Methods and systems for performing geofencing with reduced power consumption
View Patent ↗A GPS capability of a mobile device may be turned on in order to ascertain an updated current location and then be turned off. Position relative to the geofence may be determined based on the updated current location and a time to fence value that provides an estimate of how soon an individual carrying the mobile device could cross the geofence may be calculated. The GPS capability may be kept turned off for a delay time period that is based at least in part on the calculated time to fence value. After the delay time period, the GPS capability of the mobile device may be turned back on and the cycle of turning on the GPS, ascertaining an updated current location and turning off the GPS may continue. An indication of the position of the mobile device relative to the geofence may be transmitted.
1. A mobile device comprising:
a user interface;
a memory for storing an executable program, the memory also storing information pertaining to a geofence assigned to a building;
a communications module;
location services including a lower power location capability that consumes power when activated and a higher power location capability that consumes more power than the lower power location capability when activated, each providing an updated current location of the mobile device when activated;
a controller operably coupled to the user interface, the memory, the communications module, and the location services, the controller configured to:
compare the updated current location provided by the location services to the geofence and determine when the mobile device has crossed the geofence indicating a geofence crossing event;
upon determining a geofence crossing event, cause the mobile device to communicate the geofence crossing event to a building controller at least in part via the communications module of the mobile device so that the building controller can regulate operation of a building system in response to the geofence crossing event;
when the mobile device is more than a threshold from the geofence, use the lower power location capability more often than the higher power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device; and
when the mobile device is less than the threshold from the geofence, use the higher power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device.
2. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the lower power location capability comprises a cellular triangulation capability.
3. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the higher power location capability comprises a GPS capability.
4. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the lower power location capability comprises a cellular triangulation capability and the higher power location capability comprises a GPS capability.
5. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a distance.
6. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a time.
7. The mobile device of claim 1 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold, and the controller is configured to:
use the updated current location of the mobile device to determine a TIME TO FENCE value, wherein the TIME TO FENCE value is an estimate of a minimum length of time that it would take for an individual carrying the mobile device to cross the geofence;
use the lower power location capability of the mobile device more often than the higher power location capability when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is greater than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold; and
use the higher power location capability of the mobile device when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is less than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold.
8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium with an executable program stored thereon, wherein the executable program is configured to instruct a mobile device, having a user interface with a display, a communications module, a memory, and location services including a lower power location capability that consumes power when activated and a higher power location capability that consumes more power than the lower power location capability when activated, each for providing an updated current location of the mobile device when activated, to perform the following:
comparing the updated current location provided by the location services to a geofence stored in the memory of the mobile device and determining when the mobile device has crossed the geofence indicating a geofence crossing event;
upon determining a geofence crossing event, causing the mobile device to communicate the geofence crossing event to a building controller at least in part via the communications module of the mobile device so that the building controller can regulate operation of a building system in response to the geofence crossing event; and
when the mobile device is more than a threshold from the geofence, using the lower power location capability more often than the higher power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device; and
when the mobile device is less than the threshold from the geofence, using the higher power location capability more often than the lower power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device.
9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the lower power location capability comprises a cellular triangulation capability.
10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the higher power location capability comprises a GPS capability.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein when the mobile device is less than the threshold from the geofence, using the higher power location capability and not using the lower power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a distance.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a time.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold, and the executable program is configured to instruct the mobile device to perform the following:
using the updated current location of the mobile device to determine a TIME TO FENCE value, wherein the TIME TO FENCE value is an estimate of a minimum length of time that it would take for an individual carrying the mobile device to cross the geofence;
using the lower power location capability of the mobile device more often than the higher power location capability when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is greater than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold; and
using the higher power location capability of the mobile device when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is less than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold.
15. A method, comprising
comparing an updated current location of a mobile device provided by a location services of the mobile device to a geofence stored by the mobile device, wherein the location services includes a lower power location capability that consumes power when activated and a higher power location capability that consumes more power than the lower power location capability when activated, and determining when the mobile device has crossed the geofence indicating a geofence crossing event;
upon determining a geofence crossing event, causing the mobile device to communicate the geofence crossing event to a building controller so that the building controller can regulate operation of a building system in response to the geofence crossing event;
when the mobile device is more than a threshold from the geofence, using the lower power location capability of the location services more often than the higher power location capability of the location services of the mobile device; and
when the mobile device is less than the threshold from the geofence, using the higher power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the lower power location capability comprises a cellular triangulation capability.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the higher power location capability comprises a GPS capability.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the lower power location capability comprises a cellular triangulation capability and the higher power location capability comprises a GPS capability.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a distance.
20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the threshold corresponds to a predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold, and the method further comprises:
using the updated current location of the mobile device to determine a TIME TO FENCE value, wherein the TIME TO FENCE value is an estimate of a minimum length of time that it would take for an individual carrying the mobile device to cross the geofence;
using the lower power location capability of the mobile device more often than the higher power location capability when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is greater than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold; and
using the higher power location capability to provide the updated current location of the mobile device when the determined TIME TO FENCE value is less than the predetermined TIME TO FENCE threshold.