Patent · US Expired

Electronically tracking a path history

US7245214B2 · kind B2 · utility

46Cited by
10References
35Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 8, 2005
Grant dateJul 17, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 16, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01C21/20
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Methods and systems for electronically tracking the progress of teams as they cover an assigned geographic area are described herein. A server computer establishes a coverage area, divides the coverage area into a plurality of regions, and assigns each region to a team. Each team carries a tracking device capable of autonomously determining its present location without user assistance, thus allowing the team to focus on the assigned task, such as searching for a missing person, plowing a field, paving a road, etc. The server monitors the location of each tracking device as each team covers its assigned region, and updates on a visually displayed geographic map a historical path associated with each tracking device based on the monitored location of each tracking device. In this manner, users can quickly view the visual depiction of the historical to determine as yet uncovered areas.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.