Systems and methods for determining interaction states of wireless tags based on probability distributions

Number: 10127417
Published: 2018-11-13
Filed: 2016-04-18
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: McCann; James; Spielberg; Andrew; Hudson; Scott; Sample; Alanson; Mankoff; Jennifer
CPC: G06K7/10316; G06K7/10366; G06F16/786; G06K7/10356; G06K7/10376; G06K7/10396; G06Q10/087; G06Q10/0877
Verdict: Medium Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

Wireless-tag interaction-state determination.

Abstract

There is provided a system including a wireless tag reader, a wireless tag attached to an object, a non-transitory memory storing an executable code, and a hardware processor executing the executable code to transmit, using the wireless tag reader, an interrogation signal, receive, using the wireless tag reader, a tag signal from the wireless tag attached to the object, in response to the interrogation signal, the tag signal including a wireless tag identification uniquely identifying the wireless tag, determine a tag state associated with the wireless tag using a probabilistic estimate based on the tag signal received from the wireless tag, and determine an interaction state of the object based on the tag state of the wireless tag attached to the object.

Background

BACKGROUND(1) Wireless tags are used for locating objects, such as a misplaced remote control or a misplaced set of keys. Such object location systems conventionally use radio frequency (RF) technology to determine a last known location of an item, for example, in a house or in a retail store. Some object location systems include a speaker allowing the user to trigger an audible sound enabling the user to find the item. However, the location accuracy of conventional systems is limited by the type of RF technology used. Additionally, the information attainable using conventional systems is limited by the location of the wireless tag or item.SUMMARY(2) The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for determining interaction states of wireless tags based on probability distributions, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

Claims

1. A system comprising: a wireless tag reader; a wireless tag attached to an object; a non-transitory memory storing an executable code and a probability distribution of previous tag states of the wireless tag determined based on previous user interactions with the wireless tag; a hardware processor executing the executable code to: transmit, using the wireless tag reader, an interrogation signal; receive, using the wireless tag reader, a tag signal from the wireless tag attached to the object, in response to the interrogation signal, the tag signal including an electronic product code (EPC) uniquely identifying the wireless tag; use the tag signal received from the wireless tag to probabilistically determine a current tag state of the wireless tag using the probability distribution of the previous tag states of the wireless tag; and determine an interaction state of the object based on the current tag state of the wireless tag attached to the object; wherein the current tag state is indicative of a tag covered state of the wireless tag. 11. A method for use with a system including a wireless tag reader, a non-transitory memory storing a probability distribution of previous tag states of a wireless tag determined based on previous user interactions with the wireless tag, and a hardware processor, the method comprising: transmitting, using the wireless tag reader, an interrogation signal; receiving, using the wireless tag reader, a tag signal from the wireless tag attached to an object in response to the interrogation signal, the tag signal including an electronic product code (EPC) uniquely identifying the wireless tag; using the tag signal received from the wireless tag to probabilistically determine a current tag state of the wireless tag using the probability distribution of the previous tag states of the wireless tag; and determining, using the hardware processor, an interaction state of the object based on the current tag state of the wireless tag attached to the object; wherein the current tag state is indicative of a tag covered state of the wireless tag.