention is not limited to this; other securing mechanisms may be used as understood by the person skilled in the art. It is not limited, to mounting on the arm; it may also be fitted on any suitable part of the body or to the clothes of the person with therefore, appropriate fastening mechanisms; e.g. a clip on mechanism or a clamping mechanism.

The device 1 may further comprise one or several buttons for interacting with the device 1, for example an on/off switch 100 may be provided. Other functions that may be provided are for example a reset button, time adjustment button and so on. The device 1 may yet further comprise one or several indicators 30 for displaying the status of the device 1, e.g. a power and/or battery indicator; the power and battery indicator may be combined into one LED 30 displaying different colors depending on status, e.g. green for power on and sufficient battery power, yellow for power on and battery level below a predetermined level, and red for power on but battery level critically low as controlled by a second predetermined level. Other indicators (not shown) may be used for displaying other information, such as positioning data reception, communication link reception, and data from a measurement of physiological data.

Internally, the device 1, designated, here with 200 comprises several different possible units as seen in Fig. 2. It comprises a processing unit 201, such as a microprocessor, embedded processor, ASIC, FPGA, or similar computational device; a memory unit 202 of either volatile or non-volatile type. The device 200 may further comprise one or several communication units 205, 206, e.g. for the wireless link with the support organization, a fixed (or wireless) link for communication with the device locally for software updating, configuration or similar purposes. The local link may be a n Ethernet link, a series communication link, USB, Firewire, I2C, or similar standard or non-standard communication protocol links. The communication unit 206 for local link will have a suitable connector (not shown) connected to the unit 206. This type of local link may also be utilized using a wireless protocol such as Bluetooth, WLAN, or similar local radio communication links as understood by the person skilled in the art. Such a wireless link may also be utilized in case of where the system comprises a "hands free-set". The term "hands free set" means a speaker and microphone in a headset which is common for mobile, phones for The device 200 may further comprise one or several sensors (not shown) and/or sensor input means (not shown) in order to respond to the sensor signal or to measure different variables, such as but not limited to, physiological data of the person in possession of the device 200. These variables may be transmitted to the support organization and/or may be used as a trigger event for establishing contact with the support organization.

A method according to the present invention may comprise the following steps as illustrated in Fig. 3:

- triggering an event for opening a two-way communication link with a central service (step 301);

- starting a camera and display unit on the communication device (step 302); - transmitting communication signals between said communication device and the central service; the communication signals being one or both of sound and image data (step 303);

- transmitting position coordinates of the communication device to the central service (step 304); and - using the images in order to assist a rescue team in locating the person in distress (step 305).

It is also possible to provide the central service with position data directly from a positioning service.

However, the steps can be different depending on the application area of course.

In Fig. 4, the device, designated in this case with 401, according to the present invention is shown in relation to a complete system. A person 402 is equipped with a device 401 according to the present invention. The device 401 is in contact 407 with one or several positioning sources 408 in order to be able to obtain positioning coordinates. Examples of positioning systems 408 are be GPS or Galileo, GLASNOSS satellite based positioning systems and/or positioning systems, based on cellular telephony infrastructure systems. These can be operated in combination in order to give better accuracy and provide redundancy. Satellite based positioning systems can be vulnerable due to a line of sight problem: if the receiver is indoors or e.g. in a dense forest, the reception may be too weak to obtain good coordinates. In such a case a cellular telephony based positioning system may provide redundancy; however, with a reduced accuracy.

The device 401 may further be able to establish contact 406 to an infrastructure system 403, comprising for instance a base station 403 in the case of using a cellular communication system: (e.g. mobile phone system such as GSM, UMTS) or a wireless gateway or access point considering, a WLAN or WMAN, these in turn may be connected 405 to a support organization 404 via a network infrastructure. The support organization 404 may communicate with the person 402 since in the present embodiment the communication link is a two-way link. The support organization 404 may communicate 410 (wirelessly or wired) with a rescue team 409 in order to guide the rescue team 409 to the person 402, thus decreasing the response time and enhancing the safety for the person 402. Because of these advantages, the person 402 wearing or carrying the device according to the present invention will feel more confident and secure outside his or hers natural areas.

In another embodiment of the present invention., the device is already started from the beginning of use and continuously transmits location data to a support organization. This is the case for instance if one wants to keep track of a child during for instance an excursion to a forest) or for keeping track of an Alzheimer's patient that is allowed to take a walk in a surrounding area of a nursing home.

The invention may also be used for other application areas where there is a risk that persons may be in distress, such as at ski resorts, during boat trips, at trekking events, cross country skiing, adventure events, mountaineering, and so on.

It should be noted that in this document the word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed. It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the invention may be implemented by means of both hardware and software; and that several "means" may be represented by the same item of hardware.

The above mentioned and described embodiments are only given as examples and should not be limiting to the present invention. Other solutions, uses, objectives, and functions within the scope of the invention as claimed in the below described patent claims should be apparent for the person skilled in the art. Abbreviations used in this document:

3G - Third generation mobile system

ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit GDMA and GBMA2000 - Code-Division Multiple Access

FPGA - Field Programmable Gate Array

GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System

GPRS - General Packet Radio Service

GPS - Global Positioning System GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications

I2C - Inter IC Communication

IP - Internet protocol

ISM - Industrial Scientific Medical

MMS - Multimedia Message Service NMT - Nordic Mobile Telephone

SMS - Short Message Service

UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service

USB - Universal Serial Bus

WCDMA - Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network

WMAN - Wireless Metropolitan Area Network

Claims

1. A method for communicating with a person in distress comprising the steps of:

- providing a communication device (1) - initiating an event in said communicatien device (1) for opening a two-way communication link with a monitoring entity (404);

- starting a camera (20) and display unit (40) on said communication device

- transmitting communication signals between said communication device (1) and said monitoring entity (404);

- transmitting position data of and images from said communication device (1) to said monitoring entity (404);

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising using said images in order to assist an aid team for assessment of a condition of said person (402) in distress and/or for assisting said aid team (409) in locating said person (403) in distress;

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said event is triggered by one or several of:

- pushing a button (80);

- activation by voice;

- input signal from a sensor; or

- input from said communication link.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said position data are obtained from a Global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as GPS or Galileo.

5. The method according to claim 1 ; wherein said communication signals are one or several of sound, text., or image data.

6. A device (1) for alerting a monitoring- ntity and communicating with a person in distress; comprising:

- a communication arrangement; - a camera (20); - a positioning arrangement for obtaining positionf coordinates; - a microphone (62) and/or speaker (61), characterized in that said communication arrangement is arranged to establish a communication link upon activation of said trigger arrangement and to provide said position coordinates, and data from said camera, and/or said microphone to a monitoring entity receiver in order to acquire aid in a distress situation,

7. A system for alerting a monitoring entity and communicating with a person in distress, comprising: - a positioning network (408);

- a device (401) according to claim 6;

- a communication network (403);

- a monitoring entity (404) , characterized in that - said device comprises means far activation upon a trigger events

- means for establishing a two-way communication link with said monitoring entity (404) in response to said event via said communication network (403);

- means for providing position coordinates of said device obtained from said positioning network (408), and

- means for providing at least one of image data, voice data, text data, and physiological data to said monitoring entity in order for said monitoring entity (404) to assist said person (402) in distress.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said position coordinates are provided through at least one of said device or positioning network.

9. A device for monitoring the location of a person under surveillance, comprising:

- a communication arrangement for communicating with an infrastructure; - a positioning arrangement for obtaining position coordinates; characterized in that said device (1) continuously transmit said position coordinates to a monitoring entity (404).