Systems and methods for geofence security

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016358432-A1
Application number	US-201615213072-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 18, 2016
Priority date	Jul 29, 2014
Publication date	Dec 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention is directed to methods and systems for enforcing at least one rule within a geofence. The rule is enforced by a fencing agent on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The geofence is defined by a plurality of geographic designators, with the plurality of geographic designators each being associated with an Internet Protocol (IP) address, preferably an IPv6 address.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method for enforcing at least one rule within a geofence comprising:
defining at least one geofence using a multiplicity of geographic designators; assigning a multiplicity of unique internet protocol (IP) addresses to the multiplicity of geographic designators defining the geofence such that each geographic designator is assigned a unique IP address; storing the multiplicity of geographic designators and the multiplicity of unique IP addresses in a database of geofences, wherein at least one of the multiplicity of unique IP addresses is a unique identifier of the geofence, wherein the multiplicity of unique IP addresses are IPv6 addresses; a fencing agent of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) identifying at least one geofence, wherein the fencing agent identifies at least one rule associated with at least one geofence and the UAV implements the at least one rule.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein boundaries of the geofence are published by a fence delivery network and the boundaries of the geofence are stored in at least one cellular tower and/or at least one WiFi access point.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein boundaries of the geofence are received by the UAV via peer to peer networking or mesh networking.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UAV automatically stops implementing the at least one rule associated with the geofence and automatically implements at least one second rule associated with a second geofence upon the UAV physically entering the second geofence.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UAV includes a camera, wherein the at least one rule includes the UAV identifying at least one restricted object detected by the camera and obstructing the at least one restricted object in real-time and/or obstructing the at least one restricted object in photographs and/or videos produced by the camera.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein obstructing the at least one restricted object in real-time and/or obstructing the at least one restricted object in the photographs and/or the videos produced by the camera is performed by blurring, blacking out, or distorting the at least one restricted object.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one rule includes an instruction for the UAV to detect a presence of an object in real-time using radar or an infrared (IR) sensor.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one rule further includes an instruction for the UAV to track movement of the object in real-time.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one rule includes an instruction for the UAV to determine a location of the object and verify that the object is permitted to occupy the location within the geofence.

10 . A system for enforcing at least one rule within a geofence comprising:
a geofence database including at least one geofence defined by a plurality of geographic designators, wherein each of the plurality of geographic designators is a point on the surface of the Earth defined by a coordinate system and defined by a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address, wherein at least one of the plurality of geographic designators is a unique identifier of the at least one geofence; a server including a processor, wherein the server is operable to register at least one geofence in the geofence database; a fencing agent for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) identifying the at least one geofence, the fencing agent of the UAV identifying at least one rule associated with the at least one geofence, the UAV implementing the at least one rule, wherein the fencing agent is preprogrammed and is included in a chip including a processor coupled with a memory in the UAV.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the UAV includes a camera, wherein the at least one rule includes instructions for the UAV to identify at least one restricted object detected by the camera and instructions to obstruct the at least one restricted object in real-time and/or obstruct the at least one restricted object in photographs and/or videos produced by the camera, wherein obstructing the at least one restricted object in real-time and/or obstructing the at least one restricted object in the photographs and/or the videos produced by the camera is performed by blurring, blacking out, or distorting the at least one restricted object, and wherein the at least one restricted object is a building, a license plate, or a human face.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the UAV includes a sensor, wherein the at least one rule includes instructions for the sensor to detect the presence of an object on the ground, in the sky, or underground, and the at least one rule further includes instructions for the UAV to track movement of the object on the ground, in the sky, or underground.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one rule further includes instructions for the UAV to record positions of the object on the ground, in the sky, or underground, wherein the positions are recorded as at least two of the plurality of the IP addresses.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one rule further includes instructions for the UAV to move within the boundaries of the geofence while implementing the instructions for the sensor to detect the presence of the object on the ground, in the sky, or underground.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the UAV includes a camera, wherein the at least one rule includes instructions for the camera to produce a 360 degree real-time video stream or 360 degree perspective photographs in predetermined intervals.

16 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the UAV includes a sensor, wherein the at least one rule includes instructions for the UAV to detect a presence of an object within a zone of the geofence and instructions for the UAV to determine if the object is permitted to be present within the zone of the geofence.

17 . A method for enforcing at least one rule within a geofence, comprising:
a fencing agent of a UAV; the fencing agent of the UAV identifying at least one rule associated with the geofence; and the UAV implementing the at least one rule associated with the geofence, wherein the geofence is defined by a plurality of IP addresses, wherein each of the plurality of IP addresses corresponds to a physical point on the surface of the Earth defined by a coordinate system with a distance between points of the coordinate system being between about 1 millimeter and about 5 centimeters; wherein boundaries of the geofence are published by a fence delivery network and the boundaries of the geofence are stored in at least one cellular tower and/or at least one WiFi access point; wherein the fencing agent is embedded in a code of an application on the UAV; and wherein the UAV automatically stops implementing the at least one rule associated with the geofence and automatically implements at least one second rule associated with a second geofence upon the UAV being physically moved into the second geofence.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the UAV includes a camera, wherein the at least one rule includes instructions for the camera to produce a 360 degree perspective real-time video stream and/or 360 degree perspective photographs in predetermined intervals and wherein the at least one rule further includes instructions for identifying at least one restricted object detected by the camera and obstructing the at least one restricted object in the 360 degree perspective real-time video stream and/or obstructing the at least one restricted object in the 360 degree

Assignees

• Geofrenzy Inc

Inventors

• Branscomb Bennett Hill
• Jones Benjamin T

Classifications

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64U2101/31

  for surveillance · CPC title

• G08B13/1965 Primary

  the vehicle being an aircraft · CPC title

• H04L61/6059

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W4/021 Primary

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