Intelligent tracking system and methods and systems therefor

1. An intelligent tracking system comprising:

one or more passive tracking devices, wherein each passive tracking device includes one or more transceivers and is energized by an electromagnetic frequency, and wherein in response to being energized each passive tracking device transmits a short message;

an exciter that emits the electromagnetic frequency that energizes the one or more passive tracking devices; and

a tracker that receives short messages from the one or more passive tracking devices and confirms the presence of the one or more passive tracking devices in a vicinity of the tracker based on the received short messages, wherein each of the one or more passive tracking devices includes a plurality of antennas and is configured to:

transmit an advertising packet to the tracker in response to being energized using one of the plurality of antennas, wherein the advertising packet indicates the one of the plurality of antennas being used,

receive a response packet from the tracker in response to the advertising packet, the response packet including a received signal strength indication that indicates a strength of a signal containing the advertising packet, and

selectively transmit the short message to the tracker using the one of the plurality of antennas based on the received signal strength indication.

2. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the short messages are Bluetooth low energy beacons.

3. The intelligent tracking system of claim 2 , wherein each of the Bluetooth Low Energy beacons includes a respective device identifier of a respective passive tracking device of the one or more passive tracking devices that transmitted the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon.

4. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein each of the short messages includes a respective device identifier of a respective passive tracking device of the one or more passive tracking devices that transmitted the short message.

5. The intelligent tracking system of claim 4 , wherein the respective passive tracking device encrypts the respective device identifier in the short message using a low power encryption algorithm.

6. The intelligent tracking system of claim 5 , wherein the respective passive tracking device encrypts the respective device identifier in the short message based on a shared secret key and a shared secret pattern.

7. The intelligent tracking system of claim 6 , wherein the shared secret pattern defines a pattern at which random bits are inserted into the short message prior to encryption with the shared secret key.

8. The intelligent tracking system of claim 7 , further comprising an authenticating device that authenticates the respective passive device using the shared secret pattern and the shared secret key.

9. The intelligent tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the authenticating device is the tracker.

10. The intelligent tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the authenticating device is a backend server system in communication with the tracker.

11. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the exciter is embedded in the tracker.

12. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the exciter is a stand-alone device.

13. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , further comprising a backend server system that maintains locations of the one or more passive tracking devices.

14. The intelligent tracking system of claim 13 , wherein the backend server system manages an inventory of items via the locations of the one or more passive tracking devices.

15. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices each include a temperature sensor that outputs a current temperature upon being energized, wherein each passive tracking device includes the current temperature data in the short message output by the passive tracking device, and wherein the tracker applies a time stamp to the current temperature data based on a time at which the short message received the short message from the passive tracking device.

16. The intelligent tracking system of claim 15 , further comprising a backend server system that maintains a temperature log based on the current temperature data in the respective short messages transmitted by the passive tracking devices and the time stamps corresponding to the current temperature data received in the respective short messages.

17. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices each include a light sensor that outputs a value indicating a detection of ambient light in a vicinity of the passive tracking device, wherein the value is included in the short message upon the passive tracking device being energized.

18. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices each include a motion sensor that outputs motion data that indicates a respective motion of the passive tracking device, wherein the motion data is included in the short message upon the passive tracking device being energized.

19. The intelligent tracking system of claim 18 , further comprising a backend server system that receives the motion data and determines a motion profile corresponding to an item associated with a particular passive tracking device based on the motion data.

20. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , further comprising an augmented reality enabled device that is configured to display an indicia of a passive tracking device when the augmented reality enabled device is oriented in a direction of the passive tracking device.

21. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices include a multi-band antenna such that each passive tracking device receives the electromagnetic frequency at a first frequency and transmits the short messages at a second frequency.

22. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the exciter includes a multi-band antenna such that the exciter transmits the electromagnetic frequency at a first frequency and receives short messages at a second frequency.

23. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices each include an antenna comprised of metallic paint.

24. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive tracking devices are each embedded in a tracking label that is affixed to an item.

25. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the tracker is a user device configured to communicate with the one or more passive tracking devices.

26. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , further comprising a backend server system that receives location data corresponding to the one or more passive tracking devices from the tracker and generates a virtual map of an area corresponding to the one or more passive tracking devices based on the location data.

27. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein:

the tracker is configured to determine a characterization of an environment of the tracker; and

to determine a form of communication with which the tracker communicates with a backend server based on the characterization, wherein the tracker is configured to select from more than one different forms of communication.

28. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein each passive tracking device of the one or more passive tracking devices is fabricated with an electrostatic discharge protection mechanism at a connection between an antenna of the passive tracking device and a silicon chip of the passive tracking device.

29. The intelligent tracking system of claim 28 , wherein the electrostatic discharge protection is removed after the silicon chip is inlayed into a housing of the passive tracking device.

30. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the passive tracking devices include multi-medium tracking devices that are configured with an RFID transmitter and a BLE transmitter, such that the multi-medium tracking devices may be read via RFID or BLE.

31. The intelligent tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the RFID transmitter and the BLE transmitter are integrated into a single ASIC.