Application of data structures to geo-fencing applications
AssigneeBluedot Innovation Pty Ltd
InventorFilip Eldic
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In the field of mobile and user of the mobile location determination, geo-fences are used to identify areas and regions of commercial, safety and convenience to user of the mobile computer device. The methods disclosed reduce the central processor unit cycles of the mobile computer device and thus the power drain caused by high numbers of calculations required to determine the location of the mobile computer device relative to one or more complex shaped geo-fences by minimising the number of positioning calculations that the mobile device needs to perform. For location updates required by the mobile computer device, the method applies data structures to a deconstructed geo-fence prior to distance calculations for use by a geo-fencing application running on the mobile computer device.
Claims18
A method to reduce central processor unit cycles of a mobile computing device by performing a number of positioning calculations in reference to any quantity of complex polygonal geo-fences at a time of a location update, the method comprising the steps of:
- prior to distance calculations for use in a geo-fencing application, deconstructing an existing geo-fence of a number of complex polygonal geo-fences represented as geospatial data, by decomposing the existing geo-fence into a multiplicity of smaller geo-fences, each representing a portion of the existing geo-fence, the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences represented using a hierarchical data structure;
- determining a position of the mobile computing device as a geo-hash reference;
- traversing the hierarchical data structure to identify which smaller geo-fence of the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences that is closest to the determined position;
- and
- determining for each location update a distance of the position of the mobile computing device to the identified closest smaller geo-fence.
A system for reducing central processor unit cycles of a mobile computing device by performing a number of positioning calculations in reference to any number of complex polygonal geo-fences at a time of a location update, comprising:
- a geolocation determination device in the mobile computing device configured to determine a position of the mobile computing device as a geo-hash reference;
- a data store storing a number of complex polygonal geo-fences represented as geospatial data;
- at least one processor for determination of a relative position of the mobile computing device to an existing geo-fence of the number of complex polygonal geo-fences, configured to:
- deconstruct the existing geo-fence by decomposing the existing geo-fence into a multiplicity of smaller geo-fences, each representing a portion of the existing geo-fence, the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences represented using a hierarchical data structure;
- receive the position of the mobile computing device from the geolocation determination device;
- traverse the hierarchical data structure to identify which smaller geo-fence of the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences that is closest to the determined position;
- and
- determine for each location update a distance of the position of the mobile computing device to the identified closest smaller geo-fence.
A non-transitory computer program product for reducing central processor unit cycles of a mobile computing device by performing a number of positioning calculations in reference to any number of complex polygonal geo-fences at the time of each location update, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing computer program code that when executed causes one or more processors to perform the steps of:
- prior to distance calculations for use in a geo-fencing application, deconstructing an existing geo-fence of a number of complex polygonal geo-fences represented as geospatial data, by decomposing the existing geo-fence into a multiplicity of smaller geo-fences, each representing a portion of the existing geo-fence, the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences represented using a hierarchical data structure;
- determining a position of the mobile computing device as a geo-hash reference;
- traversing the hierarchical data structure to identify which smaller geo-fence of the multiplicity of smaller geo-fences that is closest to the determined position;
- and
- determining for each location update a distance of the position of the mobile computing device to the identified closest smaller geo-fence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.