Granted Patent B2

US 12,393,906 · App. 18/737,468 · Granted Aug 19, 2025

Inventors: Shahzad Farooq Kirmani (Scarborough, ME); Alex Seiger (Concord, NH)

Assignee: Position Imaging, Inc.

G06Q10/0833G01G19/005G06K7/10861

Abstract

Claims (34)

1. A tracking system comprising:

an electromagnetic means configured to acquire identification information associated with an object of interest;

a weight sensor at a location configured to measure a weight of the object at the location;

a camera that captures images of the location; and

at least one processor in communication with the electromagnetic means and the weight sensor, the at least one processor configured to:

receive from the electromagnetic means the identification information associated with the object;

determine, based on the weight measured by the weight sensor after the electromagnetic means acquires the identification information associated with the given object, an occurrence of a weight change at the location;

expect a next object to be placed at the location where the weight sensor can measure the weight of the next object or removed from the location to be the object to which the identification information is associated;

register the object as being at the location if the next object expected to be placed at the location is the object and if the weight sensor determines an increase in weight at the location in response to the electromagnetic means acquiring the identification information associated with the object; and

compare a change in the captured images with the increase or decrease in weight at the location;

confirm, in response to the comparison, that an activity involving a placement of the object on or removal of the object from the location has appeared next in the captured images, and has occurred at the location where the increase or decrease in weight occurs; and

confirming a proper removal of the object from the location if, in response to receiving the identification information associated with the object, the next object expected to be removed from the location is the object by detecting by the weight sensor a change at the location that is a decrease in weight and the object was previously registered as being at the location.

2. The tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the tracking system identifies the location as an initial location of the object, then switches to an optical scanning mode using the camera after the location is identified where the object is located.

3. The tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the identification information received by the electromagnetic means includes a radio frequency (RF) tag identification corresponding to an electronic tag at the object.

4. The tracking system of claim 3 , wherein the electromagnetic means includes an RFID sensor.

5. The tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic means includes a barcode scanner.

6. The tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the electromagnetic means is located inside a vehicle.

7. A tracking system comprising:

an electromagnetic means configured to acquire identification information associated with an object of interest;

a weight sensor at a location configured to measure a weight of the object at the location;

a camera that captures images of the location; and

at least one processor in communication with the electromagnetic means and the weight sensor, the at least one processor configured to:

receive from the electromagnetic means the identification information associated with the object;

determine, based on the weight measured by the weight sensor after the electromagnetic means acquires the identification information associated with the given object, an occurrence of a weight change at the location;

expect a next object to be placed at the location where the weight sensor can measure the weight of the next object or removed from the location to appear next in the captured images and be the given object to which the identification information is associated;

register the object as being at the location if the weight sensor determines an increase in weight at the location in response to the electromagnetic means acquiring the identification information associated with the object; and

compare a change in the captured images with the increase or decrease in weight at the location in response to expecting the next object to be placed at the location with the weight sensor and associating the change in the captured images with the placement of the next object at the location; and

confirm, in response to the comparison, that an activity involving a placement of the object on or removal of the object from the location has appeared next in the captured images, and has occurred at the location where the increase or decrease in weight occurs; and

confirming a proper removal of the object from the location if the weight sensor determines a decrease in weight and the object was previously registered as being at the location.

8. The tracking system of claim 7 , wherein the tracking system identifies the location as an initial location of the object, then switches to an optical scanning mode using the camera after the location is identified where the object is located.

9. The tracking system of claim 7 , wherein the identification information received by the electromagnetic means includes a radio frequency (RF) tag identification corresponding to an electronic tag at the object.

10. The tracking system of claim 9 , wherein the electromagnetic means includes an RFID sensor.

11. The tracking system of claim 7 , wherein the electromagnetic means includes a barcode scanner.

12. The tracking system of claim 7 , wherein the electromagnetic means is located inside a vehicle.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)