Wireless analytics in physical spaces
A wireless analytics system and method are disclosed that take shoppers through an initial registration process, after which they can access the Internet quickly and easily every time they visit any of the retailer's stores. During future visits to any of the retailer's store locations the shopper's device is automatically granted network access as soon as it is within wireless range. Once on the network, a shopper can access websites, social networks, and shopping resources from across the mobile web. The system collects information about these access events, including the location and timestamp of each access event. The retailer may be notified when a shopper enters their store. This information may automate the check-in process for processes within the retail store or within a mobile application.
1. A method for connecting to a wireless network, the method comprising:
receiving, at an access point, a first request from a wireless device to access a wireless network;
determining, based on authentication by an authentication server, that the first request is an initial request from the wireless device to access the wireless network;
providing, by a captive portal, a landing page to the wireless device for entering registration information in response to the determining that the first request is the initial request from the wireless device to access the wireless network;
receiving, by the captive portal, the registration information from the wireless device;
collecting, by the captive portal, additional information from the wireless device that is independent from the registration information, the additional independent information being stored on the authentication server;
granting, by the captive portal in response to the first request, the wireless device network access;
receiving, at the access point, a second request from the wireless device to access the wireless network at a time subsequent to the initial request;
authenticating, by the authentication server, the wireless device based on a portion of the independent information collected from the wireless device and stored on the authentication server; and
granting, by the captive portal upon authenticating the wireless device based on the portion of the independent information collected from the wireless device and stored on the authentication server, the wireless device access to the wireless network in response to a determination that the wireless device is within communication range of a wireless access point of the wireless network.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a notification when the wireless device has accessed the wireless network; and
responsive to receiving the notification, causing a process within a mobile application running on the wireless device to be automated.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
collecting information about the access, including a time and location of the access; and
generating a report based on the access information.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that a user of the wireless device has previously reviewed or accepted a first version of rules associated with the wireless network; and
providing the wireless device with a second version of the rules, where the second version of the rules is different from the first version of the rules.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information collected from the wireless device includes at least a media access control (MAC) address of the wireless device.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein granting the wireless device access to the wireless network based on at least some of the collected information comprises granting the wireless device access to the wireless network based on the MAC address of the wireless device.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the information collected from the wireless device further includes a device type, an operating system type and version, a browser type, and a screen size of the wireless device.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
collecting, at a web traffic collector, outgoing hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests upon granting the wireless device network access; and
storing the collected requests in a data storage for analysis.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting, at the access point, a presence of the wireless device in the wireless network; and
periodically collecting three dimensional location information of the wireless device when the wireless device is in the presence of the wireless network.
10. The method of claim 1 ,
detecting, at the access point, a presence of the wireless device in the wireless network; and
collecting an entry time and an exit time of the wireless device when entering and exiting a presence of the wireless network.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
when connected to the wireless device, collecting an entry and an exit times when the wireless device accesses the wireless network.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
when connected to the wireless device, periodically collecting three dimensional location information of the wireless device.
13. A system for connecting to a wireless network, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and configured to store instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving, at an access point, a first request from a wireless device to access a wireless network;
determining, based on authentication by an authentication server, whether the first request is an initial request from the wireless device to access the wireless network;
providing, by a captive portal, a landing page to the wireless device for entering registration information in response a determination that the first request is the initial request from the wireless device to access the wireless network;
receiving, by the captive portal, the registration information from the wireless device;
collecting, by the captive portal, additional information from the wireless device that is independent from the registration information, the additional independent information being stored on the authentication server;
granting, by the captive portal in response to the first request, the wireless device network access;
receiving, at the access point, a second request from the wireless device to access the wireless network at a time subsequent to the initial request;
authenticating, by the authentication server, the wireless device based on a portion of the independent information collected from the wireless device and stored on the authentication server; and
granting, by the captive portal upon authenticating the wireless device based on the portion of the independent information collected from the wireless device and stored on the authentication server, the wireless device access to the wireless network in response to a determination that the wireless device is within communication range of a wireless access point of the wireless network.
14. The system of claim 13 , where the non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving a notification when the wireless device has accessed the wireless network; and
responsive to receiving the notification, causing a process within a mobile application running on the wireless device to be automated.
15. The system of claim 13 , where the non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
determining that a user of the wireless device has previously reviewed or accepted a first version of rules associated with the wireless network; and
providing the wireless device with a second version of the rules, where the second version of the rules is different from the first version of the rules.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the information collected from the wireless device includes at least a media access control (MAC) address of the wireless device.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the information collected from the wireless device further includes a device type, an operating system type and version, a browser type, and a screen size of the wireless device.
18. The system of claim 13 , wherein granting the wireless device access to the wireless network based on at least some of the collected information comprises granting the wireless device access to the wireless network based on a MAC address of the wireless device.
19. The system of claim 13 , wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
collecting, at a web traffic collector, outgoing hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) requests upon granting the wireless device network access; and
storing the collected requests in a data storage for analysis.
20. The system of claim 13 , where the non-transitory computer readable medium further stores instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
detecting, at the access point, a presence of the wireless device in the wireless network;
when in the presence of the wireless network, and collecting an entry time and an exit time of the wireless device when entering and exiting a presence of the wireless network and periodically collecting three dimensional location information of the wireless device; and
when connected with the wireless device, periodically collecting three dimensional location information of the wireless device, and periodically collecting an entry and an exit time when the wireless device accesses the wireless network.