Characterizing movement behaviors of wireless nodes in a network

An apparatus comprising:

• one or more network interfaces to communicate with a network;
• a processor coupled to the network interfaces and configured to execute one or more processes;
• and
• a memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed configured to:
• receive location estimates for a wireless node in a network, each location estimate having an associated timestamp;
• apply hierarchical clustering to the received location estimates and their associated timestamps, to identify locations and points in time in which the wireless node was stationary;
• perform sequence modeling on the identified locations and points in time in which the wireless node was stationary, to form a sequence of locations and associated time periods in which the wireless node was stationary;
• associate the wireless node with a behavioral profile based on the sequence of locations and associated time periods in which the wireless node was stationary;
• and
• generate, based in part on the behavioral profile for the wireless node, a predictive model that predicts a location of the wireless node at a particular point in time.

A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing program instructions that cause a device to execute a process comprising:

• receiving, at the device, location estimates for a wireless node in a network, each location estimate having an associated timestamp;
• applying, by the device, hierarchical clustering to the received location estimates and their associated timestamps, to identify locations and points in time in which the wireless node was stationary;
• performing, by the device, sequence modeling on the identified locations and points in time in which the wireless node was stationary, to form a sequence of locations and associated time periods in which the wireless node was stationary;
• associating, by the device, the wireless node with a behavioral profile based on the sequence of locations and associated time periods in which the wireless node was stationary;
• and
• generating, by the device and based in part on the behavioral profile for the wireless node, a predictive model that predicts a location of the wireless node at a particular point in time.