Method for determining the relative proximity of wireless networked devices
AssigneeLuxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List)
InventorSébastien Faye
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method for determining the relative proximity of wireless network devices. The method may advantageously be executed locally on a computing device, so that it provides enhanced reliability, responsiveness, security and privacy as compared to known methods requiring Internet access and/or satellite positioning signals. The determination of the proximity of networked devices allows for efficient implementation of several social network services, such as shared mobility services or location-based services, wherein the proximity of users/devices is a key 10 incentive for the service's usage.
Claims15
A computer-implemented method for detecting a proximity of at least two disjoint sets of computing devices comprising:
- discovering at least one wireless network access node by each of the computing devices, wherein the computing devices each include at least one wireless network interface for communicating with wireless network access nodes, a processing unit and a memory element;
- generating a discovery record for the at least one wireless network access node, wherein the discovery record includes a unique identifier of the at least one wireless network access node, and timing information indicating time of discovery of the at least one wireless network access node, wherein the discovery record is stored on the memory element;
- aggregating a plurality of discovery records generated by all of the computing devices in each disjoint set, wherein aggregation of the plurality of discovery records is completed by aggregating devices, wherein the aggregating devices include at least one computing device of each disjoint set;
- collecting aggregated discovery records from each of the aggregating devices, wherein a comparing unit collects the aggregated discovery records;
- and
- comparing the aggregated discovery records by the comparing unit and concluding that the disjoint sets of the computing devices were in proximity of one another upon determining that respective aggregated discovery records associated with each computing device include at least one discovery record that include the unique identifier and the timing information indicating the time of discovery within a common timespan.
A system for detecting a proximity of at least two disjoint sets of computing devices comprising:
- a memory element storing instructions when executed by a processing unit cause the processing unit to:
- collect discovery records that are received through a data communication channel using a networking interface from at least two computing devices and store the discovery records on a memory element, wherein each discovery record includes a unique identifier of a wireless network access node and, timing information indicating a time of discovery of the wireless network access node;
- and
- compare the discovery records and conclude that the computing devices were in proximity of one another upon determining that respectively transmitted discovery records include at least one discovery record that include the unique identifier and the timing information indicating the time of discovery within a common timespan.
non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer, which includes a processor perform a method, the method comprising:
- collecting discovery records that are received through a data communication channel using a networking interface from at least two computing devices and storing the discovery records on a memory element, wherein each discovery record includes a unique identifier of a wireless network access node and timing information indicating a time of discovery of the wireless network access node;
- and
- comparing the discovery records and concluding that the computing devices were in proximity of one another upon determining that respectively transmitted discovery records include at least one discovery record that include the unique identifier and the timing information indicating the time of discovery within a common timespan.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.