Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Steven Shafer

Andrew David Wilson

Brian R Meyers

Daniel H Wilson

Barrett Brumitt

David G Thaler

A method, identification tag, data signal, and service for asset management are disclosed. Identification data may be retrieved from an identification tag. The identification data may include a first data element comprising a global routing prefix and a second data element comprising an asset identifier. Based on the global routing prefix, a uniform resource locator may be determined for a selected asset lookup service. Based on the determined uniform resource locator, the received asset identifier may be sent to the asset lookup service.

Method and identification tag for asset management

A system and process for providing a geometric model database for use in an ubiquitous computing environment. In general, the geometric model database system and process is capable of accepting information about the geometric state of the environment, building a geometric model of this environment, maintaining and storing the geometric model, and handling queries about the environment's geometric state. The task of building a geometric model begins by establishing a set of entities that are of interest in the environment. An entity represents an object which exists in the physical world. In the geometric model database, an entity is represented by a coordinate frame and an extent. Extents refer to the physical size, or some service region such as a field of view, associated with an entity. The location of an entity in the physical world is defined using 'measurements'. In general, a measurement is simply a mathematical description of the geometric relationship between two entities. More precisely, a measurement describes the position and orientation of one entity's coordinate frame, expressed in terms of another entity's coordinate frame. Measurements originating at an entity's frame are expressed in terms of that frame. While various mathematical representations of the geometric relationship between entities could be employed, a preferred one characterizes a measurement as the relative position, and the relative orientation or heading, of two entities along with a covariance matrix which describes the uncertainty in these values.

Geometric model database for use in ubiquitous computing

A system and process for selecting objects in an ubiquitous computing environment where various electronic devices are controlled by a computer via a network connection and the objects are selected by a user pointing to them with a wireless RF pointer. By a combination of electronic sensors onboard the pointer and external calibrated cameras, a host computer equipped with an RF transceiver decodes the orientation sensor values transmitted to it by the pointer and computes the orientation and 3D position of the pointer. This information, along with a model defining the locations of each object in the environment that is associated with a controllable electronic component, is used to determine what object a user is pointing at so as to select that object for further control actions.

System and process for selecting objects in a ubiquitous computing environment

A method, identification tag reader and computer program product for communication with an identification tag are disclosed. To communicate with the tag, identification data may be retrieved from an identification tag. A guest identification, compliant with at least a portion of a standard network protocol address, may be assigned to the identification tag. A message addressed to a tag routing address of the tag may be received, and a response to the message may be sent.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Steven Shafer