Encoding and transmitting sensor data in low power broadcasts
A low power communication system provides efficient sensor data transmission using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) broadcasts to minimize power consumption while maximizing data flexibility and reliability. The system enables peripherals to transmit sensor data in a connectionless manner, utilizing Service Universally Unique Identifiers (UUIDs) and Tag-Length-Value (TLV) structures, for example.
1 . A computerized method, performed by a computing system having one or more hardware computer processors and one or more non-transitory computer readable storage device storing software instructions executable by the computing system to perform the computerized method comprising:
receiving a plurality of observation stats each associated with a peripheral from a plurality of centrals, each of the observation stats including a geographic location of the central when a broadcast from the peripheral was received and at least one of the observation stats including sensor data embedded in the broadcast;
for ones of the observation stats:
estimating a proxy location of the peripheral based on a corresponding geographic location of the central from which the observation stat was received; and
associating the sensor data with the proxy location;
monitoring the sensor data to determine if an alert condition is met; and
in response to detecting the alert condition, triggering an alert identifying the alert condition and the proxy location of the peripheral when the alert condition was met.
2 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data is embedded in a Tag-Length-Value (TLV) structure of the broadcast.
3 . The computerized method of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the observation stats includes a coded value in a Service UUID field indicating a type of data included in the TLV structure that follows the Service UUID field.
4 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the alert condition is based on a threshold value of the sensor data.
5 . The computerized method of claim 4 , wherein the threshold value is dynamically adjustable based on historical data trends.
6 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting the alert to a user device or monitoring system for further action.
7 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor data includes sensor data associated with a physical asset and indicating one or more of:
tire pressure;
tank level;
accelerometer data;
door monitor status;
GPS position recorded by the peripheral,
voltage level;
current level; or
panic button status.
8 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising:
using machine learning algorithms to analyze one or more of the sensor data or the geographic location for anomaly detection.
9 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the proxy location is determined using a triangulation algorithm based on geographic locations from multiple centrals.
10 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising:
encrypting the sensor data and geolocation data before transmission.
11 . The computerized method of claim 2 , wherein the TLV structure includes a unique signature or timestamp to facilitate deduplication of data on a backend.
12 . The computerized method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a visual representation of the proxy location and associated sensor data on a map interface for user monitoring and analysis.
13 . The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the centrals is a satellite central.
14 . The computerized method of claim 2 , wherein a first tag indicates that the following TLV includes a quantity of sensor data values available for upload to the backend, wherein if the quantity of sensor data values exceeds a threshold the receiving central is configured to establish a connection with the peripheral to offload the sensor data values.
15 . The computerized method of claim 14 , wherein the first tag is included in one or more broadcasts from the peripheral when an internal memory of the peripheral reaches a threshold.
16 . A method for enhancing the reach and reliability of an asset tracking network using satellite centrals, comprising:
receiving observation stats directly from a satellite central that observes broadcasts from terrestrial peripherals, even in remote or hard-to-reach areas where terrestrial centrals may not be available;
combining observation stats from both terrestrial and satellite centrals to enhance the overall coverage and accuracy of geolocation data; and
processing the combined observation stats to provide a comprehensive solution for tracking and monitoring sensor data across diverse environments.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the peripherals are configured to transmit low power broadcasts intended for observation by terrestrial centrals and higher power broadcasts intended for observation by satellite centrals.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the peripherals are configured to alternate transmission of high and low power broadcasts.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the peripherals are configured to transmit high power broadcasts less frequently than low power broadcasts.
20 . A computing system comprising:
a hardware computer processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium having software instructions stored thereon, the software instructions executable by the hardware computer processor to cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:
receiving a plurality of observation stats each associated with a peripheral from a plurality of centrals, each of the observation stats including a geographic location of the central when a broadcast from the peripheral was received and at least one of the observation stats including sensor data embedded in the broadcast;
for ones of the observation stats:
estimating a proxy location of the peripheral based on a corresponding geographic location of the central from which the observation stat was received; and
associating the sensor data with the proxy location;
monitoring the sensor data to determine if an alert condition is met; and
in response to detecting the alert condition, triggering an alert identifying the alert condition and the proxy location of the peripheral when the alert condition was met.