Corrective collar utilizing geolocation technology

Abstract

The disclosed technology includes a pet collar that can be configured to determine its geolocational position and evaluate that position with respect to the geo-fence of a predetermined, geo-fenced “safe” zone. If the collar determines that its position is inside a safe zone but is near the geo-fence, the collar can be configured to provide a warning correction. If the collar determines that it is outside a predetermined safe zone, the collar can also be configured to provide a stronger correction to discourage the pet from continuing away from the safe zone. The collar can also be configured to guide the pet back to the safe zone such as by varying the strength and/or type of correction provided based at least in part on the distance of the collar from the geo-fence.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A collar comprising:
 a strap configured to be worn by an animal;   a communication interface configured to transmit and receive data;   one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the collar to:
 receive instructions from a user device to activate a keep-away mode; 
 receive distance threshold data indicative of a predetermined distance metric to be maintained between the collar and an animal-adverse device; 
 determine whether the collar is within the predetermined distance metric from the animal-adverse device; and 
 output a keep-away corrective action responsive to determining that the collar is within the predetermined distance metric from the animal-adverse device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein the animal-adverse device is the user device. 
     
     
         3 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein predetermined distance metric is based at least in part on a strength of a signal from the animal-adverse device. 
     
     
         4 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the animal-adverse device is one of a plurality of devices associated with respective animal-adverse parties, and   the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, is further configured to cause the collar to output a keep-away corrective action responsive to determining that the collar is within the predetermined distance metric from any of the plurality of devices associated with the respective animal-adverse parties.   
     
     
         5 . The collar of  claim 1 , the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the collar to:
 receive a signal from the animal-adverse device, the signal comprising a unique identifier associated with the animal-adverse device; and   determine whether the signal is associated with the animal-adverse device based on a unique identifier; and   output the keep-away corrective action responsive to (1) determining that the collar is within the predetermined distance metric from the animal-adverse device, and (2) determining that the signal is associated with the animal-adverse device.   
     
     
         6 . The collar of  claim 5 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to pair with the animal-adverse device and receive the unique identifier from the animal-adverse device. 
     
     
         7 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to output the keep-away corrective action further responsive to:
 receiving an authorization code associated with the animal-adverse device; and   confirming that the authorization code is valid.   
     
     
         8 . The collar of  claim 7 , wherein confirming the authorization code is valid comprises determining whether the authorization code has expired. 
     
     
         9 . The collar of  claim 8 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors are further configured to cause the collar to, in response to determining that the authorization code has expired, disable the keep-away mode. 
     
     
         10 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein the keep-away corrective action is at least one of an emission of light, a vibration, output of an audible warning via a speaker of the collar, output of a pre-recorded voice command via the speaker, outputting an electrical shock, and spraying a liquid. 
     
     
         11 . The collar of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to receive at least one of (i) first geo-fence data indicative of a first predetermined geographical area in which it is permissible for the collar to be located and (ii) second geo-fence data indicative of a second predetermined geographical area in which it is impermissible for the collar to be located. 
     
     
         12 . The collar of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to output a first corrective action responsive to determining that:
 the collar is located (i) inside the first predetermined geographical area and (ii) within a predetermined distance from a boundary of the first predetermined geographical area, and   the animal wearing the collar is moving toward the boundary of the first predetermined geographical area.   
     
     
         13 . The collar of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to output a second corrective action responsive to determining that the collar is located outside the first predetermined geographical area or the collar is located inside the second predetermined geographical area. 
     
     
         14 . A collar comprising:
 a strap configured to be worn by an animal;   a geolocation sensor;   a communication interface configured to transmit and receive data;   one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the collar to:
 receive geo-fence data indicative of a geographical area in which it is permissible for the collar to be located; and 
 operate in a lost mode responsive to determining that the collar is outside of the geographical area, the lost mode comprising:
 determining a selected return path to the geographical area, the selected return path being based on a path previously traveled by a wearer of the collar and selected from among a plurality of return paths, the selected return path being a path traveled most frequently by the wearer of the collar compared to any other path of the plurality of return paths; and 
 instructing, via one or more corrective actions, the wearer of the collar to orient itself in a direction to follow the selected return path. 
 
   
     
     
         15 . The collar of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to operate in the lost mode responsive to determining that wearer of the collar is outside the geographical area for at least a predetermined duration. 
     
     
         16 . The collar of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to:
 determine that the wearer of the collar is approaching a road; and   prevent the wearer of the collar from entering the road.   
     
     
         17 . The collar of  claim 14  further comprising a magnetometer configured to determine a direction in which the wearer of the collar is facing, the lost mode further comprising:
 determining a current location and a current orientation of the collar, the current orientation corresponding to a direction in which the wearer of the collar is facing and based at least in part on data received from the magnetometer; and 
 instructing, via one or more corrective actions, the animal wearing the collar to orient itself in a direction to follow the selected return path. 
 
     
     
         18 . The collar of  claim 17 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to:
 responsive to determining that the current location of collar has deviated from the selected return path, instruct, via one or more corrective actions, the wearer of the collar to orient itself in a direction to follow the selected return path and to move in a direction to follow the selected return path.   
     
     
         19 . A collar comprising:
 a strap configured to be worn by an animal;   an accelerometer configured to detect motion of the collar;   one or more processors; and   a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the collar to:
 receive motion data from the accelerometer; 
 in response to determining that the motion data indicates a motion of the collar is below a threshold level of motion, transition the collar to a resting mode; and 
 decrease a frequency of receiving or transmitting data. 
   
     
     
         20 . The collar of  claim 19 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, are further configured to cause the collar to prevent output of a corrective action.