Dynamic boundary mapping using position-determination systems

Abstract

The invention provides an approach for automatic and dynamic mapping of zone boundaries for position-determination systems. The system of the present invention utilizes beacons ('position determining devices') to identify the boundaries and limits of device area coverage ('zone') for tracking objects with a position-determination system. Beacons, used both to identify zone boundaries and to tag assets to be tracked, are distributed within the zone. The beacon locations are then detected and displayed in the visualization application. Three or more beacons may be linked together, either manually or automatically, to establish a detection zone. Using beacons to establish detection zone boundaries eliminates guesswork and its associated errors, and produces a zone boundary that is actually valid. In an improvement over present systems, greater accuracy is assured using zone-defining beacons, because if a beacon is unintentionally placed in an area unavailable to the position-determination system, that beacon will not appear in the visualization application display, and thus will not be available to create an incorrect zone representation.