Monitoring and notification of delivered packages

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9892379-B1
Application number	US-201715590118-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 9, 2017
Priority date	May 9, 2017
Publication date	Feb 13, 2018
Grant date	Feb 13, 2018

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer program products for monitoring delivered packages are provided. Aspects include receiving, from a shipping information system, a first notification of an expected delivery of a package and responsively activating a smart mat and monitoring the smart mat for a delivery of the package, the delivery being indicated by a change in a weight measured by the smart mat. Aspects also include activating a camera to capture one or more images of the smart mat and the package based at least in part on detecting a change in the weight measured by the smart mat after the delivery. Aspects further include notifying one or more individuals with a second notification based on a determination that the package has been removed from the smart mat by analyzing the one or more images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for monitoring delivered packages, the method comprising:
receiving, from a shipping information system, a first notification of an expected delivery of a package and responsively activating a smart mat;
monitoring the smart mat for a delivery of the package, the delivery being indicated by a change in a weight measured by the smart mat;
based at least in part on detecting a change in the weight measured by the smart mat after the delivery, activating a camera to capture one or more images of the smart mat and the package; and
based on a determination that the package has been removed from the smart mat by analyzing the one or more images, notifying one or more individuals with a second notification.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first notification includes a package weight and a package size of the package.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising notifying the one or more individuals of a potential delivery exception based on a determination that the change in the weight measured by the smart mat at the delivery of the package is not equal to the package weight.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the one or more images comprises performing image analysis on the one or more images.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said image analysis is performed using image subtraction.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more individuals that receive the second notification that the package has been removed from the smart mat are determined based on a determination of whether the image analysis indicates a presence of a person when the package was removed from the smart mat.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second notification that notifies the one or more individuals includes transmitting a notification including a location of the smart mat and an image of the package and the smart mat captured by the camera when the package was removed from the smart mat.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more individuals that are notified by the first or second notifications are determined based on a user profile for a user of the smart mat.

9. A system for monitoring delivered packages, the system comprising:
a memory;
a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
receive, from a shipping information system, a first notification of an expected delivery of a package and responsively activating a smart mat;
monitor the smart mat for a delivery of the package, the delivery being indicated by a change in a weight measured by the smart mat;
based at least in part on detecting a change in the weight measured by the smart mat after the delivery, activate a camera to capture one or more images of the smart mat and the package; and
based on a determination that the package has been removed from the smart mat by analyzing the one or more images, notify one or more individuals with a second notification.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first notification includes a package weight and a package size of the package.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to notify the one or more individuals of a potential delivery exception based on a determination that the change in the weight measured by the smart mat at the delivery of the package is not equal to the package weight.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein analyzing the one or more images comprises performing image analysis on the one or more images.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the one or more individuals that receive a second notification that the package has been removed from the smart mat are determined based on a determination of whether the image analysis indicates a presence of a person when the package was removed from the smart mat.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second notification that notifies the one or more individuals includes transmitting a notification including a location of the smart mat and an image of the package and the smart mat captured by the camera when the package was removed from the smart mat.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more individuals that are notified by the first or second notifications are determined based on a user profile for a user of the smart mat.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
receiving, from a shipping information system, a first notification of an expected delivery of a package and responsively activating a smart mat;
monitoring the smart mat for a delivery of the package, the delivery being indicated by a change in a weight measured by the smart mat;
based at least in part on detecting a change in the weight measured by the smart mat after the delivery, activating a camera to capture one or more images of the smart mat and the package; and
based on a determination that the package has been removed from the smart mat by analyzing the one or more images, notifying one or more individuals with a second notification.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the first notification includes a package weight and a package size of the package.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the method further comprises notifying the one or more individuals of a potential delivery exception based on a determination that the change in the weight measured by the smart mat at the delivery of the package is not equal to the package weight.

19. The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein analyzing the one or more images comprises performing image analysis on the one or more images.

20. The computer program product of claim 19 , wherein the one or more individuals that receive a second notification that the package has been removed from the smart mat are determined based on a determination of whether the image analysis indicates a presence of a person when the package was removed from the smart mat.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Danyluk Nicholas G
• Dow Eli M
• Sehgal Kavita
• Stamboni Diane M
• Varghese Sneha M
• Werner John S
• Wu Sarah

Classifications

• G08B13/1472

  with force or weight detection · CPC title

• G08B13/19652

  Systems using zones in a single scene defined for different treatment, e.g. outer zone gives pre-alarm, inner zone gives alarm · CPC title

• G06Q10/0833 Primary

  Tracking · CPC title

• G06Q10/0832

  Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods · CPC title

• G08B13/19608

  Tracking movement of a target, e.g. by detecting an object predefined as a target, using target direction and or velocity to predict its new position · CPC title