US-12618937-B2 - Asset tracker, method of tracking an asset and security server for locating the asset

US12618937B2US 12618937 B2US12618937 B2US 12618937B2US-12618937-B2

Abstract

A tracking device for tracking an asset at a facility is described herein. The tracking device comprises a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one beacon in proximity to the tracking device and an altitude sensor. The tracking device is configured to receive, via the communication interface, at least one signal from the at least one beacon, receive, via the altitude sensor, altitude information. The tracking device is configured to transmit, for use in tracking the asset at the facility, information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information.

Inventors

Norman Shaw
John Pragnell

Assignees

EXACTTRAK LIMITED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240926
Priority Date: 20190925

Claims (16)

1 . A tracking device for tracking an asset at a facility, the tracking device comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one beacon in proximity to the tracking device; an altitude sensor; and wherein the tracking device is configured to: receive, via the communication interface, at least one signal from the at least one beacon; receive, via the altitude sensor, altitude information; and wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit, for use in tracking the asset at the facility, information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information, wherein the tracking device is configured to determine whether the asset is outside a predetermined range using the at least one signal and the altitude information, and wherein the tracking device is configured to receive an update message for updating a security policy; and wherein which components of the asset are activated or deactivated is dictated by the security policy.
2 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signal comprises at least one of: (a) a beacon identifier, (b) a signal strength of the received at least one signal, and (c) time of flight between the tracking device and the at least one beacon.
3 . The tracking device of claim 2 , wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the information when: (i) the signal strength of the received at least one signal is greater than a signal strength threshold; and/or (ii) the time of flight is greater than a time-of-flight threshold.
4 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to determine location information based on the at least one signal from the at least one beacon and the altitude information, and wherein the information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information transmitted by the tracking device comprises the determined location information.
5 . The tracking device of claim 4 , wherein determining the location information comprises comparing the received signal and altitude information to one or more of: a virtual plan of the facility; and an expected or stored value.
6 . The tracking device of claim 4 , further comprising a memory configured to store one or more values of the location information; wherein the tracking device is configured to: (i) transmit one or more stored values of the location information stored in the memory; and/or (ii) detect a change in location of the asset at the facility by comparing the determined location information to the one or more stored values.
7 . The tracking device of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to determining that the asset is outside a predetermined range based on the at least one signal and the altitude information, triggering one or more of: an alert action; a memory wipe action; a self-destruct action; and/or deactivating the asset.
8 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device further comprises a motion detector comprising an accelerometer and/or a magnetometer, wherein the motion detector is configured to detect a change in location of the tracking device.
9 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the received signal and/or the altitude information in response to detecting a change in location that is greater than a threshold amount.
10 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to receive the at least one signal via a first network; and wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information on a second network, that is different to the first network, and/or on the first network.
11 . The tracking device of claim 10 , wherein the first network comprises a short-range communication network; and wherein the second network comprises a long-range communication network.
12 . A method of tracking an asset at a facility, the method comprising: obtaining at least one signal from at least one beacon in proximity to a tracking device coupled to the asset; obtaining altitude information of the asset; determining location information of the asset based on the at least one signal and the altitude information; determining, by the tracking device, whether the asset is outside a predetermined range using the at least one signal and the altitude information; and further comprising receiving, at the tracking device, an update message for updating a security policy; and wherein which components of the asset are activated or deactivated is dictated by the security policy.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: in response to determining that the asset is outside a predetermined range, triggering one or more of: an alert action; a memory wipe action; a self-destruct action; and/or deactivating the asset.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving, at the tracking device, a wake-up message to send information in response to a user request.
15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining that the asset and/or the tracking device has been tampered with and sending an alert.
16 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method of claim 12 .

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/763,630, filed Mar. 24, 2022, which is a 371 national stage application of Patent Cooperation Treaty Application No. PCT/GB2020/052315 filed Sep. 24, 2020, which in turn claims priority under 35 USC 119 (e) to British Patent Application No. 1913843.7, filed Sep. 25, 2019. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tracking device, security server and method for tracking assets at a facility. BACKGROUND In a large facility, for example a hospital, there can be a large number of assets located throughout the facility. Knowing where all the assets are located within the facility is desired. However, successfully knowing the location of all the assets within a facility can be a difficult task, particularly when the assets are frequently moved throughout the facility and a large number of both staff and public are free to move within the facility at all hours. SUMMARY Aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims and preferred features are set out in the dependent claims. According to a first aspect of the disclosure there is provided a tracking device for tracking an asset at a facility, the tracking device comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one beacon in proximity to the tracking device; and an altitude sensor. The tracking device is configured to receive, via the communication interface, at least one signal from the at least one beacon, and receive, via the altitude sensors, altitude information. The tracking device is configured to transmit, for use in tracking the asset at the facility, information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information. In some examples the tracking device may be configured to encrypt the transmitted information. The assets may include important or expensive equipment, for example equipment that may contain confidential patient information. Tracking where the assets are within the facility may help to prevent such assets being stolen or inadvertently being removed from the facility, for example reducing the risk that confidential patient information is disclosed to third parties. Advantageously, the signal received from the at least one beacon may be indicative of a location that, when combined with altitude data, can be used to determine the location of a tracking device coupled to an asset at a facility. It will be understood that the beacons may be located at fixed and/or known locations about the facility and are configured to communicate with the tracking device through a signal. The locations of the beacons may be fixed, or may be movable. Beacons may impart information about where an asset is located within a radius of the beacon. It will be understood that in some examples the tracking device may be configured to receive signals from more than one beacon to help improve the determination of the location of the asset. For example, signals from at least two, for example three or more beacons, may be used to triangulate a position of the asset within the facility. For example, the tracking device or security server may use the relative signal strengths and/or signal time of flights from each of the plurality of beacons to determine a relative position with respect to the beacons. Altitude sensors provide altitude information that is indicative of the height of the asset. The altitude information may be based on barometric data—for example, the altitude sensor may comprise a barometric pressure sensor. Altitude information may be particularly important in facilities having two or more stories. In combination, the information provided by the at least one signal from the beacon and the altitude information provided by the altitude sensor can be used to determine a location of the asset in three dimensions with a relatively high degree of accuracy, particularly when compared to other tracking technologies when used indoors. The at least one signal may comprise at least one of: (a) a beacon identifier, (b) a signal strength of the received at least one signal, and (c) information indicative of a time of flight between the tracking device and the at least one beacon. The beacon identifier may comprise information indicative of a status of the beacon—for example if the beacon is operating in a particular mode of operation, and/or if the beacon is operating according to a particular security profile or policy. In some examples the tracking device may be configured to calculate the time of flight of the signal—for example, if the tracking device requests a signal from the beacon the tracking device may be configured to determine the time of flight based on the time difference between requesting a signal from the beacon and receiving a signal in response to the request. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one signal may comprise timing information, for example timing info