Tracking products with chain of custody using IoT devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10949939-B2
Application number	US-201816194131-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 16, 2018
Priority date	Apr 18, 2017
Publication date	Mar 16, 2021
Grant date	Mar 16, 2021

Abstract

Methods for chain of custody tracking for an object are described. Several sets of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are organized in a network. Each set of sensors is configured to record one or more events relating to the object. Each event includes an event time, an event location, and an entity that is a custodian for the object at the time of the event. When the object changes custodians, proper custodianship is verified based on input from at least one set of IoT sensors.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for automatic chain of custody tracking for an object while transferring the object from a first location to a second location, comprising:
organizing a plurality of sets of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in a network, wherein a first set of IoT sensors is associated with the object and a second set of IoT sensors is associated with a custodian, and where the sets of IoT sensors are configured to record one or more events relating to the object, each event including an event time, an event location, and an entity that is a custodian for the object at the time of the event;
automatically exchanging information between the first and second sets of IoT sensors to verify proper custodianship through performing a multi-level authentication based on information received from at least one set of IoT sensors, and through performing a compliance check with a workflow plan for the object based on information received from the at least one set of IoT sensors, wherein the information between the first and second sets of IoT sensors is exchanged using the Internet Protocol;
in response to proper custodianship not being verifiable, logging an irregularity in a central system and providing a notification to an appropriate authority; and
in response to the object changing custodians, performing a handshake between an IoT sensor associated with a current custodian of the object and a an IoT sensor associated with a new custodian of the object, including passing a token uniquely identifying the object from the IoT sensor associated with current custodian to the IoT sensor associated with new custodian, wherein information between the IoT sensors is exchanged using the Internet Protocol.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is one of: a physical object, and a virtual object.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to the object changing custodians, ensuring that the new custodianship is updated for all features, attributes and aspects of the object.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is in a locked environment and can only be opened by a custodian having a proper key for unlocking the object.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to being unable to verify proper custodianship, performing one or more of the following actions: locking the object, self-destructing the object, and locking the object with a more secure key than a current key.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Achtermann Jeffrey M
• Gupta Rahul
• Mathieu Arnaud A
• Mukherjee Maharaj

Classifications

• G06Q50/22 Primary

  Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services · CPC title

• G06Q10/0633

  Workflow analysis · CPC title

• G16Y10/00

  Economic sectors · CPC title