Tracking products with chain of custody using IoT devices
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJeffrey M. Achtermann, Rahul Gupta, Arnaud A. Mathieu, Maharaj Mukherjee
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Abstract
Methods for chain of custody tracking for an object are described. Several sets of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are organized in a network. Each set of sensors is configured to record one or more events relating to the object. Each event includes an event time, an event location, and an entity that is a custodian for the object at the time of the event. When the object changes custodians, proper custodianship is verified based on input from at least one set of IoT sensors.
Claims5
A method for automatic chain of custody tracking for an object while transferring the object from a first location to a second location, comprising:
- organizing a plurality of sets of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in a network, wherein a first set of IoT sensors is associated with the object and a second set of IoT sensors is associated with a custodian, and where the sets of IoT sensors are configured to record one or more events relating to the object, each event including an event time, an event location, and an entity that is a custodian for the object at the time of the event;
- automatically exchanging information between the first and second sets of IoT sensors to verify proper custodianship through performing a multi-level authentication based on information received from at least one set of IoT sensors, and through performing a compliance check with a workflow plan for the object based on information received from the at least one set of IoT sensors, wherein the information between the first and second sets of IoT sensors is exchanged using the Internet Protocol;
- in response to proper custodianship not being verifiable, logging an irregularity in a central system and providing a notification to an appropriate authority;
- and
- in response to the object changing custodians, performing a handshake between an IoT sensor associated with a current custodian of the object and a an IoT sensor associated with a new custodian of the object, including passing a token uniquely identifying the object from the IoT sensor associated with current custodian to the IoT sensor associated with new custodian, wherein information between the IoT sensors is exchanged using the Internet Protocol.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.