Automated Detection Algorithm for Human Activities and Travel Utilizing GPS-enabled Cellular Phones
Modern GPS (Global Positioning Systems) enabled cellular phones and advances in Geomatics offer considerable new opportunity for tracking humans and supporting Location-Based Services (LBS). These existing technologies are capable of wirelessly transmitting a person's location to a central server for storage and display. Existing research has shown that the resulting data can provide a highly accurate trace of personal or vehicular movements over a day or longer. The main challenge and additional key innovation added is that this technology goes beyond those currently available - providing a completely automated algorithm that reduces this data to a reliable set of activities and trips conducted by a person plus a wide range of key attributes.The Opportunity
There are three targeted market verticals/sectors for the algorithm namely, Location-Based Services (LBS), personal services from a healthcare perspective with respect to disease management, and personal services focused on individual movements. Right now the greatest impact in the market is in the health care industry with growing interest coming from Telcos. The other markets are seen as a slower growth opportunity; however, the refinement in the algorithm has an immediate impact and improvement on those technologies.
The Solution
From the health care perspective, the algorithm and internet-based diary system can provide an automated tool for accurately logging a patient's daily activites, travel, and changes in routine that directly effect their health - such as outdoor exercise, extended trips, prolonged stationary activities, and stressful situations (e.g. congestion, walking at night). This would be particularly valuable for diabetics, asthmatics, or obese patients whose blood glucose, heart rate, and other physiological conditions are known to fluctuate throughout the day in response to changes in activity and environment, and often lead to serious complications. Recognizing this, major health care institutions (e.g. Canadian/ American Diabetes associate, Mayo Clinic) have been recommending self-management as the most important way to prevent these complications.
The Technology
The system represents a substantive breakthrough in the field of diary design and use of emerging GPS technologies for tracking advanced aspects of human behaviour. Competing approaches in the marketplace are largely limited to displaying a users' current location on a map for navigation purposes, or for vehicle/ employee tracking. Compare to other research groups, the applicant's algorithm is unique in that it is fully automated (no by-hand processing at all), is capable of running live on a server, does not rely on third party software solutions, has very low processing times, and the results are seamlessly integrated within a compact internet-based temporal interface that can be viewed on your computer or hand-held device.
Type of Offer: Licensing
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