Enhanced elevation detection for emergency response systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10656236-B2
Application number	US-201916436585-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2019
Priority date	Sep 28, 2018
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

At an emergency response system, a first location including a latitude and a longitude at which a first device is located is received. At an emergency response system, an air pressure reading measured by the first device is received. Using the air pressure reading and a mean sea-level barometric measurement, a first elevation of a device is computed. Using the first location, a corresponding street address is computed. Using the street address and the first elevation, a floor number is computed. The street address and the floor number are transmitted to a second device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
computing, at an emergency response system, using an air pressure reading measured by a first device and a mean sea-level barometric measurement, a first elevation of the first device;
computing, a street address corresponding to a first location of the first device;
computing, using the street address and the first elevation, a floor number;
transmitting, to a second device, the street address and the floor number;
determining, from a database using a processor and a memory, that the street address corresponds to a building having non-standard floor numbering;
determining that the floor number is affected by the non-standard floor numbering;
adjusting, responsive to the first and second determining, the floor number to compensate for the non-standard floor numbering;
receiving, at an emergency response system, location information for a responder;
determining, using the street address, the first elevation, and the floor number, a horizontal distance and a vertical distance to the location of the responder; and
reporting, to the first device, the horizontal distance and the vertical distance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
comparing, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a database of known points of interest; and
associating, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of a point of interest in the database, the location with the street address of the point of interest.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
comparing, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a set of stored locations having corresponding street addresses; and
associating, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of a second location in the set of stored locations, the first location with the street address of the second location.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
comparing, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a database of known points of interest; and
associating, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of two points of interest in the database having street addresses on the same street, the first location with a street address comprising an interpolation between the street addresses of the two points of interest.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the floor number further comprises:
determining, from a database, a ground elevation corresponding to the street address;
determining, from a database, a median floor height corresponding to the street address; and
computing the floor number using the expression altitude−(Gh+Ah))/Eh, wherein altitude comprises the first elevation, Gh comprises the ground elevation, Eh comprises the median floor height, Ah comprise an average human waist height, and a result of the expression is rounded to the nearest whole number.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining that the horizontal distance is below a horizontal distance threshold and that the vertical distance is below a vertical distance threshold; and
reporting, to the first device, a proximity alert.

7. A computer usable program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, the stored program instructions comprising:
program instructions to compute, at an emergency response system, using an air pressure reading measured by a first device and a mean sea-level barometric measurement, a first elevation of the first device;
program instructions to compute, a street address corresponding to a first location of the first device;
program instructions to compute, using the street address and the first elevation, a floor number;
program instructions to transmit, to a second device, the street address and the floor number;
program instructions to determine, from a database using a processor and a memory, that the street address corresponds to a building having non-standard floor numbering;
program instructions to determine that the floor number is affected by the non-standard floor numbering;

program instructions to adjust, responsive to the first and second determining, the floor number to compensate for the non-standard floor numbering;
program instructions to receive, at an emergency response system, location information for a responder;
program instructions to determine, using the street address, the first elevation, and the floor number, a horizontal distance and a vertical distance to the location of the responder; and
program instructions to report, to the first device, the horizontal distance and the vertical distance.

8. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
program instructions to compare, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a database of known points of interest; and
program instructions to associate, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of a point of interest in the database, the location with the street address of the point of interest.

9. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
program instructions to compare, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a set of stored locations having corresponding street addresses; and
program instructions to associate, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of a second location in the set of stored locations, the first location with the street address of the second location.

10. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , wherein determining a corresponding street address further comprises:
program instructions to compare, using a processor and a memory, the first location against a database of known points of interest; and
program instructions to associate, responsive to determining that the first location is within a pre-determined threshold of two points of interest in the database having street addresses on the same street, the first location with a street address comprising an interpolation between the street addresses of the two points of interest.

11. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , wherein computing the floor number further comprises:
program instructions to determine, from a database, a ground elevation corresponding to the street address;
program instructions to determine, from a database, a median floor height corresponding to the street address; and
program instructions to compute the floor number using the expression altitude−(Gh+Ah))/Eh, wherein altitude comprises the first elevation, Gh comprises the ground elevation, Eh comprises the median floor height, Ah comprise an average human waist height, and a result of the expression is rounded to the nearest whole number.

12. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , further comprising:
program instructions to determine that the horizontal distance is below a horizontal distance threshold and that the vertical distance is below a vertical distance threshold; and
program instructions to report, to the first device, a proximity alert.

13. The computer usable program product of claim 7 , wherein the computer usable code is stored in a computer readable storage devi

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Wolfson Charles D
• Pandit Sushain
• Selby David A
• Gross Brent

Classifications

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• H04W4/90

  Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS] · CPC title

• H04W4/33

  for indoor environments, e.g. buildings · CPC title

• G01C5/06

  by using barometric means · CPC title

• H04W4/021

  Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences · CPC title