DE102012109603A1 - Method for making an access to a location-related context on usual mobile terminal, involves transmitting unique identification on mobile terminal with radio technology in its transmission range by line pole on request - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves transmitting an unique identification on a mobile terminal (2) with radio technology in its transmission range by a line pole (1) on request. The mobile terminal makes the context combined with the unique identification of line pole to user. The radio signals of the line pole are transmitted by a specialized terminal, such as hardware line pole, which is stationary or mobile and follows its current supply per electric circuit, battery or a solar cell. The radio signals are sent by other generic, mobile or stationary terminal such as software-line pole.

Description

introduction

The present invention relates to a method by which location-specific mobile devices local contexts can be made accessible. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of a system consisting of beacons and mobile terminals, and optionally from one or more servers, and optionally from services of third parties.

Since the introduction of the Apple iPhone, the market for mobile devices has evolved towards smartphones, which, in addition to telephoning, enable a multitude of other applications. The vast majority of smartphones are equipped with GPS that allows applications to access location-based contexts.

Location context can u. a. Information (eg Wikipedia entries), actions (eg reviews, "check-in" via "foursquare"), or interactions (eg commenting on actions of other users).

State of the art

In the prior art, GPS is used to determine the position of the user via his mobile terminal. Methods are known for more accurately determining the position by triangulation of radio signals (eg WLAN), particularly in bounds.

On an i. d. It then determines which Points Of Interest (PoI) are located in the environment using the service-specific geographic map. The number of PoIs considered depends on the accuracy of the position determined and the density of the PoI in the environment.

In addition, prior art methods are known that provide local contexts based on unique identifiers that are made available at each location. These include z. As barcodes / QR codes, NFC tags or beacons.

To DE 10 2010 053 651 B3 For example, a method is known that can display readable content in a location-limited manner on mobile readers. This method is based on beacons whose identifiers are received by mobile readers. The claims of that patent refer to a method for local restriction of the display, ie in particular also on the inaccessibility of content as soon as the user moves away from the intended location of the content.

To US 20040002948 A1 Furthermore, a method is known in order to determine local context on mobile terminals in such a way that in the presence of multiple beacons (there: "second device") the "best" context is selected.

US 20100317371 A1 describes a method for using on mobile terminals depending on z. B. beacons provided location information settings in the user interface, these profiles are previously configured by the user.

DE 000060127094 T2 describes a method for transmitting location information to mobile terminals via beacons as part of the Bluetooth protocol standards.

US 20110281519 A1 describes a method for transferring data between terminals via Bluetooth without pairing the devices via Bluetooth. In particular, the Service Discovery Protocol is used for this purpose.

task

It is an object of the invention described herein to make local contexts accessible on commercially available mobile devices (eg Apple iPhone / iPad, Android-based smartphones, Microsoft Windows-based smartphones, etc.) without modifying the operating systems of these devices or the user to be included in the context determination.

The known prior art shows no solution for this purpose.

solution

• • Eine Bake überträgt mit einer Funktechnologie in ihrem Sendebereich an mobile Endgeräte auf deren Anforderung eine eindeutige Kennung.
• • Das mobile Endgerät macht den mit der eindeutigen Kennung der Bake verknüpften Kontext für den Benutzer zugänglich.

The present invention describes a method for making accessible a location-specific context on commercially available mobile terminals, which is characterized by the following method steps:

• • A beacon transmits with a radio technology in its transmission range to mobile terminals at their request a unique identifier.
• • The mobile terminal makes the context associated with the unique identifier of the beacon accessible to the user.

Differentiation to the prior art

Due to the known GPS-based methods, in particular within buildings, no sufficient accuracy is achieved, whereby the user must be presented with a large number of pointers for manual selection. Also, it is not possible or difficult to place PoIs in vehicles (eg in trains, on ships), because their Position on the geographical reference map constantly changed and the positions of the user and vehicle would have to be continuously adjusted.

• a) mobile PoIs sind praktisch nicht abbildbar
• b) die Positionsbestimmung insbesondere in Gebäuden ist unzureichend genau
• c) der Umweg über Positionsbestimmung und Referenzkarte führt durch die Ungenauigkeit der Positionsbestimmung i. d. R. zu übermäßig vielen in Betracht kommenden PoIs
• d) der lokale Kontext ist stets abhängig von der Referenzkarte eines spezifischen Anbieters, der i. d. R. unabhängig vom Besitzer der PoIs ist

According to the current state of the art, the following problems arise in methods for making available location-specific contexts via the position determination of the user and the determination of PoIs on a reference card:

• a) Mobile PoIs are virtually imitable
• b) the position determination, especially in buildings is insufficiently accurate
• c) the detour via position determination and reference card usually leads to inaccurate position determination to an excessive number of suitable PoIs
• d) the local context always depends on the reference card of a specific provider, which is generally independent of the owner of the PoIs

Barcodes, QR codes, NFC tags and similar methods require an active action of the user, as well as very close contact between identifier and user. At the same time, the user is not transparent as to what kind of information is transported or what kind of action is being performed when reading such an identifier with his mobile terminal. So z. B. a QR code open any URL, which may not or only insufficiently displayed with his terminal.

The present invention differs from in DE 10 2010 053 651 B3 firstly, to make accessible not only readable content, but any content (eg audio, video), actions and interactions. Second, a method is described of how third party services can be made available in a local context. Third, commercially available mobile terminals are used instead of mobile readers, and in particular, a concrete method is described of how the transmitted identities of Apple iPhone devices can be received. Fourth, a concrete method is described how the probability of the authenticity of the beacons can be increased without communication with a central server or data exchange with the mobile terminal beyond a unique identifier.

In demarcation to US 20040002948 A1 In the present invention, the decision about the appropriate context is left to the user. In addition, a concrete technical implementation is described.

This in US 20100317371 A1 described method of the context-dependent profile conversion is not the purpose of the present invention. In addition, it requires a Bluetooth pairing between the device and the beacon, or is not usable with Apple iPhone devices.

DE 000060127094 T2 requires a modification of the operating systems of commercially available mobile terminals in order to receive the additional data sent by the beacons. The present invention also transmits an identifier that directly identifies the local context.

In demarcation to US20110281519A1 In the present invention, no separate service record type for the Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) is defined, but the "Personal Area Network User" (PANU) Record is used for this via Bonjour-over-Bluetooth (see http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/ga1753/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40011315 , in variations also known as zeroconf, multicast DNS, mdns, dns-sd) with Apple iPhone devices without modification of the operating system to be usable.

Description of the invention

Drawing 1 illustrates the basic structure of the system infrastructure.

• a) mindestens eine Bake (1) dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass diese eine Kennung aussendet, die einen ortsbezogenen Kontext eindeutig identifiziert. Zur Durchführung des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens verfügt die Bake über eine Funkschnittstelle mit einem Sende-/Empfangsradius von üblicherweise bis zu 100 Metern, die mit marktüblichen mobilen Endgeräten kompatibel ist (z. B. Bluetooth).
• b) mindestens ein marktübliches mobiles Endgerät (2), dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass es über eine mit der Bake kompatible Funkschnittstelle verfügt und über eine Anwendung verfügt, die über diese Funkschnittstelle eindeutige Kennungen von Baken empfangen, diese optional verifizieren und ortsbezogene Kontexte zugänglich machen kann.
• c) optional einen oder mehrere Server (3), mit denen das marktübliche mobile Endgerät über eine Datenverbindung kommuniziert, die optional eindeutige Kennungen von Baken authentifizieren sowie lokale Kontexte bereitstellen können.
• d) optional Dienste Dritter (4), die über Datenverbindungen vom mobilen Endgerät oder von einem Server gemäß c) zusätzlichen lokal Kontext bereitstellen können.

According to the invention, a system for making accessible location-specific contexts on customary mobile terminals should contain:

• a) at least one beacon ( 1 ) characterized in that it emits an identifier that uniquely identifies a location-specific context. To carry out the method according to the invention, the beacon has a radio interface with a transmission / reception radius of usually up to 100 meters, which is compatible with standard mobile terminals (eg Bluetooth).
• b) at least one commercially available mobile terminal ( 2 ), characterized in that it has a radio interface compatible with the beacon and has an application that can receive unique identifiers of beacons via this radio interface, optionally verify them and make location-related contexts accessible.
• c) optionally one or more servers ( 3 ), with which the common mobile terminal communicates via a data connection, which can optionally authenticate unique identifiers of beacons as well as provide local contexts.
• d) optional third-party services ( 4 ) which can provide additional local context via data connections from the mobile terminal or from a server according to c).

The beacon a) according to the invention is characterized in that it is a specialized terminal ("hardware beacon"), which may be stationary or mobile and its power supply via mains, battery / rechargeable battery, solar cell or a combination of these can be done. Alternatively, it may be a generic, mobile or stationary terminal ("software beacon"). Both variants are characterized in that they can be used in particular in buildings or vehicles (eg car, train, plane, ship).

• • ihre Bluetooth-MAC-Adresse ist eindeutig
• • ihre Bluetooth-Klasse entspricht 0×6a041c oder einer anderen iPhone-kompatiblen Klasse
• • ihr Bluetooth-Name entspricht einer eindeutigen Kennung
• • sie unterstützt Bonjour-Over-Bluetooth, indem per Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) ein „Personal Area Network User”(PANU)-Service Record veröffentlicht wird, der ebenfalls die eindeutige Kennung enthält
• • die Extended Enquiry Response gemäß Bluetooth-Standard Version 2.1 enthält eine spezielle Kennung, die auf die Unterstützung von Bonjour-Over-Bluetooth hinweist

Both mentioned variants of the beacon a) according to the invention are furthermore distinguished by the fact that their Bluetooth configuration has, inter alia, the following features:

• • your bluetooth MAC address is unique
• • Its Bluetooth class is 0 × 6a041c or any other iPhone compatible class
• • Your Bluetooth name corresponds to a unique identifier
• • It supports Bonjour-Over-Bluetooth by publishing a Personal Area Network User (PANU) service record, which also contains the unique identifier, via the Service Discovery Protocol (SDP)
• • The Extended Inquiry Response according to Bluetooth standard version 2.1 contains a special identifier that indicates the support of Bonjour-Over-Bluetooth

Alternatively, the beacon according to the invention is distinguished by other radio technologies that can be used with commercially available mobile terminals without modification of their operating systems (eg WLAN).

• • Challenge-Response-Verfahren zwischen Bake und Anwendung: Dies würde einen Verbindungsaufbau über einen Bluetooth-Dienst erfordern, der protokollgemäß den Benutzer involviert.
• • Challenge-Response-Verfahren zwischen Bake, Anwendung und Server: Dies würde eine Datenverbindung zwischen Bake und Server erfordern.

For secure authentication of a beacon, the following methods according to the prior art would be conceivable, among others:

• • Challenge-Response between beacon and application: This would require a connection via a bluetooth service, which logically involves the user.
• • Challenge-Response between beacon, application and server: this would require a data connection between beacon and server.

Both methods limit the use of the invention and are therefore not appropriate, which is why the unique identifier of the beacons must be sufficient for authentication. This makes beacons susceptible to replay attacks at the same time as their ID can be recorded and played back elsewhere.

• • Die Kennung setzt sich zusammen aus einem bakenspezifischen statischen Teil (z. B. einer fortlaufenden Nummer), optional dem aktuellen Zeitstempel sowie einer bakenspezifischen kryptografischen Signatur über mindestens den aktuellen Zeitstempel, optional über die Kennung und/oder einen geheimen Datensatz, der nur der Bake und dem Server c), ggf. auch der Anwendung b) bekannt ist. Die kryptografische Signatur kann zusammen mit der Kennung oder separat übertragen werden und ist über den öffentlichen Schlüssel der Bake oder ein entsprechendes Zertifikat überprüfbar.
• • Die Kennung entspricht einer mit dem privaten Schlüssel der Bake verschlüsselten Botschaft, die sich zusammensetzt aus einem bakenspezifischen statischen Teil (z. B. einer fortlaufenden Nummer) und dem aktuellen Zeitstempel oder einem anderen veränderbaren Datum. Diese Kennung kann mit dem öffentlichen Schlüssel der Bake entschlüsselt werden, die dem Server c) und/oder der Anwendung b) und/oder einem Dienst Dritter d) (oder einer mobilen Anwendung eines solchen Dienstes) bekannt ist. Die entschlüsselte Botschaft ist anschließend anwendungsspezifisch verifizierbar.

To increase the likelihood of their authenticity to prevent delayed replay attacks, the beacon can optionally use its identifier z. For example, you can periodically or irregularly change one of the following schemes:

• The identifier is composed of a bit-specific static part (eg a consecutive number), optionally the current time stamp and a bit-specific cryptographic signature over at least the current time stamp, optionally via the identifier and / or a secret data record which only the Bake and the server c), possibly also the application b) is known. The cryptographic signature can be transmitted together with the identifier or separately and can be checked via the public key of the beacon or a corresponding certificate.
• • The identifier corresponds to a message encrypted with the private key of the beacon, which consists of a bit-specific static part (eg a serial number) and the current time stamp or another changeable date. This identifier can be decrypted with the public key of the beacon known to the server c) and / or the application b) and / or a third party service d) (or a mobile application of such a service). The decrypted message can subsequently be verified in an application-specific manner.

Optionally, the Bluetooth class of the beacon or the data field of the PANU service record can be used to inform the mobile terminal which method is used.

Optionally, the Bluetooth MAC address of the beacon can be used as a unique identifier.

Optionally, the beacon's Bluetooth MAC address can be used in combination with its unique identifier to further increase the likelihood of its authenticity.

Optionally, all or part of the cryptographic data can be transmitted in further data fields of the PANU service record.

• • die eindeutigen Kennungen von Baken empfangen und optional authentifizieren kann, wobei die Suche nach Baken-Signalen sowohl aktiv vom Benutzer ausgelöst als auch passiv im Hintergrund ausgeführt werden kann
• • den über die eindeutige Kennung einer Bake identifizierten lokalen Kontext zugängig macht, wobei dieser in der Anwendung hinterlegt sein kann, oder über eine Datenverbindung von einem Server c) abgerufen und optional zum schnelleren Zugriff zwischengespeichert werden kann, oder von der Bake übertragen wird, oder aus einer Kombination dieser Datenquellen ermittelt wird
• • als lokalen Kontext insbesondere Informationen und Aktionen im Zusammenhang mit dem Ort der Bake sowie Interaktionen mit anderen Nutzern im Umfeld der Bake zugänglich macht, insbesondere auch, wenn diese Informationen, Aktionen und Interaktionen Dienste Dritter nutzen oder zugänglich machen, insbesondere indem diesen eine im Zusammenhang mit der Bake eindeutige Kennung mitgeteilt oder übermittelt wird
• • optional den lokalen Kontext unter Hinzuziehung von Diensten Dritter ermittelt
• • optional den lokalen Kontext abhängig von Parametern (z. B. Zeit, Helligkeit, Temperatur, Wetter, Sensordaten, ...) zugängig macht
• • optional bei Empfang mehrerer Baken-Kennungen den Benutzer eine Auswahl treffen lässt, welchen lokalen Kontext er verwenden möchte (diese Präferenz kann ggf. gespeichert oder aus anderen Parametern algorithmisch geschlossen werden, und anschließend vorausgewählt oder automatisch gewählt werden)
• • optional eine Authentifizierung des Benutzers durchführen kann, ggf. unter Hinzuziehung eines oder mehrerer Server oder Dienste Dritter, und die Benutzer-Identität zur Bereitstellung personalisierter lokale Kontexte an den Server c) oder Dienste Dritter d) übertragen kann
• • optional eindeutige Kennungen, die nicht zwangsläufig mit der einer Bake übereinstimmen müssen, vom Benutzer z. B. manuell eingegeben, über Barcodes/NFC-Tags gelesen oder per Kommunikationsmedium an die Anwendung übertragen werden können, um ausgewählte lokale Kontexte zugänglich zu machen

The application according to the invention for commercially available mobile terminals is characterized in that they

• • can receive and optionally authenticate the unique identifiers of beacons, whereby the search for beacon signals can be both actively triggered by the user and passively executed in the background
• • makes available the local context identified by the unique identifier of a beacon, which may be stored in the application, or retrieved via a data connection from a server c) and optionally cached for faster access, or transmitted from the beacon, or from a combination of these data sources
• • makes available as a local context, in particular, information and actions related to the location of the beacon and interactions with other users around the beacon, in particular also if such information, actions and interactions use or make available third party services, in particular by associating them with one another with the beacon unique identifier is communicated or transmitted
• • Optionally determine the local context using third-party services
• • Optionally makes the local context accessible depending on parameters (eg time, brightness, temperature, weather, sensor data, ...)
• Optionally upon receipt of multiple beacon identifiers, the user makes a selection of which local context to use (this preference may be stored, or algorithmically closed from other parameters, and then preselected or automatically selected)
• Optionally can perform an authentication of the user, possibly with the involvement of one or more servers or services of third parties, and the user identity for providing personalized local contexts to the server c) or third party services d) can transmit
• • optionally unique identifiers, which do not necessarily have to match those of a beacon, by the user eg. B. manually entered, read via barcodes / NFC tags or can be transmitted via communication medium to the application to make selected local contexts accessible

• • überträgt auf Anforderung einer Anwendung b), die als solche optional authentifiziert sein kann, den mit der von der Anwendung angefragten eindeutigen Kennung assoziierten lokalen Kontext an die anfragende Anwendung
• • überträgt optional der anfragenden Anwendung b) den lokalen Kontext abhängig von Parametern (z. B. Zeit, Helligkeit, Temperatur, Wetter, Sensordaten, ...)
• • authentifiziert optional die eindeutige Kennung einer Bake nach den beschriebenen Verfahren
• • erstellt oder erweitert den lokalen Kontext optional mit Hilfe von Diensten Dritter
• • personalisiert den lokalen Kontext optional

The server according to the invention

• At the request of an application b), which may be optionally authenticated as such, transmits to the requesting application the local context associated with the unique identifier requested by the application
• Optionally transfers the requesting application b) the local context depending on parameters (eg time, brightness, temperature, weather, sensor data, ...)
• • optionally authenticates the unique identifier of a beacon according to the procedures described
• • Optionally create or extend the local context using third-party services
• • optionally personalizes the local context

• • stellt über eine Datenverbindung der Anwendung b) oder dem Server c) lokalen Kontext bereit, der in der Anwendung b) zugänglich gemacht werden kann
• • personalisiert den lokalen Kontext optional
• • stellt optional dienstspezifischen lokalen Kontext in einer dienstspezifischen Anwendung bereit

The service according to the invention of third parties

• Provides local context via a data connection of the application b) or the server c), which can be made accessible in the application b)
• • optionally personalizes the local context
• • optionally provides service-specific local context in a service-specific application

In one embodiment, the system is used at a conference to make local context accessible to the current agenda item, depending on the space in which they are located. For this purpose, there is at least one beacon a) in some or each space used by the conference, which sends a room-specific unique identifier.

With the application b), the subscribers receive the identifier of the beacon in the space in which they are located on their commercially available mobile devices (eg Apple iPhone). The application b) queries via a data connection at the server c) the current at the time of the query local context of the space identified by the unique identifier. On the server c) the current agenda item as well as links to profiles of the presenter are stored on online services (eg RING, LinkedIn). In addition, a third party service d) is linked, which allows participants to discuss it during the presentation. This service provides the server c) with the most recent discussion contributions, which are returned to the application b) together with the profiles and the agenda item. The application b) displays the information obtained and allows z. B. actions to visit the profiles of the speaker, as well as the interaction to participate in the discussion on the service d), possibly using a separate application of the service d).

In another embodiment, the system is used at a railway company, which equips their trains with beacons a). Via the application b), which possibly communicates with a server c), travelers can determine which train they are in. The railway company may, as a third party, provide a service d) which, as a train-specific local context, makes the current traffic information of the train accessible. Another third party could provide a service d) that allows travelers to virtually "check in" a train and indicate which other people (filtered, if any, by the passenger's acquaintance) are on the same train.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102010053651 B3 [0007, 0018]
• US 20040002948 A1 [0008, 0019]
• US 20100317371 A1 [0009, 0020]
• DE 000060127094 T2 [0010, 0021]
• US 20110281519 A1 [0011, 0022]

Cited non-patent literature

• http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/ga1753/_index.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/DTS40011315 [0022]

Claims (10)

Method for making a location-specific context accessible on commercially available mobile terminals, characterized by the following method steps: • A beacon transmits with a radio technology in its transmission range to mobile terminals at their request a unique identifier; • The mobile terminal makes the context associated with the unique identifier of the beacon accessible to the user. A method for making available location-based context according to claim 1, characterized in that the beacon signals are • sent by specialized terminals ("hardware beacon"), which may be stationary or mobile and their power supply via mains, battery / rechargeable battery, solar cell or a Combination of these can take place, or • by other generic, mobile or stationary terminals are sent out ("software beacon") Method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 2, characterized in that beacons are used in particular in buildings or in vehicles. A method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the beacon in particular uses Bluetooth as a radio technology and one or more of the following methods are used to transmit their unique identifier: • Set the Bluetooth name of a beacon to the unique identifier Publish a Personal Area Network User Service (PANU) service record via the Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) according to the Bonjour-Over-Bluetooth protocol in order to obtain the unique identifier, particularly in a data field of the service record, e.g. For example, the service name or another field to transmit • Use their Bluetooth MAC address as a unique identifier or part of this Method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that any radio technology (eg WLAN) is used. A method of making available site-specific context according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that under the context in particular information and actions in connection with the location of the beacon and interactions with other users around the beacon are made available, especially if this information, Actions and interactions may use or make available to third parties, in particular by communicating or transmitting to them a unique identifier associated with the beacon. A method of making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the context provided is dependent on parameters (eg time, brightness, temperature, weather, sensor data, ...). A method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the context • retrieved from the mobile terminal via a data connection from a remote system (eg., Internet server) and optionally cached for faster access or • with an application that provides location-specific context, is delivered or • transmitted from the beacon to the mobile terminal or • is determined from a combination of the previous method A method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the unique identifier is enriched cryptographically to increase the authenticity of the beacon, in particular • if, in addition to or instead of the identifier of the beacon changeable data (eg date, Time, timestamp, random values) are signed according to a cryptographic method and this signature is transmitted from the beacon together with the identifier or separately, and optionally only a remote system (eg Internet server) and the beacon known data signed become. • if the identifier of the beacon or other data that makes it accessible consists in whole or in part of a message encrypted with the private key of the beacon, which consists of at least one changeable date (eg date, time, timestamp, random values) consists. • if the Bluetooth MAC address of the beacon is used as a unique identifier, or if it is used in combination with its unique identifier to verify authenticity. • if cryptographic data is transmitted in one or more additional data fields of the PANU service record. A method for making available location-related context according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the context is provided without radio signal a beacon over a unique identifier, the z. B. manually entered, read via a barcode / NEC tag or shared by communication medium, the unique Identifier does not have to match a tag transmitted by a beacon.

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