Patent Application
20080094230
There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
When a calculated threat probability exceeds an established threshold, one or more threat avoidance actions can be automatically taken. Different actions can be taken depending upon a threat level. These threat avoidance actions can include warning a device user of a potential threat, providing a device user with threat avoidance information, alerting a remotely located party, such as a guardian, of a potential hostile situation, and notifying a potentially dangerous individual that their activities are being monitored.
Diagram 100 includes a zone 112, which is a known zone of danger. When a mobile device 118 carrying user 116 approaches zone 112, a warning 102 can be automatically presented upon their mobile device 118. Upon receiving the warning 102, the user 116 can take suitable actions to avoid zone 112 to minimize dangers associated with the zone 112.
As shown, the warning 102 can inform user 116 that they are approaching a home of a known sex offender, identified herein for illustrative purposes only as Mr. Smith. An alternative travel path to avoid the home included in zone 112 can be provided upon request. Further, information concerning the sex offender, such as a name, age, description, past offenses, a picture, and the like can be presented upon the device 118. Armed with the information contained in warning 102, a user 116 is able to avoid compromising situations involving Mr. Smith.
In diagram 120, a user 136 can be communicatively linked with a different user 133 via mobile devices 138 and 134. A warning 122 can be presented upon device 138 to warn user 136 that the party they are communicating with is nearby. Proximity can be an indicator of a potential danger, when a communication is presumed to be anonymous and/or remote. A second factor related to the warning 122 can be that user 133 is located within a zone 132 of a known sexual offender. Information concerning the sexual offender at that residence can then be provided. It should be noted that both danger factors (proximity and communicating from a zone of danger) can be combined to generate an overall threat level that can exceed a previously designated threshold, which results in warning 122.
Diagram 140 shows that a guardian 153 for a ward 156 can be alerted 142 when the ward 156 is believed to be danger. For example, if a ward 156 loiters in a zone 152 of danger for greater than an established threshold, a message can be sent from device 158 to device 154. The alert 142 can indicate to the guardian 153 that a ward has been in a zone 152 associated with a known sex offender for greater than ten minutes. Additional contextual information, such as a running loiter time, a current position, a mobile device 158 status, and the like, can be provided.
In diagram 160, device 178 can warn 162 user 176 of a potential stalking situation involving user 173. The warning 162 can state the distance and direction of the potential threat (user 173). The warning can be based upon numerous factors, which combine to create a situational threat level significant enough to generate warning 162. For example, the device 173 can have passed within thirty feet of user 176 four times within that same day. Additionally, a current proximity time for the most recent encounter between the users 176 and 173 can be twenty minutes. The warning 162 can also note that the user of device 173 uses an online alias of “niceguy123.” This alias can be one known to user 176 from chat sites, online gaming sites, or other online forums. Further, the user 173 can be within two degrees of a social network of user 176.
In one embodiment, user 173 can be presented with a notice 164 that they are being monitored for possible stalking activity. In one implementation, user 176 can be provided an option as to whether notice 164 is to be sent. This option can permit user 176 to evaluate whether notifying user 173 that they are being monitored would be helpful in defusing a potentially dangerous situation. For example, sending notice 164 can be beneficial in a crowded situation, while it might be danger provoking in an isolated situation.
In step 210, a threat assessment system can process the Web based information and can convert addresses and zones into geographic coordinates. Contextual information relating to the potential threats can also be converted into a consumable form. In one embodiment, the threat assessment system can dynamically update information on an iterative basis in ensure information currency.
In step 215, a location of a mobile device can be identified. Further, information for an area proximate to the mobile device can be automatically provided to the mobile device from the threat assessment system. In step 220, at least one potential danger near the mobile device can be determined. This danger can represent a fixed or dynamic zone of danger. In step 225, situational threat factors can be calculated to generate a situational threat value. Factors can include, but are not limited to, a distance factor, a loitering factor, a frequency of contact factor, a social network factor, and the like.
A distance factor can represent a distance between the mobile device and the potential danger, wherein a threat level relating to the distance factor can increase as the distance decreases. The loitering factor can represent an amount of time that the mobile device is proximate to the potential danger, wherein a threat level relating to the loitering factor can increase as the amount of time increases. The frequency of contact factor can represent a number of times the user of the mobile telephone has been near the potential danger, wherein a threat level relating to the frequency of contact factor can increase as the frequency increases. The social network factor can represent a distance (or number of hops) in a social network between a user of the mobile device and an individual who is part of the potential danger, where a threat level relating to the social network factor can increase as the social network distance decreases.
In step 230, at least one threat avoidance action can be automatically taken whenever a situational threat value exceeds one or more threat thresholds. Different threat thresholds can be associated with different threat avoidance actions. For example, a warning can be posted on a mobile device when the situational threat value exceeds a related threshold, which is shown in step 235. In another example, an alert can be sent to a guardian when a corresponding threshold value is exceeded, which is shown by step 240. In still another example shown in step 245, a notice can be sent to a threatening individual to place that individual on notice that they are being monitored. The method can loop from step 245 to step 215, where the mobile device location can be updated and the method can determine new situational threat values for the updated location.
Additionally, user selectable quick options (not shown) can be presented upon the device 310 to permit a context specific response to be rapidly made. For example, when the threat warning relates to a particular individual, a quick option can include an option to alert a guardian or police of a danger. This option can be a one-click option or a panic button capable of being immediately selected in circumstances in which a user might not otherwise have time to seek external help. When a quick option is selected, contextual information, user information, and a current user location information can all be conveyed to the alert party.
The mobile device 310 can also include a short range transceiver 312, such as a BLUETOOTH transceiver, that is capable of automatically detecting proximate devices also having BLUETOOTH capabilities. For example, communication device 330 can be a BLUETOOTH equipped device carried by a potential stalker or other source of danger. Every time the communication device 330 is within BLUETOOTH range of device 310, an automatic data exchange can occur. During this exchange, mobile device 310 can be made aware of a MAC address for device 330 and of other identification information contained in device 330. When a MAC address for a device 330 repetitively comes within range of device 310, a frequency of contact value associated with device 330 can be incremented.
The mobile device 310 can include any computing device having location detection features, which is able to present warnings about proximate dangers. The location detection features can be based upon triangulation of received wireless signals from known sources, based upon GPS technologies, and any other means. The device 310 can be, but is not limited to being, a mobile phone, a two way radio, a navigation device, a personal data assistant (PDA), a wearable computer, a mobile electronic game, a media player, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, and the like.
The threat assessment calculation performed for device 310 can be performed by threat assessment system 320. The system 320 can be communicatively linked to device 310 via network 335. The threat assessment system 320 and/or portions thereof can also be implemented within device 310 (not shown) in one contemplated embodiment of the invention.
The threat assessment system 320 can determine a threat value associated with one or more different factors, which can be combined to generate a situational threat assessment value. The factors can include, but are not limited to, a distance factor, a loitering factor, a frequency of contact factor, a social network factor, and the like. Each of the factors can have different magnitudes depending on a situation. Information or input needed to compute the situational threat assessment value can be gathered from the mobile device 310, from a local data store of system 320, and/or from a Web based source 315. For example, social network information used to calculate the social network factor can be based upon information obtained from a social network Web site (source 315), such as MYSPACE.
Table 322 shows that the threat assessment system 320 can selectively initiate different actions based upon different threshold values. Different actions can also be associated with different types of threats. Thus, significant flexibility can be used in determining appropriate threat avoidance actions for different situations. For example, when a danger threshold is relatively low, the mobile device 310 can vibrate. When a danger threshold is a bit higher, the mobile device 310 can provide an audible warning and can also present one or more user selectable panic buttons upon an interface of the device 310. When the danger relates to a kidnapper, an alert of the situation can be automatically sent to a guardian (guardian computer system 325). When the danger relates to a stalker and the threshold is high, a notification can be sent to a communication device 330 associated with the potential stalker. When a user of device 310 is in an extremely dangerous situation, an alert can automatically be sent to the police. This alert can effectively be an automatic “911” emergency call.
It should be noted, that contextual danger information and/or demarcation points for zones of danger can be automatically obtained from one or more Web based sources 315. For example, a name and address for a party communicating with device 310 can be automatically obtained from a director assistance source 315. The user name and address can further be used to query other Web based sources 315 in order to obtain a photograph for the party. Past criminal offenses of a dangerous individual can also be looked-up from a Web based source 315. This information can be summarized or directly presented upon device 310, when contextually relevant.
As shown in Table 2 for each contact, an expected duration, time and distance on average that is expected for that contact. For example, church members Bill, Sue, and Sally are expected to be proximate to a user for about two hours on Sunday from eleven A.M to two P.M.
The location and time profiler 415 can process information obtained by the manager 420 and other sources 444 and can determine when an unexpected contact appears to be consistently near a mobile telephone user. In one embodiment, the location and time profiler 415 can also record information about a typical user travel route or travel path. If a user alters this travel path, such as by taking a taxi instead of a bus, the individuals proximate to the user can be expected to change. A persistent contact that “follows” a user when that user deviates from a normal travel path can have an increased likelihood of being a stalker. It should be noted that one of the threat avoidance actions suggested by a mobile device can be to deviate from an established travel path, so that a determination can be made by profiler 415 as to whether a user is likely being followed.
The trust level data store 405 can include entries for people and locations, each having an associated trust value. Additional information, such as Web based information, available concerning those people can be used to supplement a trust value. For example, a person who is determined to be a nun from a Web based source is likely to have a higher default trust value than a previously convicted sex offender. The dynamic information processed by profiler 415 can be used to dynamically alter a trust value for a person. In one embodiment, the trust values of data store 405 can be constrained to specific times and contexts. For example, a school administrator could have a relatively high trust value around a school during school hours, but a different trust value if found in a video arcade on a weekend.
Another component of architecture 400 is a social network profiler 410. This profiler 410 can process direct communications 446, such as email, telephone calls, IM messages, interactive gaming, and other direct communications between a device user and others. In one embodiment, a social network 430 can also be monitored for indirect communications 448, which are processed by profiler 410. Many social networking sites, such as MYSPACE, TAGWORLD, ECONNECTED, and the like record social networking interactions and even provide a visual representation of a social space. A strength of an indirect contact can be based upon a number of degrees of separation or hops in the social network between a device user and others. Information from profiler 410 can be used to dynamically update trust level values of data store 405.
The threat calculator 425 can combine information from data store 405, location and time profiler 415, and social network profiler 410 to determine a situational threat value 450. It should be appreciated that a combinative effect from profiler 410 and 415 processed information can provide realistic estimates of stalking activity. For example, a communicator can engage in presumably anonymous social interactions via a Web source. Profiler 415 can indicate that a social contact is physically near the communicator, which can be an indicator of stalking activity.
The present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system of other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.
The present invention also may be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.
This invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.
