Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This disclosure relates to building/home monitoring/security systems having a plurality of electronic devices located throughout a building/home that are monitored and/or controlled by the system.
Building/home security/monitoring systems capture many of the events/activities that occur in a building/home on a day-to-day basis and that data often is stored in an electronic memory, either locally in the security/monitoring system or in the “cloud”. For example, such systems commonly capture events/activities indicating what lights are on or off in the building/home, the temperature in the building/home, the status of multiple connected electronic devices (on/off, working/disabled, active/inactive, etc.), sensor triggered alarms, and entry and exits to and from the building/home. Additionally, it is now common for many individuals to carry a mobile electronic device, typically a cell phone or smart phone, that allows the location of the individual to be tracked, and furthermore allows the individual to make digital recordings, such as digital photos, digital videos, and digital voice recordings. Furthermore, it is now becoming increasingly common for individuals to interact on a regular basis during any given day with electronic social media by uploading photos/videos, tagging friends/family members, interacting with friends/family members, “liking” or “sharing” other's social media posts, and other interactions with social media, all of which are often stored in electronic memory as a “history” of the interactions. These interactions will typically occur when the individual utilizes a mobile device, such as a mobile cell phone or smart phone, but can also occur on tablet computers, laptop computers and desktop computers.
While all this data is often recorded or maintained as a log or history in one electronic form or the other, a user, investigator or other authorized person currently lacks the ability to review/visualize this data in a consolidated manner, especially in any sort of intuitive way. Accordingly, there is room for improvements in currently available systems.
In accordance with one feature of the invention, an electronic processor-implemented method is provided for virtually recreating time-based events associated with a building using a building monitoring system having a plurality of monitored electronic devices and providing time-stamped event data for each device to an electronic memory. The method includes the steps of storing time-stamped event data for events associated with each monitored electronic device in an electronic memory, and storing a visual representation of the building in the electronic memory, the visual representation including a visual representation of each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices. In response to signals from a user input device indicating a selected portion of the building and a selected timestamp, the method further includes the steps of accessing the visual representation of the building and the time-stamped event data and providing signals to an electronic visual display that provides a time-based, virtual recreation of the events associated with each monitored electronic device in the selected portion of the building over the selected timestamp by displaying the events in the visual representation of the selected portion of the building.
As one feature, the method further includes the steps of storing time-stamped data of electronic recordable activities for at least one selected individual who utilizes the building and accessing the time-stamped data of electronic recordable activities and providing signals to the electronic visual display that provides a visual indication of at least some of the time-stamped data of electronic recordable activities for a selected individual during the selected timestamp. The electronic recordable activities includes at least one of the following: location information of an electronic device carried on the person of a selected individual, interaction with electronic communication systems by a selected individual, interaction with electronic social media by a selected individual, digital photos taken by a selected individual, digital videos taken by a selected individual, and digital audio recordings made by a selected individual.
In one feature, the visual indication of the time-stamped data of electronic activities includes user readable text.
According to one feature, the method further includes the step of pausing the passage of time in the virtual recreation in response to signals from a user input device indicates that the passage of time should be paused in the virtual recreation.
As one feature, the method further includes the step of displaying a time bar in the virtual recreation that illustrates at least a portion of the selected timestamp and includes a user selectable icon that allows a user to adjust the point in time to be currently displayed in the virtual recreation.
In one feature, the method further includes accessing the time-stamped data and the visual representation and providing signals to the electronic visual display to simulate movement in the virtual recreation from the selected portion of the building to another selected portion of the building in response to signals from a user input device indicating a user request to display movement from the selected portion of the building to the another selected portion of the building.
According to one feature, the step of storing a visual representation of the building includes storing in the electronic memory a visual representation of furniture and other objects located in each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices.
As one feature, the step of storing a visual representation of the building includes storing in the electronic memory a user readable text tag for each type of monitored electronic device identifying the type of monitored electronic device.
In one feature, displaying the events in the visual representation of the building includes displaying a readable text tag for each monitored electronic device in the selected portion of the building, each readable text tag describing an event associated with each monitored device at the point in time being displayed.
As one feature, the visual representation of the building is a three-dimensional visual representation of each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices.
In one feature, the visual representation of the building further includes three-dimensional visual representations of furniture and other objects located in each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices.
According to one feature, the visual representation of the building further includes a three-dimensional visual representation of at least one monitored electronic device at a location of the at least one monitored electronic device in the building.
As one feature, the visual representation of the building is a two-dimensional visual representation of each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices.
In one feature, the visual representation of the building further includes two-dimensional visual representations of furniture and other objects located in each portion of the building having monitored electronic devices.
According to one feature, the visual representation of the building further includes a two-dimensional visual representation of at least one monitored electronic device at a location of the at least one monitored electronic device in the building.
As one feature, the virtual recreation includes a user selectable icon representing one of the monitored electronic devices, and further includes displaying in the virtual recreation data associated with the one of the monitored electronic devices in response to a user selecting the user selected icon.
In one feature, at least one of the monitored electronic devices is a video camera and the virtual recreation includes a user selectable icon representing the video camera, and the method further includes playing a video in the virtual recreation in response to a user selecting the user selected icon, the video being a video taken by the video camera during the selected timestamp.
According to one feature, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium includes instructions for implementing a method including any of the above features in an electronic processor executing the instructions.
As one feature, a system is provided for creating a virtual recreation of time-based events associated with a building. The system includes a plurality of monitored electronic devices, an electronic memory, a visual display, and an electronic processor configured to implement a method including any of the above features.
Other features and advantages will become apparent from a review of the entire specification, including the appended claims and drawings.
With reference to
The system 10 of this disclosure is configured to store time-stamped event data 18 for events associated with each of the monitored electronic devices 16 in an electronic memory 20. The events associated with each of the monitored electronic devices 16 can be any event or status associated with each of the monitored electronic devices 16, such as, for example, a photo or video taken by a camera 16A, the detection of motion by a motion sensor 16B, the detection of smoke by a smoke detector 16C, the channel currently displayed on a TV 16D, the temperature setting of a thermostat 16E, the locking or unlocking of a door lock 16F, the music played by a music system 16G, the operating position of a blind or curtain controlled by a window blind/curtain control 16H, the lighting level of a light 16I, or the operational status (on/off, low power, operating error, etc.) of any of the electronic devices 16. The time-stamped event data 18 can also be a time-stamped location data 19 of an occupant/user within the home 12 who is carrying a location device, such as a BLE tag. It should be understood that as used herein the term “timestamp” includes both clock time (hours, minutes, seconds, etc.) and calendar date (day, month, year).
Additionally, the system 10 stores a visual representation 22 of the home 12 in the electronic memory 20, with the visual representation 22 including a visual representation of each portion 24 of the building 12 having monitored electronic devices 16, such as each room 24 of the home 12 shown in
In response to signals 28 from a user input device 30 indicating a user selected portion 24 of the home 12 and a user selected timestamp, the electronic processor 14 runs a virtual home memory recreation algorithm 29 that accesses the visual representation 22 of the home 12 and the time-stamped event data 18 in the electronic memory 20 and provides signals 31 to an electronic display 34 that provides a time-based, virtual recreation of the events associated with each monitored electronic device 16 in the selected portion of the home 12 over the selected timestamp by displaying the events in the visual representation of the selected portion of the home 12 in response to the signals 31. In this regard, the events for each electronic device can be shown in the form of text blocks 32 adjacent each of the devices 16, or any suitable way for illustrating the event for the particular device. The virtual recreation can also include text and numerals indicating the current time and date within the virtual recreation. The signals 28 and 31 can be transmitted via a direct wire connection, through a panel, a gateway, a wireless network, or the cloud, as shown at 33. The user input device 30 can be any suitable type, many of which are known, and the user inputs can be in any suitable form, again many of which are known, including keypad entries, selectable icons, and voice commands into a microphone using any suitable voice recognition technology.
With reference to
The illustrated embodiment system 10 is also configured so that a user can request a real-world environment recreation (RWER) 35C where, in response to signals 28 from the user input device 30 indicating a selected portion of the home 12 and a selected timestamp, the system 10 accesses the visual representation 22 of the home 12 and the time-stamped event data 18 in the electronic memory 20 and provides signals 36 to the electronic devices 16 in the selected portion of the home 12 that causes the electronic devices 16 to recreate the events that occurred for each of the electronic devices 16 in the selected portion of the home 12 during the selected timestamp. This allows a user to recreate, in the real world, the environment that existed in the home 12 within any portion 24 of the home 12 selected by a user for any selected timestamp selected by the user so that the user can experience the environment while the user is located in the selected portion 24 of the home 12.
Additionally, the embodiment of the method and system 10 shown herein has the capability of storing time-stamped data 37 of electronic recordable activities 38 for one or more selected individuals who utilize the home 12, accessing such time-stamped data 37 from other electronic databases that are maintained in an electronic device 40 carried or operated by a selected individual, typically a mobile smartphone or tablet used by an occupant of a home or building, or in electronic databases maintained by other entities, such as, for example, social media entities, which databases may be accessible via the “cloud”. In this regard, as shown in
The electronic recordable activities 38 can include: location information 38A of an electronic device 40 carried on the person of a selected individual; interactions 38B with electronic communication systems, such as for example text messaging, phone calls, and video messaging, by a selected individual; interactions 38C with electronic social media, such as for example social media postings, social media sharing, “tweets”, “likes” of other social media posts, etc., by a selected individual; music or videos 38D that is accessed or listened to on a mobile device of a selected user; and digital recordings 38E, such as photo, video, or audio recordings created by a selected individual. As noted above, the time-stamped data 37 of such electronic recordable activities 38 can be stored in an electronic memory 20 of the system 10, or can be stored in an electronic memory of an electronic device 40 carried or operated by a selected individual and accessed using the extractor 44, or can be stored in an accessibly electronic database maintained by another entity, such as by a social media entity and accessed via the extractor 42.
In response to the signals 28 from the user input device 30, the system 10 accesses the time-stamped data 37 of the activity 38 in the electronic memory 20 and provides signals 31 to the electronic display 34 that provides a visual indication 48 of at least some of the time-stamped data 37 of electronic recordable activities 38 for a selected individual during the selected timestamp. In this regard, the visual indication 48 can be any suitable form, such as, for example, a user selectable text listing 48 of the electronic recordable activities 38 as illustrated in
With reference to
As an example of the system 10 in operation, a user would log into the system 10 and input a selected portion 24 of the home 12 and a selected timestamp using any suitable user input device or means, such as keypad, user selectable icons on the display 30, or via voice commands. The user may also input a request for the electronic recordable activities 38 of a selected individual, or the system 10 can be configured to automatically assume the user is the selected individual as identified by the user's log-on information. As an example, the user could select Feb. 17, 2016 at 9:00 p.m. and the living room of the home 12 and the method and system 10 can automatically select the user as a selected individual for the time-stamped data 37. The system 10 then accesses the electronic memory 20 and any other appropriate electronic databases to retrieve the time-stamped data 18,37 appropriate for the living room of the home 12 at 9:00 p.m. The user then can enter a start command, select a start icon, or give a voice command which would then start the virtual recreation from 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2016 moving forward in time. The system 10 can provide a time bar, such as the time bar 70 seen in
It should be appreciated that the method and system 10 disclosed herein allows a user to recreate events in a home 12 when something critical may have occurred in the home 12. For example, the system 10 allows a user to recreate what was happening in the user's home 12 during the time that a burglary may have occurred or during the time when someone may have had an accident within the home 12. As another example, the system 10 allows a user to determine what happened within a building 12 when a sensor detects a certain event, such as a high carbon dioxide level or unexpected motion within a building 12. As a further example, the system 10 allows a user to recreate an environment in the home 12 similar to an environment in the home 12 during a prior event, such as for example, an environment similar to that which existed during a party,
It should be appreciated that while specific embodiments of the method and system 10 are disclosed herein, this disclosure contemplates that not all embodiments will incorporate all of the features of the disclosed embodiments, and further that, some embodiments may include additional features that are not disclosed or alternate structures or devices that aren't expressly described herein.