# US 9,438,606 B1 · Environmental-based location monitoring

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- Number: US 9,438,606 B1
- Document ID: US9438606B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 14/976,393
- Filed: 2015-12-21
- Published: 2016-09-29
- Granted: 2016-09-06
- Earliest claimed: 2015-03-23
- Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation
- Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation
- Inventors: Gerald K. Bartley; Darryl J. Becker; Matthew S. Doyle; Mark O. Maxson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9438606B1

## CPC

- H04W 12/08: Access security
- G06F 16/24578: {using ranking}
- G06F 16/29: Geographical information databases
- G06F 16/51: Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
- G06F 16/5866: {using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information}
- G06F 18/22: Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
- G06F 21/55: Detecting local intrusion or implementing counter-measures
- G06F 21/554: {involving event detection and direct action}
- G06T 7/254: involving subtraction of images
- G06T 7/62: of area, perimeter, diameter or volume
- G06V 20/52: Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects (recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69)
- H04L 63/107: {wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals}
- H04N 7/183: {for receiving images from a single remote source}
- G06F 2221/2111: Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
- G06T 2207/30232: Surveillance
- H04W 12/65: Environment-dependent, e.g. using captured environmental data
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed towards environmental based location monitoring. Environmental based location monitoring can include collecting, a first set of image data that corresponds to a first set of environmental characteristics existing within a bounded area encompassing a hardware element of the computer and determining an environmental difference based on a difference between a first location corresponding to a geographic position of the hardware element relative to the first set of environmental characteristics and a second location corresponding to an approved geographic position of the hardware element. Environmental based location monitoring can include determining that the environmental difference does not satisfy a threshold and executing a reaction sequence in the computer, in response to determining that the environmental difference does not satisfy the threshold.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A computer-implemented method of environmental based location monitoring, the method comprising:
collecting, by a sensor electronically connected to a computer and in response to powering-on the computer, a first set of image data that corresponds to a first set of environmental characteristics existing within a bounded area encompassing a hardware element of the computer, wherein the bounded area is external to the hardware element of the computer, within a range of the sensor collecting the first set of image data, and within an air-conditioned server room containing multiple server racks housing one or more computer servers;
determining, by a processor analyzing the first set of image data, a first location corresponding to a geographic position of the hardware element relative to the first set of environmental characteristics, and determining, by the processor analyzing a second set of image data stored in a database of the computer, the second set of image data corresponding to a second set of environmental characteristics, a second location corresponding to an approved geographic position of the hardware element relative to the second set of environmental characteristics;
comparing, by the processor, the first location to the second location, and determining, by the processor, by comparing the first location to the second location, an environmental difference using a location difference between the first location and the second location;
determining that the environmental difference does not satisfy a threshold;
determining, by the processor analyzing the first set of image data, a first volume corresponding to a volumetric dimension of the bounded area;
determining, by the processor analyzing the second set of image data, a second volume corresponding to a volumetric dimension of the second location;
comparing the first volume to the second volume, and determining, by comparing the first volume to the second volume, a volumetric difference;
determining, by the processor, that the volumetric difference does not satisfy a second threshold;
executing, by the processor, in response to determining that the environmental difference does not satisfy a threshold and further in response to determining that the volumetric difference does not satisfy a second threshold, a reaction sequence in the computer, wherein the reaction sequence includes shutting-down the computer and overwriting a set of data stored in the computer.