CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

[001] This application claims priority from US. Provisional Patent Application No.

61/803,804 entitled "Aversion of Covert Pursuit", filed on March 21, 2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[002] The present invention is in the field of personal security and policing affairs.

Technically, the present invention relates to a system and a method for detecting a covert pursuit and to the field of geographic information systems and navigation assisted by location technologies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[003] At times, vehicle riders may find themselves followed by alien vehicles whose goal is unknown, such that a threat to the security, privacy or well-being of the vehicle and its riders may become a reality. The intention of the pursued party when suspicion arises is to find out very quickly if and at how avidly the pursuer is acting, and whether the intensions are potentially putting the pursued party at risk.

[004] The present invention provides means to analyze such intents objectively, for facilitation of better analysis of such seemingly hostile occurrences and their aversion. Although the invention is described infra as implementable by vehicle occupants, it is also implementable by pedestrians.

[005] The term vehicle relates to cars and land vehicles such as trucks, lorries, sport utility vehicle (SUVs) and also to motorcycles occupied by one or two persons.

[006] Also, a pursuing party may be a person or a group of persons, a vehicle or a group of such. In each case the pursued or seemingly pursued party is referred to herein below as a potential target.

[007] The use of maps has become common place in many different facets of life.

In addition to maps that are designed for general navigation purpose, maps can meet specific objectives.

[008] GIS (Graphic Information Systems) technology is a well established dynamic mapping software discipline used for storing geographically distributed data in thematic layers. This technology also facilitates inter- layer processing, output of special maps and distribution of geographic data. ESRI of 380 New York Street Redlands, CA 92373-8100, USA is a well known provider of such software systems.

[009] Well known methodologies enable to detect if two different messages are identified by the same identifier, without the need to have the knowledge of the identifier of the message. A study on such methodology is presented in the following publication: "Security and Privacy Vulnerabilities of In-Car Wireless Networks: A Tire Pressure Monitoring System", by Ishtiaq Rouf, Rob Miller, Hossen Mustafa, Travis Taylor, Sangho Oh.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[010] The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

[011] Fig. 1 shows a high-level block of a computer system according to one embodiment disclosed herein;

[012] Fig. 2 is an example of a clearing region map, showing T junctions ;

[013] Fig. 3 is an exemplary map of clearing zones showing the associated stop over locations.

[014] Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a procedure performed by the system of

Fig. 1 in a pursuit event ;

[015] Fig. 5 is a block diagram describing the input and output channels of the pursuing application.

[016] Fig. 6 shows a high-level block of a computer system according to another embodiment disclosed herein;

[017] Fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a procedure performed by the system of Fig.

6 in a pursuit event.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[018] Embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features/components of an actual implementation are necessarily described.

[019] In a typical scenario a potential target who is a user of a service in accordance with the present invention, (as explained above), becomes aware of a follower, which may be either a vehicle or a pedestrian. Subsequently, the potential target may opt to maneuver such that the intentions of a follower may be exposed. In the ongoing description, an event starts when a potential target, either occupying a subject vehicle or a pedestrian, receives information about a suspicious follower that may be considered as following the potential target, or is intending to do so or alternatively the potential target may choose to be protected against such threat without receiving any signal. An event in accordance with the present invention may start for any reason by a potential target, which may become self informed, receiving external information or may start an event without any information received at all. An external information source may communicate with the potential target typically using cellular telephone.

[020] Fig. 1 is a high level block diagram illustrating exemplary architecture of a computer system 12 that executes, runs, interprets, operates or otherwise performs a pursuing application 22-1 and a pursuing process 22-2 suitable for use in explaining example configurations disclosed herein. The computer system may be found on a vehicle native hardware, Smartphone of the vehicle occupant/s, on another Smartphone or somewhere else such as a server in the service provider's premises on the cloud. As shown in this example, the computer system 12 includes an interconnection mechanism 16 such a data bus that couples a memory system 18, a processor 20, an input/output interface 14 and communications interface 24. An input device 30 such as a keyboard, a mouse, voice recording accessory, enables the user (a potential target) to provide input commands, record notes in anticipation of the continuation of the pursuit. During operation of the computer system 12, the processor 20 accesses the memory system 18 via the communication interface 16 in order to launch, run, execute and perform the logic instructions of the pursuing application 22-1. The 1 pursuing process 22-2 represents the runtime instance of the tracking application 22-1. The communication interface 24 enables the computer system 12 to communicate with any network as required to obtain external information. Those skilled in the art will understand that the computer system 12 may include other processes, software and hardware components not shown in this example.

[021 ] Clearing regions and clearing zones

[022] The computer program that controls the processes and procedures taking place as an event is unfolding is referred to hereinafter as pursuing process. The expression "clearing region" relates to a geographic region which a dedicated GIS application defines as an arena in which the analysis of the threat is advantageous. The clearing region is a unit of geographic area from which one or more maps can be produced for use by the user. The calculation and forming of such regions and maps may be performed by an independent application program. The preparation of such clearing regions may be made off-line on large or very large scale map basis and stored in the service provider's facilities or may be prepared during an event, based on spatial data provided in real time.

[023] A clearing zone is an area on the clearing region or in a map, defined by the computer program that allows the user to verify the existence of a pursuit vehicle.

[024] Examples of maps

[025] A map as produced by the pursuing application of the invention demonstrating some fundamental definitions as laid out on the map is shown in Fig. 2. Window 52, which is a clearing region, defines a rectangular geographic area in which a network of roads is depicted. Road 54 and road 56 meet at a T junction marked by circle 58A. In the same clearing region 52 three more circles are distributed, each one defining a specific T junction, namely 58B, 58C and 58D.

[026] A typical GIS system contains one or several layers of information relating to a specific area defined by geographic coordinates. One layer as described above is a T- j unction layer, but other layers functional in carrying out the task of identifying a covert pursuit are typically available. For example a layer of traffic lights, a layer of petrol stations, a layer of linear stretches of roads. In general, all layer properties that can become handy in carrying out the task of the invention.

[027] Typical to the GIS discipline in geographic presentation of data, is the combining of data layers to form ad-hoc or pre- made combinations. For example a T- junction layer on which all the roads having a linear stretch over 400 meters is shown.

[028] Stop-over Stretches

[029] In Fig. 3, the implementation of stopping over and deployment of stop-over stretches (SOS) are demonstrated. T junction 58A has a stop-over stretch 132A associated, likewise T junction 58B has SOS 132B associated and T junction 58D has SOS 132D associated with respectively. The orientation of the stop- over stretch depends heavily on the direction of arrival of the subject vehicle at the T junction. The pursuing application (PA) will designate stop - over locations dynamically according to the direction from which the subject vehicle arrives at a pre-planned point, such as the T junction in this example. There are two kinds of stop-over. The first one, like the one discussed in the ongoing description, is a place to verify the suspicions. The second kind is a place required to enable the occupants of the subject to have a close look at a suspicious pursuer (vehicle, vehicles or person/s), such as a sharp turn, in order to record notes and make general preparations in anticipation of the continuation of the pursuit. Such notes for example are the color of the potential pursuer vehicle, plate number and dress description of a potential of an individual person suspected. In a stop-over location such as a filling station, a verification of a pursuer can also be attempted. However the actual stopping or lingering of travelers in such a public place is a common practice. The significance of a potential pursuer following the potential target in three T junction bends consecutively is very high. However, it is the PA that can decide, based on statistical rationale, how many turnings in the course of seemingly following a target, consecutive or not, can be regarded as surpassing a significance threshold.

[030] Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the sequence of events through which the pursuing application is implemented. Immediately following the incipience of an event, in step 122 the potential target activates the readily available map presenter, such as the computer system shown at Fig. 1 having a display, which shows to the potential target, such as occupants of the subject vehicle their own location on a map and instructions where to go from thence. Using the location information of the subject vehicle (such as provided by GPS) the map presenter either automatically or the occupiers themselves, select a clearing region at step 124. The occupants of the subject vehicle (the potential target) would then strive to reach a clearing zone, in step 126, referenced here as clearing zone A. When clearing zone A is reached, in step 128, the occupants of the subject vehicle watch for the suspected vehicle at the corresponding stop over stretch and record notes. If the pursuer is observed, in step 130, the number of the pursuer occurrences is incremented and the occupants of the subject vehicle may be directed to the next clearing zone B in step 134. If the follower has not been observed in step 130, the process does typically continue by selecting a next clearing zone in step 138 which may be situated in the same clearing region or in another one. The process can continue until the event is ended based on statistical considerations such as how many turnings in the course of seemingly following a target consecutive or not, can be regarded as surpassing a significance threshold, indicating the end of the event in step 136. At the end of the event in step 136, an analysis is carried out in procedure 100 based on the consecutive number of times the potential target detects the potential pursuer in step 140 in this example. [031 ] The parameter MATCH_THRESH mentioned in step 140 is a configurable parameter of the PA (Pursuer Application). The list of possible values for the configuration of the parameter MATCH_THRESH is derived from training sessions

[032] Event control

[033] A subject vehicle (a potential target) first spotting a suspect pursuer of for that matter receiving an outside warning about the existence of such an entity, or acting in response to a hunch, would start an event as described above in connection with Fig. 4. However in reality, many decisions are to be made. The PA may decide to advise the user to travel to a preferred clearing region, which may better be suited for a specific speed of pursuit, for example a region with a large proportion of linear roads may be suitable for faster pursuit or a nearest clearing zone. The PA may also decide on how many times the spotting of an identical pursuer may be considered as surpassing the threshold of doubt and thus be considered a confirmation.

[034] In Fig. 5 the input and output channels of the PA are shown. PA 72 receives input from a variety of sources in general referred to as sources ensemble 76. The total output channels supply information to the user and is referred to as ensemble of receivers 78. The sources ensemble 76 includes user location finder 82, which is typically a processed location statement which is based on signals of the user carried GPS receiver/processor, other global system/s, cellular positioning service, or other navigation services. In addition, data is retrievable from GIS (geographic information system/s) 84 which may be public, proprietary, kept by the service provider of the service in accordance with the present invention, or it may be kept on the user's appliance (portable appliance/s, Smartphone, vehicle computer etc.), or in its cloud. Source of ancillary data 86 is obtained chiefly by typing text or by implementing voice recording, preferably using voice to text conversion. As regards the output (ensemble of receivers 78), these include at least maps 92 and audio/text/video messages. Such messages may be associated with maps, but generally are aimed at conveying instructions and or requirements for data and or statements to the user.

[035] Fig. 6 is a high level block diagram illustrating another exemplary architecture of a computer system 12 that executes, runs, interprets, operates or otherwise performs a pursuing application 22-1 and a pursuing process 22-2 suitable for use. The computer system 12 includes an additional accessory 40 - "Pursuer Sniffer System" ( PSS), connected to the computer system 12 through I/O interface 14 to record the messages sent through a wireless network. The PSS may be implemented as a daughterboard as an alternative to the external accessory. In this example, the PSS is implemented based on the knowledge of Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) technology and protocols. An example for such accessory is the USRP™ X300 (see at http://www.ettus.com). The PA using the PSS enables to find out if two pursuing parties are identified erroneously as a single pursuing party, even without the unique identifier of the pursuing party - which in this example is the sensor identifier. The periodicity of the messages including the unique identifier, the structure of the message and the exact location of the unique identifier in the message are sufficient for differentiating between two sources of communications, even if static encryption is used.

[036] Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the sequence of events through which the pursuing application is implemented in case a PSS is included as part of the architecture of the computer system 12.

[037] As it can be seen in Fig.7, immediately following the incipience of an event, in step 122 the potential target activates the readily available map presenter, such as the computer system shown at Fig. 6 having a display, which shows to the potential target, such as occupants of the subject vehicle, their own location on a map and instructions where to go from thence. Using the location information of the subject vehicle (such as provided by GPS) the map presenter either automatically or the occupiers themselves select a clearing region at step 124. The occupants of the subject vehicle (the potential target) would then strive to reach a clearing zone, in step 126, referenced here as clearing zone A. When clearing zone A is reached, in step 128, the PA performs an analysis in procedure 200 based on the consecutive number of times the PA detects the potential pursuer in step 152 in this example. The PA waits during N time periods for the recorded messages from the PSS in step 150, N being a configurable parameter and PERIOD set as the periodicity of the messages. The pursuer is considered as observed if M same unique ID has been identified. If the pursuer is observed, in step 152, the number of the pursuer occurrences is incremented and the occupants of the subject vehicle may be directed to the next clearing zone B in step 134. If the pursuer has not been observed in step 152, the process does typically continue by selecting a next clearing zone in step 138 which may be situated in the same clearing region or in another one. The process can continue until the event is ended based on statistical considerations such as how many turnings in the course of seemingly following a target consecutive or not, can be regarded as surpassing a significance threshold, indicating the end of the event in step 136. At the end of the event in step 136, an analysis is carried out in procedure 300 based on the consecutive number of times the potential target detects the potential pursuer in step 140 in this example.

[038] The parameter MATCH THRESH mentioned in step 140 is a configurable parameter of the PA (Pursuer Application). The list of possible values for the configuration of the parameter MATCH_THRESH is derived from training sessions.

[039] The parameter M mentioned in the context of step 142 is a configurable parameter of the pursuer application (PA). The list of possible values for the configuration of the parameter M is derived from training sessions.

[040] The list, with regards to nature and possible values for the configuration of the parameter N is derived from training sessions.

[041] It should be understood that the above description is merely exemplary and that there are various embodiments of the present invention that may be devised, mutatis mutandis, and that the features described in the above-described embodiments, and those not described herein, may be used separately or in any suitable combination; and the invention can be devised in accordance with embodiments not necessarily described above.