WO2012123615A2

WO2012123615A2 - Wireless communication system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2012123615A2
Application number: PCT/ES2012/070174
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rosa María BRETONES BAENA; José Manuel ESCUDERO DE FÉLIX; Lucía ESNAOLA PRIETO; Alberto GONZÁLEZ BRIEGA; Raúl HERNÁNDEZ VEGA; Javier MONTANER GUTIÉRREZ; José María PECES GARCÍA
Original assignee: Vodafone España, S. A. U.
Priority date: 2011-03-16
Filing date: 2012-03-16
Publication date: 2012-09-20
Also published as: ES2396893A1; ES2396893B1; WO2012123615A3

Abstract

The invention relates to an interactive wireless communication system having multiple configurations, which allows interactivity between system users. The system is based on the use of interactive electronic devices for wireless communication that allow information to be collected from other like devices or from electronic cards that store information related to the card holder, in order for data to be managed interactively and in real time.

Description

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

D E S C R I P C I O N OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is framed in the technical field of communications, more specifically in those communications systems based on near-field communication.

The object of the invention consists of a system that allows to deploy a platform that facilitates the exchange of data in events transparently to the user; offering visitors, organizers or any other participant present in these events, multiple possibilities for managing said data, in isolation or associated with other information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Today there are several solutions to the problem of communication and data transmission over relatively short distances that allow data to be sent without any contact between the data bearer and the recipient thereof. There are solutions that use NFC [Near Filed Communication] technology and Bluetooth technology to achieve connectivity with, for example, the user's mobile phone but the installation process is quite complicated and requires user collaboration:

• Activate Bluetooth or NFC connectivity on the mobile phone

• In the case of Bluetooth, pair transmitter and receiver via the graphic interface of the phone

· In the NFC case, load an application for NFC management on the phone This procedure is the antithesis of the NFC ("zero configuration") paradigm. Although there are use cases in which the user can find a personal incentive to overcome this entire configuration process, we believe that in certain environments, such as a trade fair where you can use this type of devices and systems this process literally kills the service before starting as most visitors to the event did not even use it.

In addition, the implementation of this solution implies that the phone must keep Bluetooth or NFC activated with the consequent battery consumption, that in the case of Bluetooth the other element carries a battery that must be recharged at some point, and that a small application be installed in the user's phone, with the consequent interoperability problems. Even those visitors to the event that have NFC phones may experience interoperability problems when trying to communicate with a tag (NFC tag) due to non-standard implementations.

Therefore, for this solution to work with Bluetooth technology, the visitor must have activated Bluetooth technology on their mobile phone, mobile phones that enter within an area served by a Bluetooth beacon (the range of a beacon range from 1 or 2 meters up to 100m theorists depending on the configuration) may be invited to receive content. Then the user decides if he accepts the download. In addition, the user has no absolute control over who tries to connect to his phone and depending on the configuration of the phone, the behavior will be different.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is directed primarily to organizers of events, exhibitors and visitors to these events, such as a trade fair, a service that helps them evaluate and manage the information corresponding to each other in a simple and optimal way, sharing information dynamically and in real time, referring to both exhibitors as visitors, which may be of interest.

Likewise, the object of the invention allows the organizer and exhibitors of the event to obtain, based on the aforementioned information and the transactions generated by the operations related to the exchange of said information, relevant data such as statistics related to the event being held .

The object of the invention is described by way of example in professional events such as trade fairs but is also applicable to any environment that requires interaction between groups of people or objects, such as festivals, company conventions, sporting events, etc.

The object of the invention is based on a combination of GPRS [General Packet Radio Service], NFC [Near Field Communications] and

Web 2.0 Services that are responsible for managing and treating the interactions produced in the event between visitors, exhibitors and organizers; being able to detect these interactions, interpret them as appropriate and store them on a server for later treatment.

In a preferred embodiment of the object of the invention, each visitor is assigned an electronic card, the size of which is the same as the badges or cards used in current fairs, which is carried by the fairgrounds. When a user detects the interactive electronic device at the fair, they can interact with it simply by approaching their electronic card to it. When the device detects the card, a LED will flash on the device indicating that the reading has been correct and will send the identity, which the card is carrying and that it has been read, to the system servers using the Internet through a mobile channel (GPRS) integrated in the device.

In this way, the card owner has only had to bring it closer to the device so that the server knows that there has been an interaction. All users (visitors, exhibitors or organizers) can access the personal private areas created for this purpose on the system's website and immediately manage the history of their interactions.

Each interactive electronic device may have associated a different service that the server will be responsible for processing when it receives an interaction or when it shows that interaction to the users through the Internet. For example, a device may have associated a link to an Internet address / URL that will be displayed to the user or visitor when viewing this interaction in their personal area through the internet; another device may have associated the virtual business card / vCard of an expositior that will be shown to the user or visitor when viewing this interaction in their personal area through the Internet, another device may have associated the sending of a document via email to the address mail of the user or visitor, another device may have associated the sending of a promotion via SMS to the mobile phone number of the user or visitor, etc. It is the system server who makes the decisions about the tasks to be carried out on the identity of the card read and the interactive electronic device that has read it. The same device may have associated a different task depending on the card read, that is, the user who interacts with it.

In an alternative embodiment of the object of the invention and to facilitate the interaction between the participants of the event, there are interactive electronic devices equipped with certain special capacities called "Meeting Point". These devices require that the cards of at least two users be read / presented simultaneously. Only when the interactive electronic device detects two cards does it generate an event towards the server identifying the two users who have decided to interact; In this way two users can easily exchange their personal data. In an even more preferred embodiment of the object of the invention in which the saving of resources in the deployment of devices throughout the event is encouraged, it is established that one and only one of the interactive electronic devices has GPRS type communication means. , in such a way that the rest of the interactive electronic devices connect to it through any type of possible connection generating a network where the interactive electronic device that has communication acts as a bridge generating a gateway (Gateway GPRS) through which the rest of the interactive electronic devices are connected. This embodiment involves the implementation of a mesh network (eg Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy) among all interactive electronic devices of the event that go to the Internet through the GPRS Gateway. This maintains zero configuration, no local network requirement and also savings on implementation (only a GPRS connection / subscription). The interactive electronic device can be powered through the power grid if its location allows it, but if there is no possibility of external power, the interactive electronic device can have autonomous power, such as a battery that in turn can be rechargeable .

In a preferred embodiment of the object of the invention the device Interactive electronic is autonomous and portable equipped with a rechargeable battery and data connectivity through the cellular network. The latter functionality can be implemented through the use of GPRS-based connectivity avoiding the deployment and installation of a WAN, LAN or WLAN network. Such connectivity does not require any configuration ("zero configuration") because once it is delivered to the user, the interactive electronic device automatically connects to the network without the user having to perform any action or enter any password or configuration parameter

The NFC connectivity of the interactive electronic device of the system has at least two modes of operation: Reader mode to read Passive cards (RFID) or P2P mode to interact with other interactive electronic devices.

The interactive electronic device may have a memory and / or storage means for data storage instead of sending them to the server and back up in case of loss of connectivity of the interactive electronic device with the server

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented: Figure 1.- Shows a diagram of the system object of the invention. PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the figures, a preferred embodiment of the system (1) object of this invention is described below.

In a preferred embodiment of the system (1) object of the invention there is at least one data carrier device (9) comprising a unique data carrier identifier, a server (10) and at least one interactive electronic device (2) Wireless communication comprising a unique interactive device identifier, as shown in Figure 1, presents the following elements:

- A power source (11) that is given by a battery (7) with a regulator and a USB charging port.

- A near field communication module (4) based on an NFC [Near Field Commucation] chip configured and controlled through a first microcontroller interface (6), which can be a USB interface and connected to an antenna (5) , that this case is printed on a PCB board.

- Communication means (3) connected to a second interface of a microcontroller (6) that are of the GPRS module type equipped with an antenna and a TCP / IP stack.

- The aforementioned microcontroller (6) which has the following types of interfaces from which the most convenient are chosen for the aforementioned first and second interfaces:

- UART (serial connection for GPRS module management through AT commands)

- USB Host Interface, I2C or UART (configuration and control of the NFC chip - depending on the selected chip) - UART or USB Peripheral interface for offline programming.

- GPIO, SPI or I2C interfaces to manage possible media of light signaling and, if incorporated, input means that are added to the interactive electronic device (2) as a basic user interface.

- The aforementioned PCB board that integrates all the aforementioned components.

Other elements that make up the interactive electronic device but not shown in Figure 1 are:

- Housing, preferably plastic, to house and protect all the components mentioned above.

- A series of LEDs.

- Data entry means that can be defined by at least one button or button.

- A SIM card adapter that allows the insertion of said card necessary for GPRS connectivity.

In an alternative embodiment, the interactive electronic device may have a vibrating motor responsible for warning of the events for which it is programmed, as is the case with current mobile phones. The interactive electronic device (2) described here only interacts with certain data-carrying devices (9) avoiding the aforementioned and known difficulty in achieving the interoperability of NFC mobiles with the tags, tags and readers already deployed (transport, payment) that It is one of the main reasons for delays in the take off of this technology.

The basic operation of the system (1) is based on the association and exchange of information between the interactive electronic device (2) and the data carrier device (9); for this, the unique data carrier identifier of the latter is read and captured by the near field communication module (4) and is associated with the unique device identifier interactive. Said association is sent by means of communication (3) to the server (10), or they are housed in the interactive electronic device itself (2). Since the interactive electronic device (2) of this embodiment presented must be portable and autonomous, it is necessary to define the type of communication means (3), which, as mentioned above, are based on a GPRS module; which can be 2G or 3G; the use of one or another technology affects different factors such as data transfer speed, battery consumption, coverage, among other factors; therefore it is dependent on the implementation of the system (1).

In the preferred embodiment described herein the antenna of the near field communication module (4) is printed on the PCB, but said antenna can be of another type as long as it is linked or forming part of the near field communication module. (4). Likewise, the communications module (3) can have its own antenna, the format of which may vary depending on the configuration, being possible to use flat antennas, fractals or other types of antennas that can be implemented in GPRS communication.

In a preferred embodiment of the system (1) object of the invention, an event is registered, such as a fair or a conference or the like, defined in the server (10) and / or in the application of the system (1 ), among other parameters, data referring to authorized contacts or visitors of the aforementioned event along with credentials and permits that allow access to the application [accessible via the Web or similar] according to a profile associated with each contact, said application may be hosted and be executed by the aforementioned server (10) or another remote server. The data of these contacts will be provided by those responsible for the different events and may be entered in the system (1) prior to the event or during the same event when they register at the entrance. Stored data may include name, surname, address, landline, mobile phone, fax number, email, company, position in the company, etc.

Upon successful completion of the registration of a contact, a message, which can be an SMS or an email, is sent to that contact, with their access data, including in said message at least one username and password valid for Access to a system application (1) accessible via the Web or similar that allows the management of the data, being able to be said management in real time. Presenting this username and password to the application, the contact will be able to access privately to his web area where the interactions he has had during the event with other contacts and exhibitors are displayed.

Similarly, exhibitors who will participate in the event will also be registered in the system (1). As in the previous case, once these exhibitors have been registered in the system application (1), each exhibitor participating in the event will be sent via email, a valid username and password for access to an application accessible via the Web where they can perform different actions, such as:

- access to online and offline statistics (number of visitors, time distribution, etc.)

- access to the contact details of the visitors of an exhibition stand.

- Association of interactive electronic devices (2), which have their unique interactive device identifier, to specific actions towards contacts that interact with them:

^■ configuration of web addresses, images and / or texts that will be sent (via email or SMS) to contacts that interact with a specific device ■ upload files in electronic format that will be sent (via email or MMS) to contacts that interact with a specific device.

In an alternative embodiment of the system (1) object of the invention, the data-carrying devices (9) are interactive electronic devices (2) as described above in such a way that communication occurs between at least two interactive electronic devices (2) .

In an even more preferred embodiment, representatives of the event are provided with as many interactive electronic devices (2) as exhibitors or stands to be installed in the event, or even more than one interactive electronic device (2) for each exhibitor. These interactive electronic devices (2) are placed in a visible and easily identifiable place in the different stands so that when the visitor arrives at the same, make a contact whose associated action will be to register that that stand has been visited. In this way both the organizers of the event and the exhibitors of each stand of the event will know who has visited each stand and the contacts or visitors will be able to know where they have passed during the celebration of the event and have the data of the exhibitors of their interest.

The event can also provide interactive electronic devices (2) as a "Meeting Point" so that visitors carrying interactive electronic devices (2) interact with each other. In this way, contacts or visitors can also exchange their contact information easily. In an even more preferred embodiment of the object of the invention, the interactive electronic device (2) has an accelerometer connected to the microprocessor (6), intended to detect movement and acoustic signaling means connected to the microprocessor, intended to generate acoustic signals of alarm; in this way the theft of the same is prevented and vandalism acts that could damage it are avoided as far as possible since the accelerometer and / or a gyro connected to the microprocessor (6) detect any movement and sound, commanded by means of the microprocessor (6), the acoustic signaling means generating an acoustic alarm signal that warns of such situations and can also act as a deterrent.

Claims

1. Wireless communication system (1) comprising:

- at least one server (10) connected to a communications network, - at least one data carrier device (9),

- characterized in that it comprises at least one interactive electronic device (2) provided with a PCB board on which they are mounted:

- a power source (11) intended to provide electrical power to the interactive electronic device (2),

- communication means (3) that have at least one GPRS module with antenna and TCP / IP stack, intended to establish a connection with the network in which the server is located, (10)

- a near field communication module (4) intended to establish a connection for data transmission with at least one data carrier device, comprising an NFC [Near Field Communication] chip connected to an antenna (5), and

- a microcontroller (6) adapted to at least configure and control the near field communication module (4) and the communication means (3) that are respectively connected to said microcontroller (6) through a first and A second interface

2. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the power source (4) of the interactive electronic device (2) comprises a battery

(7).

3. System (1) according to claim 2 characterized in that the battery (7) is rechargeable.

4. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the power source (4) of the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises a USB port adapted to provide power.

5. System (1) according to claim 3 characterized in that the USB port is adapted to charge the battery (7).

6. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the GPRS module is selected from the group consisting of: GPRS 2G module and GPRS 3G module.

7. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the data carrier device (9) is an electronic passive identification card powered by an electromagnetic field generated by the interactive electronic device (2).

8. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the antenna (5) of the interactive electronic device (2) is printed on the PCB.

9. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises a SIM card adapter, linked to the communication means (3), intended to accommodate a SIM card (8).

10. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises at least one LED type diode intended to provide information on the mode of operation of the interactive electronic device (2) in the form of light signals.

eleven . System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the interactive electronic device interface (2) is selected from the group consisting of: USB, serial, SPI and I2C.

12. System (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises data input means defined by at least one button.

13. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises a vibration system responsible for providing information on the mode of operation of the interactive electronic device (2) in the form of vibratory signals.

14. System (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises data storage means for storing data.

15. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises an accelerometer connected to the microprocessor (6), intended to detect movement.

16. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the interactive electronic device (2) additionally comprises acoustic signaling means connected to the microprocessor, intended to generate acoustic alarm signals.

17. System (1) according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the data carrier device (9) is a device interactive electronic (2) adapted to function as said data carrier device (9).

18. Wireless communication method for obtaining relevant data regarding an event in which a system (1) as described in claims 1 to 17 is deployed, wherein the method comprises:

• establish communication between the interactive electronic device (2) and the data carrier device (9) by positioning said devices (2.9) at a distance sufficient to establish a wireless communication channel,

• associate the interactive electronic device (2) and the data carrier device (9); for this, the unique data carrier identifier of the latter is read and captured by the near field communication module (4) and is associated with a unique interactive device identifier,

• send data referring to said association by means of communication (3) to the server (10), and

• exchange information respectively between the interactive electronic device (2) and the data carrier device (9).

19. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that it additionally comprises having at least one interactive electronic device (2) as a "Meeting Point" for two users of data carriers (9) and / or interactive electronic devices (2). interact with each other through this "meeting point".

20. Method according to claim 19 wherein the interaction comprises exchanging contact data.

twenty-one . Method according to any one of claims 18 to 20 wherein the association data is housed in the interactive electronic device itself (2).

22. Method according to claim 18 characterized in that it additionally comprises:

• register an event, such as a fair or conference or similar, defining on the server (10) and / or in an application of the system (1), data referring to at least one authorized visitor of said event together with credentials and permissions that allow access to the application according to a profile associated with the authorized visitor,

• send to said authorized visitor a message, including in said message at least one valid username and password for access to a system application (1) that allows data management, and

• allow the authorized visitor to access privately, through the username and password, the application and a web area where the interactions that said authorized visitor has had during the event with other visitors are displayed.

23. Method according to claim 22 wherein said application is hosted and is executed by said server (10).

24. Method according to claim 22 wherein said application is hosted and is executed on another remote server.

25. Method according to any one of claims 22 to 24 wherein the visitor data is provided by those responsible for the events.

26. Method according to claim 25 wherein the visitor data is entered in the system (1) prior to the event or during the same event when they register at the entrance.

27. Method according to any one of claims 22 to 26 wherein the visitors comprise authorized visitors, visitors, exhibitors and contacts attending the event.

28. A method according to any one of claims 22 to 27 wherein the stored data is selected from the group consisting of: name, surname, address, landline, mobile phone, fax number, email, company and position in the company .