Power can be preserved in a tracking device equipped with a GPS receiver and a transceiver by evaluating the proximity of the tracking device to a mobile device and enabling the GPS receiver and transceiver only in the event that the tracking device is out of the range of the mobile device. Once enabled, the location of the tracking device can be determined based on location information received from the GPS receiver. The determined location can be provided to a tracking system associated with the tracking device. The tracking system can then inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location. Once the tracking device has been found, the GPS receiver and the transceiver can be disabled to save additional power.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 84/04 - Large scale networksDeep hierarchical networks
A user's departure from a first airport and landing at a second airport can be detected using tracking device functionality. A user's location (determined using a tracking device) is compared to known airport locations to determine that the user is at a first airport, and an aircraft takeoff event can be identified using tracking device movement information (such as speed and acceleration). In response to the detected aircraft takeoff event, a notification is sent to a set of users associated with the user indicating that the user has taken off from the first airport. A user's second location is compared to known airport locations to determine that the user is subsequently at a second airport. An aircraft landing event can be detected using tracking device movement information, and a second notification is sent to the set of users indicating that the user has landed at the second airport.
H04L 67/12 - Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
A user's departure from a first airport and landing at a second airport can be detected using tracking device functionality. A user's location (determined using a tracking device) is compared to known airport locations to determine that the user is at a first airport, and an aircraft takeoff event can be identified using tracking device movement information (such as speed and acceleration). In response to the detected aircraft takeoff event, a notification is sent to a set of users associated with the user indicating that the user has taken off from the first airport. A user's second location is compared to known airport locations to determine that the user is subsequently at a second airport. An aircraft landing event can be detected using tracking device movement information, and a second notification is sent to the set of users indicating that the user has landed at the second airport.
A mobile device determines based on a signal strength threshold when tracking devices communicatively coupled to the mobile device are lost or left behind. The mobile device communicatively couples to a tracking device and receives a first signal transmitted by the tracking device with a signal strength greater than a signal strength threshold. The mobile device receives a second signal transmitted by the tracking device and determines a measure of signal strength based on the second signal. While the mobile device is still communicatively coupled to the tracking device, and responsive to determining that the measure of signal strength of the second signal is less than the signal strength threshold, the mobile device generates a notification that the tracking device may be lost or left behind to alert the user of the mobile device.
A tracking device can be reconfigured after an amount of operation to preserve the battery capacity of the tracking device and to ensure that the tracking device can be operated for a pre-determined threshold period of time. The tracking device can provide diagnostic information representative of a state of the tracking device, such as a current power capacity of the tracking device's battery, to a mobile device within a threshold proximity of the tracking device. The mobile device can then provide the diagnostic information to a tracking server, which in turn can provide reconfiguration instructions to the mobile device. The mobile device can then pass on the reconfiguration instructions to the tracking device, in response to which the tracking device can reconfigure itself.
H04L 41/0816 - Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/00 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols
H04L 9/14 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
7.
POWER-EFFICIENT TRACKING USING MACHINE-LEARNED PATTERNS AND ROUTINES
A method comprises accessing historical signal and other information received from a tracking device configured to scan for signals transmitted by local devices and record other data as the tracking device moves within the geographic area during each of a plurality time intervals. A training dataset is generated based on the historical signal and other information and used to train a machine learning model configured to predict tracking device movement patterns. The machine learning model is applied to current signal and other information to detect a variance from one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device. A notification is sent to a monitoring device associated with the tracking device in response to detecting the variance from the one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device.
A method for receiving, by a mobile computing device, a request from a tracking device associated with the mobile computing device, the request indicating a detected movement of the tracking device, determining, by the mobile computing device, and based on a timestamp associated with the detected movement of the tracking device, whether the tracking device has moved from a previously determined high-accuracy location of the tracking device, and in response to determining that the tracking device has moved from the previously determined high-accuracy location, associating, by the mobile computing device, and based at least in part on whether the tracking device is within a threshold distance from the mobile computing device, the tracking device with a location of the mobile computing device, and designating, by the mobile computing device, the location of the mobile computing device as a current high-accuracy location for the tracking device.
A method comprises accessing historical signal and other information received from a tracking device configured to scan for signals transmitted by local devices and record other data as the tracking device moves within the geographic area during each of a plurality time intervals. A training dataset is generated based on the historical signal and other information and used to train a machine learning model configured to predict tracking device movement patterns. The machine learning model is applied to current signal and other information to detect a variance from one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device. A notification is sent to a monitoring device associated with the tracking device in response to detecting the variance from the one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device.
An electronic device with a primary functionality and a tracking functionality can be used in a centralized tracking system. A controller configures the electronic device to operate in one of a set of: an “on” mode, an “off” mode, a first standby mode, and a tracking standby mode. While configured to operate in the “on” mode, the primary and tracking functionality of the electronic device are enabled, and while configured to operate in the “off” mode, both are disabled. While configured to operate in the first standby mode, the tracking functionality is enabled and the primary functionality is limited. While configured to operate in the tracking standby mode, the primary functionality is disabled but the tracking functionality is enabled, enabling the electronic device to be located while the primary functionality is disabled and saving power relative to the first standby mode and the “on” mode.
H04M 1/72448 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
A method includes receiving, by a tracking system, an indication that a tracking device is lost; determining, by the tracking system, an identification of the tracking device based on the indication, wherein the identification comprises a unique identifier associated with the tracking device; determining, by the tracking system, whether the unique identifier is associated with one or more flags indicative of a lost tracking device; and in response to determining that the unique identifier is associated with the one or more flags indicative of a lost tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking system, and based on the unique identifier, a request for a location of the tracking device to a plurality of community computing devices.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 84/04 - Large scale networksDeep hierarchical networks
12.
Multi-Device Architecture for Tracking Device Access
A method includes determining, by a first computing device, that a tracking device is within a threshold proximity of the first computing device. The tracking device is attached to a pet associated with a user of the first computing device. The method includes providing, by the first computing device, and to the tracking device, a first request to locate the pet in response to a user input received on the first computing device. In response to determining that the pet is no longer within the threshold proximity, providing, by the first computing device, and to a tracking system server, a second request to locate the pet. The second request to locate the pet comprises instructions to be routed by the tracking system server to a community computing device. The method includes receiving, by the first computing device, and from the tracking system server, a response to the second request.
A tracking system can provide configuration instructions to an electronic device based on user presence. The tracking system can determine a user's location relative to a geographic boundary surrounding a geographic area associated with the user. Depending on the user's location, the tracking system may send instructions to configure an electronic device to send a notification or change the operating mode of the electronic device in response to the user's presence. The electronic device may be a scanning device that is configured to have a higher or lower scanning frequency, depending on the presence or absence of the user relative to the scanning device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
G01S 5/04 - Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders
G01S 5/14 - Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/18 - Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/126 - Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
H04W 64/00 - Locating users or terminals for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
A method includes receiving, by a tracking system server, a stream of tracking device event information associated with a plurality of tracking devices, extracting, by the tracking system server, and from the stream of tracking device event information, tracking device event information including location updates, filtering, by the tracking system server, the tracking device event information by removing information unrelated to any calculation of a last known location of at least one tracking device of the plurality of tracking devices, associating, by the tracking system server, the filtered tracking device event information with one or more disconnection events associated with the at least one tracking device, and identifying, by the tracking system server, and based at least in part on the filtered tracking device event information and the one or more disconnection events, the last known location of the at least one tracking device.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 25/10 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
15.
Tracking Device Operation in Safety-Classified Zone
Tracking devices can be associated with safe zones, smart zones, and high risk zones. Safe zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the safe zone is lower than outside the safe zone. High risk zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the high risk zone is higher than outside the high risk zone. Smart zones correspond to an expected tracking device, mobile device, or user behavior. Home areas are geographic regions in which a user resides, and travel areas are geographic regions in which a user does not reside. A tracking device can be configured to operate in a mode selected based on a presence of the tracking device within a safe zone, a smart zone, a high risk zone, a home area, or a travel area.
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
G01S 5/02 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
H04W 4/00 - Services specially adapted for wireless communication networksFacilities therefor
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/16 - Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
H04W 4/18 - Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
H04W 4/23 - Services signallingAuxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel for mobile advertising
H04W 4/30 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 4/42 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P] for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft
H04W 4/70 - Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 8/10 - Mobility data transfer between location register and external networks
H04W 8/12 - Mobility data transfer between location registers or mobility servers
H04W 8/14 - Mobility data transfer between corresponding nodes
H04W 8/16 - Mobility data transfer selectively restricting mobility tracking
H04W 12/00 - Security arrangementsAuthenticationProtecting privacy or anonymity
H04W 48/04 - Access restriction performed under specific conditions based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction or speed
A method includes receiving, by a tracking server, and from a first computing device of a plurality of computing devices, a request to locate a tracking device associated with the tracking server, establishing a search party for locating the tracking device, determining a goal for the search party and a first criteria for including members into the search party, adding one or more second computing devices of the plurality of computing devices to the search party based on the first criteria, and determining that the goal for the search party is not satisfied. The method includes modifying, by the tracking server, the first criteria to include additional computing devices of the plurality of computing devices to the search party, receiving an indication that the tracking device has been located by the search party, and providing, by the tracking server, a location of the tracking device to the first computing device.
A method includes determining, based on data obtained by one or more motion sensors of a tracking device, historical usage information that indicates a historical movement pattern of the tracking device and determining, based on the historical movement pattern of the tracking device, a length of time the tracking device can continue to operate. In response to determining that the length of time does not satisfy a predetermined threshold length of time, the method further includes generating reconfiguration instructions configured to cause the tracking device to adjust a broadcasting frequency of advertisement packets to extend the length of time the tracking device can continue to operate and transmitting the reconfiguration instructions to a user computing device associated with the tracking device, wherein the user computing device is configured to provide the reconfiguration instructions to the tracking device.
H04L 41/0816 - Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G06Q 10/0631 - Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
G08B 13/04 - Mechanical actuation by breaking of glass
G08B 13/14 - Mechanical actuation by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
G08B 13/24 - Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04L 67/12 - Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
Communication between an owner of a lost tracking device and a finder of a lost tracking device is established. A tracking system receives an identifier of a tracking device and a request for a web page from a mobile device that has captured an image of a smart code on the tracking device. The smart code is embedded with a URL to the web page. The system displays the web page on the mobile device and prompts the user to provide a location of the mobile device. The location is associated with the identifier of the tracking device. A notification indicating the location of the tracking device is generated for the owner. The owner is prompted to provide information to establish contact with the finder of the device, and the web page is populated with the owner's provided information for display on the finder's mobile device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04M 1/2755 - Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time using static electronic memories, e.g. chips providing data content by optical scanning
H04M 1/72445 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality for supporting Internet browser applications
H04M 3/42 - Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
H04W 12/02 - Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
24.
DYNAMIC SELECTION AND MODIFICATION OF TRACKING DEVICE BEHAVIOR MODELS
A tracking device broadcasts beacon signals that are separated in time by broadcast intervals. The tracking device determines the broadcast intervals based on a behavior model. The behavior model specifies one or more conditions, such as times of day within a 24-hour day, and associates a usage probability with each condition. A higher usage probability causes the tracking device to broadcast beacon signals at shorter broadcast intervals. A mobile device in communication with the tracking device can reconfigure the behavior model, either by modifying portions of the behavior model or by replacing the behavior model with a different behavior model. This allows the behavior model to adapt to different circumstances, such as different usage patterns during weekdays, weekends, and vacations.
G01S 3/786 - Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction using adjustment of orientation of directivity characteristics of a detector or detector system to give a desired condition of signal derived from that detector or detector system the desired condition being maintained automatically
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
A method for commissioning a third-party electronic device for use with a tracking service via an application associated with the tracking service and executing on a computing device of the user includes, in response to receiving the indication that a first permanent unique identifier matches to a second permanent unique identifier: providing, by the computing device, a location associated with the third-party electronic device to the tracking system server, in which, after the third-party electronic device is commissioned for use with the tracking service, the third-party electronic device ceases communicating directly with the tracking system server, and receiving, by the computing device, an updated location associated with the third-party electronic device from the tracking system server, in which the updated location was reported to the tracking system server by one of a plurality of other computing devices associated with the tracking server after communicatively coupling with the third-party electronic device.
H04W 64/00 - Locating users or terminals for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
G06F 7/58 - Random or pseudo-random number generators
G06F 21/73 - Protecting specific internal or peripheral components, in which the protection of a component leads to protection of the entire computer to assure secure computing or processing of information by creating or determining hardware identification, e.g. serial numbers
A method includes receiving, by a tracking device, and from a computing device, a request to communicatively pair the tracking device to the computing device via a predetermined communication channel, generating, by the tracking device, a hash value, wherein the hash value is generated based on an identity of the tracking device, and providing, by the tracking device, and via the predetermined communication channel, the hash value to the computing device, wherein the computing device is configured to resolve the hash value to determine the identity of the tracking device.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/30 - Security of mobile devicesSecurity of mobile applications
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A mobile device of a user detects a first advertisement signal from an unknown wireless device, the first advertisement signal containing information representative of the unknown device. Multiple advertisement signals may be received as the mobile device moves a distance greater than a broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected. Responsive to detecting a second advertisement signal containing the same identity information after the mobile device has moved at least the distance greater than the broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected, the system generates an interface on the mobile device. The generated interface indicates to a user of the mobile device the presence of an unknown device.
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/00 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols
H04L 9/14 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
29.
TRACKING DEVICE PRESENCE DETECTION AND REPORTING BY ACCESS POINTS
A tracking system determines a location of a tracking device associated with a user using one or more access points at the location. Each access point at the location is configured to detect and couple with the tracking device when the tracking device is within a communicative range of the access point. An access point provides updates on the tracking device's presence, as well as the tracking device's arrival to and departure from the communicative range of the access point, to a tracking server. The tracking server determines, from these updates, whether the tracking device is at the location. The user may be notified, via a mobile device, of the tracking device's location.
A tracking system can provide smart alerts based on a user's location. The tracking system can receive a location of a user's mobile device and establish a geographic boundary around the location if the mobile device remains at the location for a threshold amount of time. The tracking system can receive a new location of the mobile device outside of the geographic boundary and configure the mobile device to scan for a tracking device associated with the user for an interval of time. If the tracking system detects the tracking device within the interval, the tracking system stores information indicating that the user possesses the tracking device. Otherwise, the tracking system sends an indication to the mobile device indicating that the user has left behind the tracking device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 68/04 - User notification, e.g. alerting or paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like multi-step notification using statistical or historical mobility data
31.
SECURE AND PRIVATE CLOUD BASED BROADCAST IDENTIFICATION
A tracking device can securely communicate with a secondary device by generating a hash value based on the identity of the tracking device. If the secondary device cannot resolve the hash value, the hash value can be provided to a tracking server, such as a cloud server, for resolving the hash value. Upon resolving the hash value, the tracking server can store a location of the tracking device in association with the identity of the tracking device. To preserve power, the secondary device can activate location-detection functionality (such as a GPS receive) only in response to the detection of movement of the tracking device, can obtain location information, and can de-activate the location-detection functionality upon providing the location information to the tracking server. The tracking server can associate one or both of a previous location and the current location information based on movement of the tracking device.
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A privacy system can implement a number of anti-stalking features to protect against such unauthorized tracking devices. The privacy system, upon determining that an unauthorized tracking device is mirroring a user's movements, can enable the user to “ring” the tracking device in order to allow the user to locate the unauthorized device. The privacy system, in response to determining that the tracking device or the owner of the tracking device satisfy one or more stalking conditions, can notify a user that the tracking device satisfies the stalking conditions. Finally, the privacy system enables users to disable access to location information from the tracking device to owners of the tracking device in the event that the tracking device is deemed unauthorized by the user.
G08B 3/10 - Audible signalling systemsAudible personal calling systems using electric transmissionAudible signalling systemsAudible personal calling systems using electromagnetic transmission
G08B 25/10 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
Communication between an owner of a lost tracking device and a finder of a lost tracking device is established. A tracking system receives an identifier of a tracking device and a request for a web page from a mobile device that has captured an image of a smart code on the tracking device. The smart code is embedded with a URL to the web page. The system displays the web page on the mobile device and prompts the user to provide a location of the mobile device. The location is associated with the identifier of the tracking device. A notification indicating the location of the tracking device is generated for the owner. The owner is prompted to provide information to establish contact with the finder of the device, and the web page is populated with the owner's provided information for display on the finder's mobile device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04M 1/2755 - Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time using static electronic memories, e.g. chips providing data content by optical scanning
H04M 1/72445 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality for supporting Internet browser applications
H04M 3/42 - Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
H04W 12/02 - Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
35.
End-to-end encryption with distributed key management in a tracking device environment
A tracking device can provide a hashed identifier to a mobile device, for instance within an advertisement packet. The mobile device can query each of a plurality of entities with the hashed identifier to identify an entity associated with the hash key used to generate the hashed identifier. In some embodiments, the mobile device can query a centralized key server, which in turn can query the plurality of entities to identify the entity associated with the hash key. The mobile device can then receive a public key from the identified entity, can determine a location of the mobile device, and can encrypt the location with the public key. The mobile device can then provide the hashed identifier and the encrypted location to the identified entity, which can provide the encrypted location to an owner of the tracking device for decryption using a private key corresponding to the public key.
G06F 16/9537 - Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 12/033 - Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption of the user plane, e.g. user’s traffic
H04W 12/0431 - Key distribution or pre-distributionKey agreement
A tracking device can securely communicate with a secondary device by generating a hash value based on the identity of the tracking device. If the secondary device cannot resolve the hash value, the hash value can be provided to a tracking server, such as a cloud server, for resolving the hash value. Upon resolving the hash value, the tracking server can store a location of the tracking device in association with the identity of the tracking device. To preserve power, the secondary device can activate location-detection functionality (such as a GPS receive) only in response to the detection of movement of the tracking device, can obtain location information, and can de-activate the location-detection functionality upon providing the location information to the tracking server. The tracking server can associate one or both of a previous location and the current location information based on movement of the tracking device.
Power can be preserved in a tracking device equipped with a GPS receiver and a transceiver by evaluating the proximity of the tracking device to a mobile device and enabling the GPS receiver and transceiver only in the event that the tracking device is out of the range of the mobile device. Once enabled, the location of the tracking device can be determined based on location information received from the GPS receiver. The determined location can be provided to a tracking system associated with the tracking device. The tracking system can then inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location. Once the tracking device has been found, the GPS receiver and the transceiver can be disabled to save additional power.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 84/04 - Large scale networksDeep hierarchical networks
38.
Tracking device operation in safety-classified zone
Tracking devices can be associated with safe zones, smart zones, and high risk zones. Safe zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the safe zone is lower than outside the safe zone. High risk zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the high risk zone is higher than outside the high risk zone. Smart zones correspond to an expected tracking device, mobile device, or user behavior. Home areas are geographic regions in which a user resides, and travel areas are geographic regions in which a user does not reside. A tracking device can be configured to operate in a mode selected based on a presence of the tracking device within a safe zone, a smart zone, a high risk zone, a home area, or a travel area.
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
G01S 5/02 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
H04W 4/00 - Services specially adapted for wireless communication networksFacilities therefor
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/16 - Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
H04W 4/18 - Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
H04W 4/23 - Services signallingAuxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel for mobile advertising
H04W 4/30 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
H04W 4/70 - Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
H04W 12/00 - Security arrangementsAuthenticationProtecting privacy or anonymity
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 4/42 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P] for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 8/10 - Mobility data transfer between location register and external networks
H04W 8/12 - Mobility data transfer between location registers or mobility servers
H04W 8/14 - Mobility data transfer between corresponding nodes
H04W 8/16 - Mobility data transfer selectively restricting mobility tracking
H04W 48/04 - Access restriction performed under specific conditions based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction or speed
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/14 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
41.
Multi-device architecture for tracking device access
A method includes providing, by a first computing device, and to a tracking device, a first request to locate the tracking device. The first request is provided via a first wireless communication network associated with the first computing device and the tracking device. The method includes receiving, from the tracking device, a first response via the first wireless communication network, determining that the tracking device is not within a threshold proximity of the first computing device, and providing, to a tracking system server, a second request to locate the tracking device. The second request is provided via a second wireless communication network associated with the first computing device and the tracking system server. The method includes receiving, by the first computing device, from the tracking system server, a second response via the second wireless communication network.
One or more features of a tracking device can be disabled if the tracking device is lost. A tracking device is associated with a first mobile device, which can remotely control the tracking device via a tracking server. The tracking server receives an instruction from the first mobile device to disable a feature of the tracking device. The tracking server also receives a notification from a second mobile device that the second mobile device is within a communication range of the tracking device. In response to receiving the instruction and the notification, the tracking server transmits the instruction for the tracking device to disable the feature to the second mobile device. The tracking device receives the instruction to disable the feature from the second mobile device. In response to receiving the instruction to disable the feature, the tracking device disables the feature according to the instruction.
H04L 67/52 - Network services specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
H04M 1/72412 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
H04M 1/72415 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories for remote control of appliances
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/37 - Managing security policies for mobile devices or for controlling mobile applications
A method includes detecting, by a first computing device of a plurality of computing devices associated with a tracking system server, a tracking signal from a tracking device flagged as being lost. The first computing device is associated with a subset of the plurality of computing devices associated with the tracking system server. The subset of the plurality of computing devices is associated with a group of users that are authorized to track the tracking device. The method further includes determining, by the first computing device, and based on the tracking signal, a current location of the tracking device, and sending, by the first computing device, a notification to a user device associated with the tracking device. The notification includes an identification of the tracking device and the determined current location of the tracking device.
A tracking system determines a location of a tracking device associated with a user using one or more access points at the location. Each access point at the location is configured to detect and couple with the tracking device when the tracking device is within a communicative range of the access point. An access point provides updates on the tracking device's presence, as well as the tracking device's arrival to and departure from the communicative range of the access point, to a tracking server. The tracking server determines, from these updates, whether the tracking device is at the location. The user may be notified, via a mobile device, of the tracking device's location.
A method for reducing power consumption of a mobile computing device is provided. The method includes receiving a signal from a tracking device associated with the mobile computing device indicating a detected movement of the tracking device. The method includes activating a location-detection receiver of the mobile computing device. The location-detection receiver is configured to indicate a location of the mobile computing device and a first location of the tracking device based on a proximity of the tracking device to the mobile computing device. The method includes determining, based on the proximity of the tracking device to the mobile computing device, an identity information of the tracking device, and providing, to a tracking system server, the first location and the identity information. In response to receiving a confirmation that the tracking system server has received the first location and the identity information, the method includes deactivating the location-detection receiver.
A method includes periodically transmitting, by a community device of a plurality of community devices, and to a tracking system server, an updated location of a tracking device based on a last time a location of the tracking device was provided to the tracking system server, and receiving, by the community device, and from the tracking system server, a request for a location of a tracking device indicated as being lost. The method further includes determining, by the community device, and based on the request, whether the tracking device indicated as being lost is within a proximity of the community device, and transmitting, by the community device, and to the tracking system server, an additional updated location of the tracking device based on whether the tracking device indicated as being lost is within the proximity of the community device.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 25/10 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
A method includes receiving, by a tracking system server, and from a first computing device of a plurality of computing devices, a request to locate a tracking device associated with the tracking system server. The request includes reward information for locating the tracking device. The method includes establishing, by the tracking system server, a search party for locating the tracking device in response to the request. The established search party includes one or more second computing devices of the plurality of computing devices. The method includes receiving, by the tracking system server, and from at least one of the one or more second computing devices, location information associated with the tracking device, and in response to receiving the location information associated with the tracking device, transmitting, by the tracking system server, the reward information to the at least one of the one or more second computing devices.
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/00 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols
H04L 9/14 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
50.
User intervention based on proximity between tracking devices
A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G06Q 10/0631 - Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
G08B 13/04 - Mechanical actuation by breaking of glass
G08B 13/14 - Mechanical actuation by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
G08B 13/24 - Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04L 67/12 - Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
A method comprises accessing historical signal and other information received from a tracking device configured to scan for signals transmitted by local devices and record other data as the tracking device moves within the geographic area during each of a plurality time intervals. A training dataset is generated based on the historical signal and other information and used to train a machine learning model configured to predict tracking device movement patterns. The machine learning model is applied to current signal and other information to detect a variance from one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device. A notification is sent to a monitoring device associated with the tracking device in response to detecting the variance from the one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
G01S 5/02 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
A method comprises accessing historical signal and other information received from a tracking device configured to scan for signals transmitted by local devices and record other data as the tracking device moves within the geographic area during each of a plurality time intervals. A training dataset is generated based on the historical signal and other information and used to train a machine learning model configured to predict tracking device movement patterns. The machine learning model is applied to current signal and other information to detect a variance from one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device. A notification is sent to a monitoring device associated with the tracking device in response to detecting the variance from the one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device.
A method comprises accessing historical signal and other information received from a tracking device configured to scan for signals transmitted by local devices and record other data as the tracking device moves within the geographic area during each of a plurality time intervals. A training dataset is generated based on the historical signal and other information and used to train a machine learning model configured to predict tracking device movement patterns. The machine learning model is applied to current signal and other information to detect a variance from one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device. A notification is sent to a monitoring device associated with the tracking device in response to detecting the variance from the one or more predefined routines associated with the tracking device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G01S 5/02 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
54.
Power preservation in GPS-equipped tracking devices
In one embodiment, techniques include a method for preserving battery power in a tracking device that includes a first communication module, a second communication module, and a location determination unit where the first communication module, second communication module, and location determination unit are initially disabled. The method includes determining that lost conditions are satisfied. The method includes enabling the first communication module and determining that a wireless network compatible with the first communication module is not available before disabling the first communication module. The method includes enabling the second communication module and the location determination unit and determining a location of the tracking device based on location information received from the location determination unit. The method includes transmitting the determined location of the tracking device via the second communication module to a tracking system configured to inform a user associated with the tracking device of the determined location.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 84/04 - Large scale networksDeep hierarchical networks
In one embodiment, a method implemented by a computing device includes receiving a tracking signal from a tracking device, and determining an identification of the tracking device based on the tracking signal. The identification includes a unique identifier associated with the tracking device. The method further includes receiving, from a tracking system server, a device identifier and a device command associated with the tracking device. The device command corresponds to a feature of the tracking device. The method further includes determining whether the unique identifier determined by the computing device matches the device identifier received from the tracking system server, and in response to determining that the unique identifier matches the device identifier, transmitting the device command to the tracking device.
H04L 67/52 - Network services specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
H04M 1/72412 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
H04M 1/72415 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories for remote control of appliances
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
56.
Tracking device presence detection and reporting by access points
A tracking system determines a location of a tracking device associated with a user using one or more access points at the location. Each access point at the location is configured to detect and couple with the tracking device when the tracking device is within a communicative range of the access point. An access point provides updates on the tracking device's presence, as well as the tracking device's arrival to and departure from the communicative range of the access point, to a tracking server. The tracking server determines, from these updates, whether the tracking device is at the location. The user may be notified, via a mobile device, of the tracking device's location.
A mobile device determines based on a signal strength threshold when tracking devices communicatively coupled to the mobile device are lost or left behind. The mobile device communicatively couples to a tracking device and receives a first signal transmitted by the tracking device with a signal strength greater than a signal strength threshold. The mobile device receives a second signal transmitted by the tracking device and determines a measure of signal strength based on the second signal. While the mobile device is still communicatively coupled to the tracking device, and responsive to determining that the measure of signal strength of the second signal is less than the signal strength threshold, the mobile device generates a notification that the tracking device may be lost or left behind to alert the user of the mobile device.
A tracking device can securely communicate with a secondary device by generating a hash value based on the identity of the tracking device. If the secondary device cannot resolve the hash value, the hash value can be provided to a tracking server, such as a cloud server, for resolving the hash value. Upon resolving the hash value, the tracking server can store a location of the tracking device in association with the identity of the tracking device. To preserve power, the secondary device can activate location-detection functionality (such as a GPS receive) only in response to the detection of movement of the tracking device, can obtain location information, and can de-activate the location-detection functionality upon providing the location information to the tracking server. The tracking server can associate one or both of a previous location and the current location information based on movement of the tracking device.
A tracking device can provide a hashed identifier to a mobile device, for instance within an advertisement packet. The mobile device can query each of a plurality of entities with the hashed identifier to identify an entity associated with the hash key used to generate the hashed identifier. In some embodiments, the mobile device can query a centralized key server, which in turn can query the plurality of entities to identify the entity associated with the hash key. The mobile device can then receive a public key from the identified entity, can determine a location of the mobile device, and can encrypt the location with the public key. The mobile device can then provide the hashed identifier and the encrypted location to the identified entity, which can provide the encrypted location to an owner of the tracking device for decryption using a private key corresponding to the public key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
G06F 16/9537 - Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 12/033 - Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption of the user plane, e.g. user’s traffic
H04W 12/0431 - Key distribution or pre-distributionKey agreement
An electronic device with a primary functionality and a tracking functionality can be used in a centralized tracking system. A controller configures the electronic device to operate in one of a set of: an “on” mode, an “off” mode, a first standby mode, and a tracking standby mode. While configured to operate in the “on” mode, the primary and tracking functionality of the electronic device are enabled, and while configured to operate in the “off” mode, both are disabled. While configured to operate in the first standby mode, the tracking functionality is enabled and the primary functionality is limited. While configured to operate in the tracking standby mode, the primary functionality is disabled but the tracking functionality is enabled, enabling the electronic device to be located while the primary functionality is disabled and saving power relative to the first standby mode and the “on” mode.
H04M 1/72448 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
A tracking device can be reconfigured after an amount of operation to preserve the battery capacity of the tracking device and to ensure that the tracking device can be operated for a pre-determined threshold period of time. The tracking device can provide diagnostic information representative of a state of the tracking device, such as a current power capacity of the tracking device's battery, to a mobile device within a threshold proximity of the tracking device. The mobile device can then provide the diagnostic information to a tracking server, which in turn can provide reconfiguration instructions to the mobile device. The mobile device can then pass on the reconfiguration instructions to the tracking device, in response to which the tracking device can reconfigure itself.
H04L 41/0816 - Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
A tracking device broadcasts beacon signals that are separated in time by broadcast intervals. The tracking device determines the broadcast intervals based on a behavior model. The behavior model specifies one or more conditions, such as times of day within a 24-hour day, and associates a usage probability with each condition. A higher usage probability causes the tracking device to broadcast beacon signals at shorter broadcast intervals. A mobile device in communication with the tracking device can reconfigure the behavior model, either by modifying portions of the behavior model or by replacing the behavior model with a different behavior model. This allows the behavior model to adapt to different circumstances, such as different usage patterns during weekdays, weekends, and vacations.
G08B 21/00 - Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
G01S 3/786 - Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction using adjustment of orientation of directivity characteristics of a detector or detector system to give a desired condition of signal derived from that detector or detector system the desired condition being maintained automatically
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
Communication between an owner of a lost tracking device and a finder of a lost tracking device is established. A tracking system receives an identifier of a tracking device and a request for a web page from a mobile device that has captured an image of a smart code on the tracking device. The smart code is embedded with a URL to the web page. The system displays the web page on the mobile device and prompts the user to provide a location of the mobile device. The location is associated with the identifier of the tracking device. A notification indicating the location of the tracking device is generated for the owner. The owner is prompted to provide information to establish contact with the finder of the device, and the web page is populated with the owner's provided information for display on the finder's mobile device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04M 1/2755 - Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time using static electronic memories, e.g. chips providing data content by optical scanning
H04M 1/72445 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality for supporting Internet browser applications
H04M 3/42 - Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
H04W 12/02 - Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a tracking server, an indication from a first computing device that a tracking device status associated with a tracking device has changed. The method includes accessing a first set of locations associated with the tracking device when it was connected to a second computing device and a second set of locations associated with the tracking device when it was not connected to the second computing device. The method includes providing the first set of locations and the second set of locations to the first computing device for display. The first set of locations and the second set of locations are displayed within a map interface and each location of the first set of locations is visually distinct from each location of the second set of locations.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/30 - Security of mobile devicesSecurity of mobile applications
A set of tracking devices can be placed within a geographic area as part of a scavenger hunt. A user with a mobile device can traverse the area, and when the user moves within a threshold proximity or communicative range of a tracking device, the mobile device can receive a communication from the tracking device identifying the tracking device. In response to determining that the tracking device is part of the set of tracking devices and thus part of the scavenger hunt, the mobile device can modify a tracking device interface displaying a representation of the tracking device to indicate that the tracking device has been found. In response to each tracking device being found, the mobile device can modify the tracking device interface to indicate that the scavenger hunt has been completed.
G08B 1/08 - Systems for signalling characterised solely by the form of transmission of the signal using electric transmission
A63F 13/216 - Input arrangements for video game devices characterised by their sensors, purposes or types using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
A63F 13/332 - Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devicesInterconnection arrangements between game devicesInterconnection arrangements between game servers using wide area network [WAN] connections using wireless networks, e.g. cellular phone networks
G03F 7/00 - Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printed surfacesMaterials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresistsApparatus specially adapted therefor
H04M 1/72403 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
H04M 1/72412 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
H04M 1/72427 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality for supporting games or graphical animations
H04M 1/72457 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions according to geographic location
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G06Q 10/0631 - Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
70.
Unauthorized location information access prevention in a tracking device environment
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A privacy system can implement a number of anti-stalking features to protect against such unauthorized tracking devices. The privacy system, upon determining that an unauthorized tracking device is mirroring a user's movements, can enable the user to “ring” the tracking device in order to allow the user to locate the unauthorized device. The privacy system, in response to determining that the tracking device or the owner of the tracking device satisfy one or more stalking conditions, can notify a user that the tracking device satisfies the stalking conditions. Finally, the privacy system enables users to disable access to location information from the tracking device to owners of the tracking device in the event that the tracking device is deemed unauthorized by the user.
H04W 8/16 - Mobility data transfer selectively restricting mobility tracking
G08B 3/10 - Audible signalling systemsAudible personal calling systems using electric transmissionAudible signalling systemsAudible personal calling systems using electromagnetic transmission
G08B 25/10 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
A tracking device stores identification values unique to the tracking device for use in authenticating the tracking device. When activated, the tracking device provides a first identification value to a first owner and a different identification value to a tracking system. The identification of the tracking device can only be authenticated by combining the identification values given to the owner and tracking system. If a second owner resets the tracking device, the tracking device stores a second version the identification values for use in authenticating the tracking device. In the case that the second owner is illegitimate, (for instance, the tracking device is stolen by the second owner) the first owner can report the tracking device stolen. Upon being reported stolen, the identification value provided to the first owner is transmitted to the tracking system for use with the tracking system identification value to authenticate the first owner, enabling the first owner to locate and recover their stolen device.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
H04L 9/00 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols
H04L 9/14 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
H04L 9/30 - Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert and users' encryption keys not requiring secrecy
73.
Power preservation in GPS-equipped tracking devices
Power can be preserved in a tracking device equipped with a GPS receiver and a transceiver by evaluating the proximity of the tracking device to a mobile device and enabling the GPS receiver and transceiver only in the event that the tracking device is out of the range of the mobile device. Once enabled, the location of the tracking device can be determined based on location information received from the GPS receiver. The determined location can be provided to a tracking system associated with the tracking device. The tracking system can then inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location. Once the tracking device has been found, the GPS receiver and the transceiver can be disabled to save additional power.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 84/04 - Large scale networksDeep hierarchical networks
74.
Secure and private cloud based broadcast identification
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at a tracking server from a user device, a hash value associated with a tracking device. The hash value is computed based on at least a unique identifying value associated with the tracking device. The hash value is configured to expire after a predetermined period of time. The method includes determining that the received hash value is not expired. The method includes identifying the tracking device based on a comparison between a stored hash value and the received hash value. The method includes updating one or more records stored in a database accessible to, and maintained by, the tracking server that are associated with the identified tracking device based on the received hash value.
Embodiments include systems and techniques include a method including receiving, by a tracking server from a first computing device, a request to locate a tracking device associated with the tracking server. The method includes establishing a subset of computing devices as a search party for locating the tracing device. The method includes adding one or more second computing devices to the search party, each second computing device satisfying criteria for inclusion in the search party. The method includes, in response to determining that the search party satisfies a criterion for establishing the search party, providing the last known location of the tracking device to the second computing devices of the search party. The method includes, upon determining that one or more criteria for canceling the search party have been satisfied, terminating the search party and notifying the second computing devices of the search party.
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A mobile device of a user detects a first advertisement signal from an unknown wireless device, the first advertisement signal containing information representative of the unknown device. Multiple advertisement signals may be received as the mobile device moves a distance greater than a broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected. Responsive to detecting a second advertisement signal containing the same identity information after the mobile device has moved at least the distance greater than the broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected, the system generates an interface on the mobile device. The generated interface indicates to a user of the mobile device the presence of an unknown device.
A tracking system can provide configuration instructions to an electronic device based on user presence. The tracking system can determine a user's location relative to a geographic boundary surrounding a geographic area associated with the user. Depending on the user's location, the tracking system may send instructions to configure an electronic device to send a notification or change the operating mode of the electronic device in response to the user's presence. The electronic device may be a scanning device that is configured to have a higher or lower scanning frequency, depending on the presence or absence of the user relative to the scanning device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
G01S 5/04 - Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders
G01S 5/14 - Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
H04W 64/00 - Locating users or terminals for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/18 - Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/126 - Anti-theft arrangements, e.g. protection against subscriber identity module [SIM] cloning
An electronic device with a primary functionality and a tracking functionality can be used in a centralized tracking system. A controller configures the electronic device to operate in one of a set of: an “on” mode, an “off” mode, a first standby mode, and a tracking standby mode. While configured to operate in the “on” mode, the primary and tracking functionality of the electronic device are enabled, and while configured to operate in the “off” mode, both are disabled. While configured to operate in the first standby mode, the tracking functionality is enabled and the primary functionality is limited. While configured to operate in the tracking standby mode, the primary functionality is disabled but the tracking functionality is enabled, enabling the electronic device to be located while the primary functionality is disabled and saving power relative to the first standby mode and the “on” mode.
H04M 1/72448 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
In one embodiment, a method includes detecting, by a first computing device, an event relating to the first computing device and a tracking device. The method includes sending, by the first computing device, a notification of the event to a tracking system server. The notification of the event includes a location associated with the event and a timestamp associated with the event. The method includes receiving, by the first computing device, a last known location of the tracking device from the tracking system server. The last known location is based on the location associated with the event and one or more locations associated with each of one or more location updates received by the tracking system server from one or more second computing devices. The method includes displaying, by the first computing device, the last known location of the tracking device.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
G08B 25/10 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
80.
Tracking device operation in safety-classified zone
Tracking devices can be associated with safe zones, smart zones, and high risk zones. Safe zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the safe zone is lower than outside the safe zone. High risk zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the high risk zone is higher than outside the high risk zone. Smart zones correspond to an expected tracking device, mobile device, or user behavior. Home areas are geographic regions in which a user resides, and travel areas are geographic regions in which a user does not reside. A tracking device can be configured to operate in a mode selected based on a presence of the tracking device within a safe zone, a smart zone, a high risk zone, a home area, or a travel area.
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
G01S 5/02 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
H04W 4/00 - Services specially adapted for wireless communication networksFacilities therefor
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/16 - Communication-related supplementary services, e.g. call-transfer or call-hold
H04W 4/18 - Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
H04W 4/30 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04W 12/00 - Security arrangementsAuthenticationProtecting privacy or anonymity
H04W 4/23 - Services signallingAuxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel for mobile advertising
H04W 4/38 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for collecting sensor information
H04W 4/42 - Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P] for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft
H04W 4/70 - Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
H04W 8/10 - Mobility data transfer between location register and external networks
H04W 8/12 - Mobility data transfer between location registers or mobility servers
H04W 8/14 - Mobility data transfer between corresponding nodes
H04W 8/16 - Mobility data transfer selectively restricting mobility tracking
H04W 48/04 - Access restriction performed under specific conditions based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction or speed
A lost tracking device associated with a tracking system can be located by leveraging one or more community members by inviting these members to join a search party. Search party criteria can be identified and candidate search party members can be selected and invited based on the search party criteria. When invited candidate search party members accept the invitations, they are added to the search party. A last known location of the tracking device can be provided to the search party members, and the search party can remain in effect until the lost tracking device is located. The location of the lost tracking device is provided to the tracking system, which forwards it to the owner of the lost tracking device. A reward can be provided by the owner of the lost tracking device to the tracking system, which releases the reward to the search party member that located the lost tracking device.
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a tracking system server, an instruction from relating to a feature of a second computing device. The method includes, in response to receiving a notification that a third computing device has received a tracking signal from the second computing device, transmitting an instruction for the second computing device relating to the feature to the third computing device. The method includes receiving a response message indicating that the second computing device has not received the instruction for the second computing device and transmitting a request to retransmit the instruction to the second computing device. The method includes receiving a response message from the third computing device indicating that the second computing device has acknowledged the instruction and transmitting a response message to the first computing device indicating that the second computing device has acknowledged the instruction.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/021 - Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
H04W 4/80 - Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
H04M 1/72412 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
H04M 1/72415 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality by interfacing with external accessories for remote control of appliances
H04L 67/52 - Network services specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
Communication between an owner of a lost tracking device and a finder of a lost tracking device is established. A tracking system receives an identifier of a tracking device and a request for a web page from a mobile device that has captured an image of a smart code on the tracking device. The smart code is embedded with a URL to the web page. The system displays the web page on the mobile device and prompts the user to provide a location of the mobile device. The location is associated with the identifier of the tracking device. A notification indicating the location of the tracking device is generated for the owner. The owner is prompted to provide information to establish contact with the finder of the device, and the web page is populated with the owner's provided information for display on the finder's mobile device.
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
H04W 12/02 - Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
H04M 1/2755 - Devices whereby a plurality of signals may be stored simultaneously with provision for storing more than one subscriber number at a time using static electronic memories, e.g. chips providing data content by optical scanning
H04M 1/72445 - User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality for supporting Internet browser applications
H04M 3/42 - Systems providing special services or facilities to subscribers
84.
Unauthorized tracking device detection and prevention
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A mobile device of a user detects a first advertisement signal from an unknown wireless device, the first advertisement signal containing information representative of the unknown device. Multiple advertisement signals may be received as the mobile device moves a distance greater than a broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected. Responsive to detecting a second advertisement signal containing the same identity information after the mobile device has moved at least the distance greater than the broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected, the system generates an interface on the mobile device. The generated interface indicates to a user of the mobile device the presence of an unknown device.
Unauthorized tracking devices, including those that change their identification information periodically, are detected to protect an individual's privacy. A mobile device of a user detects a first advertisement signal from an unknown wireless device, the first advertisement signal containing information representative of the unknown device. Multiple advertisement signals may be received as the mobile device moves a distance greater than a broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected. Responsive to detecting a second advertisement signal containing the same identity information after the mobile device has moved at least the distance greater than the broadcast range away from the location where the first signal was detected, the system generates an interface on the mobile device. The generated interface indicates to a user of the mobile device the presence of an unknown device.
A tracking device stores identification values unique to the tracking device for use in authenticating the tracking device. When activated, the tracking device provides a first identification value to a first owner and a different identification value to a tracking system. The identification of the tracking device can only be authenticated by combining the identification values given to the owner and tracking system. If a second owner resets the tracking device, the tracking device stores a second version the identification values for use in authenticating the tracking device. In the case that the second owner is illegitimate, (for instance, the tracking device is stolen by the second owner) the first owner can report the tracking device stolen. Upon being reported stolen, the identification value provided to the first owner is transmitted to the tracking system for use with the tracking system identification value to authenticate the first owner, enabling the first owner to locate and recover their stolen device.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
A tracking system can provide intervention notifications to a user to notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or is in a predicted state. The tracking system may notify the user that a tracking device is potentially lost or in a predicted state based on a number of factors, including: a proximity of a tracking device to other tracking devices or a user's mobile device, a movement of a tracking device to more than a threshold distance away from a mobile device or other tracking devices, a location of a tracking device relative to a geographic location or to geographic boundaries, a usage or movement behavior of the tracking device, a usage or movement behavior of a user or owner of a tracking device, information received from an external source, or information received from sensors within the tracking device or a user's mobile.
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
G08B 13/24 - Electrical actuation by interference with electromagnetic field distribution
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
G08B 13/14 - Mechanical actuation by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
H04L 67/52 - Network services specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
G06Q 10/0631 - Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
G08B 13/04 - Mechanical actuation by breaking of glass
H04L 67/12 - Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
96.
Dynamic selection and modification of tracking device behavior models
A tracking device broadcasts beacon signals that are separated in time by broadcast intervals. The tracking device determines the broadcast intervals based on a behavior model. The behavior model specifies one or more conditions, such as times of day within a 24-hour day, and associates a usage probability with each condition. A higher usage probability causes the tracking device to broadcast beacon signals at shorter broadcast intervals. A mobile device in communication with the tracking device can reconfigure the behavior model, either by modifying portions of the behavior model or by replacing the behavior model with a different behavior model. This allows the behavior model to adapt to different circumstances, such as different usage patterns during weekdays, weekends, and vacations.
G08B 1/08 - Systems for signalling characterised solely by the form of transmission of the signal using electric transmission
G01S 3/786 - Systems for determining direction or deviation from predetermined direction using adjustment of orientation of directivity characteristics of a detector or detector system to give a desired condition of signal derived from that detector or detector system the desired condition being maintained automatically
G01S 5/00 - Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position-line determinationsPosition-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.
G08B 21/24 - Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
H04W 4/029 - Location-based management or tracking services
G08B 21/02 - Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
G08B 25/08 - Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
H04W 4/02 - Services making use of location information
In one embodiment, techniques include a method that includes determining, based at least on historical usage information of a tracking device and tracking device diagnostic information, a length of time the tracking device can continue to operate. The method includes determining that the length of time does not satisfy a first power condition out of one or more power conditions. The method includes determining reconfiguration instructions for the tracking device based at least on the historical usage information, tracking device diagnostic information, and projected usage information of the tracking device. The reconfiguration instructions are selected to cause the tracking device to satisfy the one or more power conditions. The method includes storing the reconfiguration instructions for the tracking device in a database in association with a flag indicating that pending reconfiguration instructions are available for the tracking device.
H04L 41/0816 - Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
A tracking device can use a permanent encryption key pair to encrypt a temporary private key that corresponds to a set of diversified temporary public keys. When a community mobile device subsequently detects the tracking device, the central tracking system provides a diversified temporary public key to the community mobile device. The community mobile device uses the diversified temporary public key to encrypt location data representative of a location of the community mobile device, and provides the encrypted location data to the central tracking system. When a user subsequently requests a location of the tracking device from the central tracking system, the central tracking system provides the encrypted temporary private key and the encrypted location data to a device of the user, and the device can decrypt the encrypted temporary private key using the permanent encryption key pair, and decrypt the encrypted location data using the decrypted temporary private key.
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
H04L 9/32 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system
H04L 9/00 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols
100.
Tracking device presence detection and reporting by access points
A tracking system determines a location of a tracking device associated with a user using one or more access points at the location. Each access point at the location is configured to detect and couple with the tracking device when the tracking device is within a communicative range of the access point. An access point provides updates on the tracking device's presence, as well as the tracking device's arrival to and departure from the communicative range of the access point, to a tracking server. The tracking server determines, from these updates, whether the tracking device is at the location. The user may be notified, via a mobile device, of the tracking device's location.
