Dynamic environmental control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11822696-B2
Application number	US-202017001727-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 25, 2020
Priority date	Aug 25, 2020
Publication date	Nov 21, 2023
Grant date	Nov 21, 2023

Abstract

Computer-implemented methods, systems and computer program products leveraging collection and analysis of anonymized biological data, location data, individual IDs and time data from groups of individuals within a surrounding environment. The anonymized data can be combined with sources of map data and available historical data to help provide context about the surrounding environment of the users and stored for analysis and decision-making that physically impacts and alters the surrounding environment. At periodic or sporadic intervals, the collected data is extracted and analyzed. Based on the analysis of the anonymized data, physical changes are dynamically implemented within the physical environment, including remotely altering the physical environment by instructing changes to surrounding environment over a computer network such as modifying one or more settings of IoT devices positioned within the surrounding environment analyzed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
collecting, client data from a plurality of client devices, the client data comprising biological data, location data, individual identification data, and time data;
retrieving historical data collected at entry and exit locations, the historical data including entry and exit data associated with user identification data and corresponding times of entry and exit;
identifying a set of surrounding physical environments in which the plurality of client devices are located as a function of the collected client data, available map data, and the retrieved historical data, the identified surrounding physical environments corresponding to a particular time period according to the time data;
converting, by a processor, the collected client data into anonymous data including the identified surrounding physical environments;
periodically extracting from the anonymous data a target portion of data, the target portion associated with a specified surrounding physical environment of the identified surrounding physical environments;
analyzing the extracted target portion of the anonymous data to determine if a modification to an environmental control is needed; and
as a function of the analysis, applying, the modification to the environmental control of the specified surrounding physical environment, the modification to the environmental control employing an action that implements a physical change that physically alters the specified surrounding physical environment.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the modification to the environmental control of the specified surrounding physical environment comprises adjusting one or more settings of an internet-of-things (IoT) device positioned within the specified surrounding physical environment.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
instructing a client device from the plurality of client devices to anonymize the biological data, the location data, and an individual ID stored within the client device into anonymized data;
instructing the client device to transmit the anonymized data stored by the client device with additional client devices in a sequence of client devices positioned within the set of surrounding physical environments; and
upon collecting a predetermined amount of anonymized biological data, the location data, or the individual IDs from the client device and the additional client devices within a sequence of client devices, receiving all of the anonymized data collected from the client devices within the sequence of client devices from a representative client device determined at a point in time whereupon the predetermined amount of the anonymized biological data, the location data, or the individual IDs is collected.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:
transmitting a query ID to the client device;
instructing the client device to transmit the query ID and values of the anonymized data to a second client device in the sequence of client devices, wherein the second client device cannot determine whether the values of the anonymized data are values of the client device;
instructing the second client device to transmit the query ID and a larger value of either the values of the anonymized data received from the first client device or anonymized data values stored by the second client device, to a third client device; and
upon the client device receiving the query ID a second time, instructing the client device to transmit a current set of the anonymized data received with the query ID the second time to a data collection server.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising:
transmitting a data set comprising at least one dummy data value and a total number of data values to the client device;
instructing the client device to modify the data set and transmit the modified data set to receiving client devices in the sequence of client devices, wherein the modified data set includes a sum of biological data values comprising a biological data value stored by the client device plus the at least one dummy data value, and adding at least one to the total number of data values, wherein receiving client devices in the sequence of client devices further modifies the modified data set by adding a biological data value stored by the receiving client device to the sum of biological values received and adding at least one to the total number of data values and transmits the modified data set a next client device in the sequence of client devices; and
computing, an average biological data value, wherein computing the average biological data value comprises calculating

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Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Ogihara Hiroya
• Furuichi Sanehiro
• Maruyama Daisuke

Classifications

• G06F21/6254 Primary

  by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification · CPC title

• G06F16/22

  Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures · CPC title

• G06F16/245

  Query processing · CPC title

• G06F16/258

  Data format conversion from or to a database · CPC title

• G06F21/6227

  where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries · CPC title