Tracking Service Queues Using Single-Point Signal Monitoring

摘要

A method of tracking a service queue using a single-point signal monitor in which at least one customer carries a wireless device may include: receiving a received signal strength from the wireless device as a trace; identify first segments of the trace containing mostly positive sloped received signal strength; identify second segments of the trace containing mostly negative sloped received signal; extract attributes from the first and second segments as child variables for two parent nodes in a Bayesian Network in which the two parent nodes respectively model a beginning of service and a leaving period for a service queue; and inputting the extracted attributes into Bayesian Network; and determining a beginning of service and leaving period using the Bayesian Network. The method may also include determining critical time points in a trace using a K-L divergence technique.

主权项

1. A device for tracking service queues, comprising:
a first antenna configured to receive wireless signals from a plurality of mobile wireless devices, each wireless device representing a subject entering, being serviced in or leaving a service queue; a receiving circuit coupled to the first antenna and configured to measure a signal strength amplitude of the received wireless signals from the first antenna; a processing device communicatively coupled to the receiving circuit; and a non-transitory computer readable medium in communication with the processing device, the computer readable medium storing one or more programming instructions for causing the processing device to:
receive a trace comprising a plurality of received wireless signal strength amplitudes from a selected one of the plurality of mobile wireless devices in a temporal order from a time the selected mobile wireless device enters a receivable range of the first antenna to a time the selected mobile wireless device exits the receivable range,determine a slope of the trace,identify first segments of the trace containing a mostly positive sloped received signal strength amplitude,identify second segments of the trace containing mostly negative sloped received signal strength amplitude,extract attributes from the first and second segments, andinput the extracted attributes in a Bayesian Network model to compute a beginning of service and a leaving period of the service queue, wherein the Bayesian Network model comprises two parent nodes, each respectively modeling a beginning of service and a leaving period of a service queue.