WO2018104892A2 - Method and system for measuring, analyzing and transmitting sensor data - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for capturing environmental data using a collecting and analyzing device comprising sensors and transmitting the captured data to a monitoring system for secondary analysis is disclosed. The collecting device comprises a plurality of sensors and a robust housing to be used in any type of environment and conditions. The collecting device communicates the sensor values to the monitoring server using a specific communication protocol aiming at reducing the bandwidth usage on the network whilst providing for a high level of security. The monitoring server is configured to receive and analyze the sensor information. The monitoring server is further configured to use the results of the analysis to send one or more alerts in some conditions.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING, ANALYZING AND TRANSMITTING

SENSOR DATA

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0001] The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of United States Provisional Patent Application No. 62/430,857, entitled "Method and system for measuring and transmitting sensor data" and filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office on December 6, 2016, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for measuring, capturing and analyzing sensor data and for methods of transmitting and analyzing the said data.

Background of the Invention

In the last decades, the number of uninhabited houses has dramatically increased. Uninhabited houses are at risk of suffering damages which may be unnoticed for several days or even weeks. Such damages may be caused by water intrusions or leaks, electrical problems, intrusions, gas leaks, etc.

Some solutions exist to monitor a specific environment (such as a home), however, such solutions are complex to install and operate. Such complexity typically results in higher installation and maintenance costs. Furthermore, such solutions require a Wi-Fi connection or a power source for extended periods of time to operate.

Nowadays, no easy solution seems to exist to autonomously monitor an environment for extended period of times. It is believed that there is a need for an improved method and system aiming at monitoring water damages, intrusions, window breakages, HVAC issues, and/or power outages. Such method and system shall further aims at alerting a remote user of any conditions which is outside predetermined boundaries or conditions.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] The aforesaid and other objectives of the present invention are realized by generally providing a system for capturing environmental and electrical data using a collecting device comprising sensors, a first analysis stage and transmitting the captured data to a monitoring system for a secondary analysis is disclosed. [0004] The collecting device comprises a plurality of sensors and a robust housing to be used in any type of environment and conditions. The collecting device communicates the sensor values or detected alert condition to the monitoring server using a specific communication protocol aiming at reducing the bandwidth usage on the network. The monitoring server is configured to receive and analyze the sensor information. The monitoring server is further configured to use the results of the analysis to send one or more alerts in some conditions and detailed reports if desired by the end user.

[0005] In one aspect of the invention, a method for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting sensor data of a collecting device comprising a plurality of sensors is provided. The method comprises the collecting device reading a plurality of different sensor values from the sensors at predetermined sampling rate, associating a timestamp to each sensor value being read, the collecting device communicating the timestamped sample values to a monitoring system at predetermined times and the monitoring system processing each of the received sample values. The processing of each of the received sample value may execute one of the following actions: rejecting the received sample value or parsing and storing the received sample value.

[0006] The reading of the sensor values may be executed at a predetermined sampling rate, at a variable sampling rate or may be asynchronous. The method may further comprise storing the read sample value in a non-permanent memory unit of the collection device for later transmittal or performing a validation of the read sensor value based on a pre-set value boundary.

[0007] The step of communicating the timestamped sample values may further comprise the collection device using a microcontroller to calculate if a predetermined time to send (TTS) is reached, when the TTS is reached, the microcontroller calculating if the communication signal is higher or lower than a predetermined value, if the communication signal is within predetermined values, communicating the samples values to be sent and the collection device checking if the communication was successful. Such step may further comprise the collection device waiting until the next TTS before calculating if the communication signal is within the predetermined values. [0008] In yet another aspect of the invention, the processing of each of the received sample values may further comprise performing a two-step analysis. The two-step analysis may further comprise comparing the received sample values to predetermined conditions and analyzing trends of the received sample values over time. The step of evaluating the sample data may further comprise calculating if the data is within a predetermined set of boundaries or envelopes or calculating if the data is compliant with predetermined patterns. The processing of each of the received sample values may further comprise awaiting for reception of new sample data from the collection device on the monitoring system, the monitoring server storing the received sample data, the monitoring server evaluating if the stored sample data is to be redirected to a third party system and sending an alert to the third party system.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, the communication of the sample values to the monitoring system may further comprise creating a packet as a string of hexadecimal values, the string comprising a start "DAS" expression and stop "BOX" expression and compressing and encrypting the string of Hexadecimal values. The communication of the sample value may use a binary transmission protocol and such transmission protocol may be Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The creation of a packet may further comprise concatenating the message type to the string, concatenating the command messages to the string, calculating an concatenating the least significant byte to the string, calculating an concatenating the most significant byte to the string concatenating a unique ID to the string and/or concatenating a data of the sample value to the string.

[0010] In a further aspect of the invention, a method for remotely configuring a collection device for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting sensor data of a collecting device comprising a plurality of sensors is provided. The method comprise the collection device receiving a monitoring configuration value from the monitoring server over a network, using a microcontroller to add the received monitoring configuration value to monitoring configuration values of the collection device and loading the updated monitoring configuration value in memory of the collection device. The method may further comprise finding a corresponding active monitoring configuration by comparing active monitoring configuration values of the collection device with the received monitoring configuration value, checking if the received monitoring configuration value matches the found corresponding active monitoring configuration value and/or updating the matching active configuration value with the received monitoring configuration value if the active configuration value and the received monitoring configuration value do not match. [0011] The method may further comprise storing the received monitoring configuration value in memory of the collection device. The received monitoring configuration value may be selected in any of the followings: sampling rate, transmission rate, value boundary for preliminary analysis at the collection device or indication that one or more sensors is on or off. Furthermore, the received configuration value may comprise a unique signature to increase security level. The method may further comprise updating the configuration of the collecting device to shuffle data received by the monitoring system.

[0012] In another aspect of the invention, a system for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting data from a plurality of sensors is provided. The system comprises a network and a collecting device connected to the plurality of sensors, the collecting device comprising a network interface configured to connect to the network, a power source, a processing unit configured to read values from the plurality of sensors and to communicate the read values to a monitoring system using the network interface using a transmission protocol. The system further comprises a device, the monitoring system configured to communicated with the collecting device using , the monitoring system comprising a network interface configured to connect to the network, a data source and a controller configured to store the receive values from the collecting device in the data source, to perform an analysis on the stored values to determine if the values respect predetermined requirements and to generate a monitoring alert if the values do not respect one or more of the predetermined requirements and to send the monitoring alert to the device. The predetermined requirements may be that the sample values are required to be inside a pre-determined boundary.

[0013] The collecting device may be further configured to perform a preliminary boundary analysis on the read sample values and to only communicate the sample values outside of the preliminary boundary analysis to the monitoring system. The network interface of the collecting device may comprise a modem connected to one or more antenna. The collecting device may further be configured to connect to one or more external sensors and communicated to raw data of the external sensors to the monitoring system or may comprise a housing to receive the plurality of sensors. The housing may be adapted to protect the plurality of sensors against harsh weather conditions. The collection device may be further configured to automatically connect to the monitoring server through the network.

[0014] The monitoring system may be further configured to perform two-step analysis of the received sample values, a first step comparing the received sample values to predetermined conditions and a second step analyzing tendencies of the received sample values over time. The monitoring system may be further configured to receive read data from each of the collection devices.

[0015] The collection device and the monitoring system may be further configured to communicate with each other using a transmission protocol and configuration protocol. [0016] The system may comprise a plurality of collection devices, each of the collection devices being configured to connect to the monitoring server through the network.

[0017] The plurality of sensors may be any one of the followings: a GPS, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, a carbon monoxide sensor, a nitrogen dioxide sensor, an amonia sensor or a light sensor. The monitoring alert may be any one of the followings: a SMS, a voice mail or an email message to the device of a user.

[0018] In some aspects of the invention, the device may be a third-party server.

[0019] The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for collecting sensor data, transmitting such data and analyzing the received data in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing architecture of a collection device in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 is a flow diagram of the method for communicating collected data in accordance with the present invention.

[0024] Figure 4 is a workflow diagram of a method for configuring a collecting device in accordance with the present invention.

[0025] Figure 5 shows a flow diagram of a method for monitoring the collected data using a monitoring server in communication with the collection device in accordance with the principles of the present invention and a method for processing the collected data and for sending alert upon processing of the said data in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 6 is an example of a message format used for transmitting collected data of a collection device in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0027] A novel method and system for measuring and transmitting sensor data will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment(s), it is to be understood that the embodiment s) described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment, one or more collection devices 200 are configured to send values/samples collected or read from a plurality of sensors. The collection device (also called herein "collecting device") 200 is further configured to communicate the collected data to the monitoring server 300 using a transmission protocol 400. The monitoring server 300 may be configured to store the received data and perform analysis of the said data. For example, a two-step analysis as described below may be performed. If the monitoring server 300 finds that one or more of the sensor values/samples are outside of the pre-determined boundary and/or a plurality of the sensor values/samples, collected over some determined time span, does not fulfill the pre-determined requirements, the monitoring server 300 may send a monitoring alert as described herein. For example, the monitoring alert may be an SMS, a voice mail or an email message to a user. Alternatively, the monitoring alert may be a message to a third-party server (e.g. encrypted message).

[0029] Advantageously, the collection device 200 may be configured to perform collection of the sensor values/samples from the sensors 210, preliminary boundary analysis and then transmission of the data (raw sensor values/samples and/or preliminary alert if the sensor values/samples are outside of the boundary) to the monitoring server 300. As such, the collection device 200 may not need to store any data over the time in order to transmit the data as the data has already been pre-analyzed. The collection device 200 may therefore consume much less energy compared to a device that would store and analyze the data itself. The collection device 200 may operate at a low current and be powered by a battery.

[0030] Now referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of a system for measuring and transmitting sensor data 100 is shown. The system 100 is generally configured to capture or collect multiple types of data in any context or harsh environment, such as an industrial environment, in cold/humid environment, normal environment or any other environment having conditions which may change over time. The system 100 comprises a collection device 200 and a monitoring system 300 (hereafter "the monitoring server"). The collection device 200 is connected to the monitoring server 300 using a network, such as wireless network, mobile network or any other type of wired network. The communication between the collection device 200 and the monitoring server 300 is performed using a transmission protocol 400 and configuration protocol 500.

[0031] Now referring to Figure 2, architecture of an embodiment of the collection device 200 is shown. The collection device 200 comprises a plurality of sensors 210, a central processing unit (CPU) or microcontroller 220which typically comprises a processing unit and a memory unit, a network communication mean 234, such as but not limited to mobile communication modem (for example, 2G-3G-4G LTE), a wireless or wired network adapter.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the collecting device 200 comprises a modem 234 connected to one or more antenna 255 using connectors 250. [0033] The collection device 200 may further comprise several I/O ports such as but not limited to a USB connector 238, a serial communication port, such as RS-232 240 or RS-485 242 or any other digital or analog I/O ports. The collection device 200 may comprise additional I/O ports 244 configured to drive or receive any data from external devices or any other external sensors. In embodiments where at least one external sensor is connected to at least one I/O ports 244, the collection device 200 is configured to collect the data from the external sensor and communicate the said raw data to the monitoring server 300.

[0034] The collection device 200 may further comprise a power management unit 222.

[0035] The collection device 200 comprises at least one sensor 210. In a preferred embodiment, the collection device 200 comprises a plurality of sensors 210. For example, the sensors 210 may be located in a sensor housing 212. For example, the sensor housing 212 may be weatherized and/or robust.

[0036] In some embodiments, the collection device 200 may be used outside or in a harsh or industrial context.

[0037] For example, the sensors 210 of the collection device 200 may be a localization unit, such as a GPS, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, an ozone sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a nitrogen dioxide sensor, and/or an ethanol sensor. The sensors 210 may also be light sensor, a motion sensor, and/or an output digital microphone. In some embodiments, the light sensor may be a light-to-digital converter. Understandably, any other sensor compatible with the present collection device 200 may be used without departing from the principles of the present invention. For example, the sensors 210 may be digital and/or analog. [0038] The collection device 200 may further comprise a display mean 230. The collection device 200 may further comprise a SIM card reading/writing unit 232, a storage device 236, such as flash memory, a hard disk or eMMC. The collection device 200 is powered by an electric source such as a portable electric source, such as a battery or a fixed electric source, such as an electric network or a power grid.

[0039] In at least one embodiment, the collection device 200 may further comprise a housing (not shown). The housing is adapted to receive and protect the components of the collection device 200 from external conditions. In some embodiments, the components being protected may comprise sensors 210, modem 234, antenna 255, connectors as described herein, etc. as shown in Figure 2. Such collection device housing may be weatherized and/or robust. The housing is further adapted to provide apertures for I/O ports, antenna 255, removable storage 236 and for installing the display 230. Understandably, any type of housing known in the art to protect against different weather conditions may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. [0040] Referring back to Figure 2, the microcontroller 220 is configured to collect data received from the at least one sensor 210 and to communicate the collected data to the network communication mean 234 for transmission to the monitoring server 300.

[0041] In one embodiment, the collection device 200 may automatically connect to the monitoring server 300 through a network. For example, the collection device 200 may use an available wireless (mobile) communication channel (using mobile signal) and send the collected raw data to the monitoring server 300 using a transmission protocol 400. The collection device 200 may also be updated and reconfigured upon request sent by the monitoring server 300. For example, a request may be initiated at the monitoring server 300 using a configuration protocol 500. [0042] In at least one embodiment, there may be more than one collection devices 200. Each of such collection devices 200 may be configured to communicate with the monitoring server 300. For example, one monitoring server 300 may be configured to communicate with a plurality of collection devices 200.

[0043] Referring back to Fig. 1, in at least one embodiment, the monitoring server 300 comprises or is in communication with a data storage mean such as a data repository, a database or a file. In such an embodiment, the monitoring server 300 further comprises a monitoring module. In a typical embodiment, the monitoring server 300 comprises one or more central processing units, a memory unit and a storage unit. The monitoring server 300 is configured to perform an analysis of the received data, reporting of the analyzed data and monitoring of the data received from the collection device 200.

[0044] It should be understood that the monitoring server 300 may be implemented as one module or a plurality of modules. In embodiments having a plurality of modules, each module may be executed in a decentralized environment having multiple physical servers. For example, the one a more modules of the monitoring server 300 may be located in different locations.

[0045] In at least one embodiment, the monitoring server 300 may be a central hub of the system 100. In at least one embodiment, the monitoring server 300 may be configured to receive collected data from one or more collection devices 200. For example, the monitoring server 300 may collect raw data logs from one or more legitimate or authorized collection devices 200.

[0046] The monitoring server 300 may be configured to store the received data in the data storage as raw data. The monitoring server 300 is further configured to process the received data or the stored data of the raw data logs. In some embodiments, the processed data may be communicated and/or redirected to third party devices, such as third-party servers. For example, the third-party servers may then perform an outside analysis of the communicated data.

[0047] In at least one embodiment, the monitoring server 300 may be configured to analyze the data received. The analysis flag possible issues and problems, typically by analyzing trends or by comparing to predetermined triggering value. As an example, the collected data may comprise temperature data collected from a thermal sensor (see Figure 2). In such an example, the raw data may be converted to a usable value (such as Celsius or Fahrenheit values) and the resulting converted value may be compared to a predetermined condition (such as being between 10 degrees and 25 degrees). When the compared value is outside the predetermined value, the monitoring server 300 considered that at least an event or a problem has occurred.

[0048] The monitoring server 300 is configured to create an alert upon identification of an event or a problem. The said alert may be stored in a data source and may further be sent to a user device using any messaging protocol, such as but not limited to SMS messages, email(s), voicemail, etc., to the user. In some embodiment, the alert may be sent to a communication module or to an external server configured to communicate the alert to the user device. In embodiments where the alert is stored in the data source, the said stored data may be accessible to a reporting engine configured to analyze the stored data for trends or any other information.

[0049] In some embodiments, the monitoring server 300 may be configured to perform two- step analysis of the received data. At a first analysis step, the data may be compared to minimum and maximum limits or other predetermined conditions, e.g. in the case of vector values. For example, the data related to geolocation may be compared to geo-fencing values.

[0050] At the second step of analysis, the data may be analyzed in respect to a tendency of data values over time. For example, a deviation value and timespan may be configured by the data collection device manager. [0051] Referring now to Fig. 3, an embodiment of a method for transmitting or communicating collected data 400 is shown. The collection device 200 may request the data measured by the sensors 210 to be transmitted to the collection device 200.

[0052] The method 400 may comprise the collection device 200 to read one or several different sensor values/samples from sensors 210 and other devices connected to I/O ports 244 at a sampling rate 412. The reading of the data 412 may be at a predetermined sampling rate or in an asynchronous manner. In some embodiments, the sampling rate may be configurable. For example, the sampling rate may be constant for a predetermined period (for example, 10 seconds) and changed afterward. In a preferred embodiment, the data measured by the sensors 210 are transmitted to the microcontroller 220. [0053] The method may further comprise waiting for another value in between times to sample 434.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, each collected sensor value/sample may be timestamped. The timestamp may comprise a world clock information received from a GPS unit or may be a combination of GPS information and internal clock time values (i.e. LSE and/or HSE). [0055] The method 400 further comprises collecting the sensor at the time to sample 414. The collection of the sample 414 may be performed by storing the sample value in a non- permanent memory unit of the collection device 200.

[0056] The method 400 may further comprise the collection device 200 to perform a first validation ("preliminary analysis") of the sensor value/sample 416, based on a pre-set value boundary or envelop. For example, if one of the sensors 210 is a carbon monoxide sensor, the collection device's microcontroller/processing unit 220 may determine that the sensor value/sample received from the carbon monoxide sensor is out of its pre-set value boundary for a measured carbon monoxide level.

[0057] If the sensor value/sample is out of the pre-set value boundary or envelop, the method 400 may further comprise the collection device 200 sending the said value 418 to the monitoring server 300 as an immediate data warning log. If the monitoring server 300 confirms that the sensor value/sample is out of the pre-set value boundary, the monitoring server 300 may then send an appropriate warning to the user device or to a third-party system. Additionally, this out of boundary log may be timestamped at the monitoring server 300.

[0058] The method 400 may further comprise storing a valid data in a memory buffer 422 for later transmittal.

[0059] The method 400 may further comprise sending the sample to the monitoring server 300 (424, 426, 428, 430). The step to send the sample typically comprises checking if a predetermined time to send (TTS) is reached 424. When the TTS is reached, the collection device 200 checks if the communication signal is higher than a predetermined value 426. If the signal is acceptable, a packet is prepared with all the samples to be sent 428 and the collection device 200 check if the communication was successful 430. If any of the conditions 424, 426 or 430 are not met, the collection device 200 remains in a waiting mode before checking the conditions again at the next TTS.

[0060] In some embodiment, the transmission frequency may be a configurable value. For example, the transmission frequency may be about 1 minute to about 5 hours. When the transmission time is reached, the 'memorized logs' may be sent to the monitoring server 300 for additional analysis. This memorized out of boundary log may be timestamped at the monitoring server 300. By using a lower frequency (higher TTS), the power usage of the collection device 200 may be substantially reducing, aiming at a longer autonomy of the collection device 200.

[0061] The collection device updates and configurations may be performed using the configuration protocol in 2 ways.

[0062] In one embodiment, the collection device 200 is configured to receive or pull a message comprising configuration information. The monitoring server 300 may be configured to send a new or modified configuration value ("monitoring server configuration value") to the collection device 200. The collection device 200 is configured to receive the configuration message and to apply the configuration data to the collection device 200. In some embodiments, the new configuration value may be an updated configuration value stored at the monitoring server 300.

[0063] As an example, the configuration value may be the sampling rate, the transmission rate, the value boundary for the preliminary analysis at the collection device 200, one or more sensors 210 (e.g. particularly defined) being on or off, etc.

[0064] The new configuration value may comprise a unique signature aiming at reducing forging of the configuration in environment requiring higher security.

[0065] Now referring to Figure 4, a preferred embodiment of a method for configuring the collection device 500 is shown. The method 500 comprises the steps of receiving the monitoring configuration value 512, analyzing the received monitoring configuration value 514 and loading the update 526.

[0066] An encrypted message may be sent as an SMS. If the message does not fit the expected format of this SMS, it may be deleted without processing.

[0067] The collection device 200 may be configured to compare the current active configuration value with the received configuration value 514. If the received configuration value matches the monitoring server configuration value 514, the system may wait. The collection device 200 may be further configured to set the received configuration value to overwrite the currently active configuration value.

[0068] For example, if the monitoring server configuration value does not match the current active configuration value, the system verifies 522 the connection communication between the monitoring server 300 and the collection device 200. The collection device 200 may further receive an updated set of configuration values 524, load the update 526 (e.g. reboot), and store the updated information 528.

[0069] Now referring to Figure 5, a method for receiving and storing sample or values received from a collection device 200 is shown. When the data is received from the collection device 200, the monitoring server interface service may either reject the entry or parse and store the entry as RAW or unprocessed data in data storage.

[0070] Still referring to Figure 5, a method 650 for performing a two-step analysis of the data received at and/or stored at the monitoring server 300 is shown. The method comprises checking if new data was received on the monitoring server 300. If no new data is received, the method further comprises waiting for a predetermined period of time. If new data is received, the method comprises storing the received data and checking if the said data must be redirect to a third party system. If the data is redirected, the method may further comprise checking if the data is within predetermined boundaries or envelope or if the data is compliant with predetermined patterns. If the data is valid, the method may further comprises sending an alert message to a user device or another system. [0071] Now referring to Figure 6, an example of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packet message format is shown.

[0072] The transmission protocol of the present system is a specific protocol to transmit data between the monitoring server 300 and the collecting device 200 and vice versa. In a typical embodiment, the collecting device reads the data and creates a packing as a string of Hexadecimal values. A start "DAS" message and stop "BOX" message validate that the message is complete. A compression method and an encryption method are applied to the string. The Log signature includes a UnitID (the Unique ID) as well as a sample timestamp. The transmission protocol may accept both standard API POST calls as well as standardized TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) calls. [0073] In the example of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packet message format as shown at Fig. 6, "DAS" is a Start of file; "TypelD" refers to the Message Type (MSG OK, MSG ERR, etc); "CmdID" refers to Command Messages (GET VERSION, SET VERSION, etc); "DataNbr (LSB) " refers to Amount of data (Least Significant Byte); "DataNbr (MSB) " refers to Amount of data (Most Significant Byte); "Data[0]" refers to UnitID (system Unique ID); "Data[l]" refers to FME ID (ConfigID); refers to all other Data except last data; "Data [DataNbr- 1]" refers to Last data; "BOX" closes the message

[0074] In other embodiments, the system may further comprise a collection API (application programming interface) configured to allow for one or more collection devices 200 to send raw information logs to the monitoring server 300. The monitoring server 300 may then store the data at a cloud server database. The monitoring server 300 is configured to convert the raw data to another accepted format, to analyze the converted data and to correct the collection of the data. The corrected data may be then transmitted by the monitoring server 300 to the collection device 200 using the configuration protocol 500.

[0075] In some embodiment, the collection device 200 may be configured to apply to the sensors drift corrections over time. The units of measure of the data might need to be converted for ease of understanding by the various end using systems. [0076] Advantageously, the raw and/or hexadecimal aspect of data transmitted over the air aims at increasing the security of data sent over the network as such data may be business critical. The shifting configuration also shuffles the inbound data for accrued security.

[0077] The collection device 200 may be further configured to collect the sensor value/sample from the sensors 210 and preliminary analyze such sensor values/samples. Such preliminary analysis may be performed by comparing the collected sensor value/sample with the value boundary (which may be specific for each sensor 210). If there sensor value/sample is outside of the pre-determined value boundary, the collection device 200 may send a preliminary alert to the monitoring server 300.

[0078] The collection device 200 may perform sensor value/sample collection at a sampling rate. Such sampling rate may be corrected by the monitoring server using the configuration protocol 500.

[0079] While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment s) of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Claims

Claims

1) A method for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting sensor data of a collecting device comprising a plurality of sensors, the method comprising:

- the collecting device reading a plurality of different sensor values from the sensors at predetermined sampling rate;

- associating a timestamp to each sensor value being read;

- the collecting device communicating the timestamped sample values to a monitoring system at predetermined times; and

- the monitoring system processing each of the received sample values.

2) The method of claim 1, the monitoring system processing each of the received sample value by executing one of the following actions:

- rejecting the received sample value;

- parsing and storing the received sample value.

3) The method of any of claims 1 or 2, the reading of the sensor values being executed at a predetermined sampling rate.

4) The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, the reading of the sensor values being asynchronous.

5) The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, the reading of the sensor values being at a variable sampling rate.

6) The method of any one of claims 1 to 5, the method further comprising storing the read sample value in a non-permanent memory unit of the collection device for later transmittal.

7) The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, the method further comprising performing a validation of the read sensor value based on a pre-set value boundary.

8) The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, the step of communicating the timestamped sample values further comprising:

- the collection device using a microcontroller to calculate if a predetermined time to send (TTS) is reached; - when the TTS is reached, the microcontroller calculating if the communication signal is higher or lower than a predetermined value;

- if the communication signal is within predetermined values, communicating the samples values to be sent; - the collection device checking if the communication was successful.

9) The method of claim 8, the method further comprising the collection device waiting until the next TTS before calculating if the communication signal is within the predetermined values.

10) The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, the processing of each of the received sample values further comprising performing a two-step analysis.

11) The method of claim 10, the two-step analysis further comprising:

- comparing the received sample values to predetermined conditions; and

- analyzing trends of the received sample values over time.

12) The method of claim 11, evaluating the sample data further comprising calculating if the data is within a predetermined set of boundaries or envelopes.

13) The method of claim 11, evaluating the sample data further comprising calculating if the data is compliant with predetermined patterns.

14) The method of any one of claims 11 to 13, the processing of each of the received sample values further comprising: - awaiting for reception of new sample data from the collection device on the monitoring system;

- the monitoring server storing the received sample data;

- the monitoring server evaluating if the stored sample data is to be redirected to a third party system; - sending an alert to the third party system.

15) The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, the communication of the sample values to the monitoring system further comprising: - creating a packet as a string of hexadecimal values, the string comprising a start "DAS" expression and stop "BOX" expression;

- compressing and encrypting the string of Hexadecimal values.

16) The method of claim 15, the communication of the sample value using a binary transmission protocol.

17) The method of any one of claims 16, the transmission protocol being Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).

18) The method of any one of claims 14 to 17, the creation of a packet further comprising:

- concatenating the message type to the string;

- concatenating the command messages to the string;

- calculating an concatenating the least significant byte to the string;

- calculating an concatenating the most significant byte to the string;

- concatenating a unique ID to the string;

- concatenating a data of the sample value to the string.

19) A method for remotely configuring a collection device for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting sensor data of a collecting device comprising a plurality of sensors, the method comprising:

- the collection device receiving a monitoring configuration value from the monitoring server over a network;

- using a microcontroller to add the received monitoring configuration value to monitoring configuration values of the collection device;

- loading the updated monitoring configuration value in memory of the collection device.

20) The method for configuring a collection device as claimed in claim 19, the method further comprising: - finding a corresponding active monitoring configuration by comparing active monitoring configuration values of the collection device with the received monitoring configuration value;

- checking if the received monitoring configuration value matches the found corresponding active monitoring configuration value;

- updating the matching active configuration value with the received monitoring configuration value if the active configuration value and the received monitoring configuration value do not match.

21) The method for configuring a collection device as claimed in any one of claims 19 or 20, the method further comprising storing the received monitoring configuration value in memory of the collection device.

22) The method for configuring a collection device as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 21, the received monitoring configuration value being selected in the followings: sampling rate, transmission rate, value boundary for preliminary analysis at the collection device or indication that one or more sensors is on or off.

23) The method for configuring a collection device as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 22, the received configuration value comprising a unique signature to increase security level.

24) The method for configuring a collection device as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 23, the method further comprising updating the configuration of the collecting device to shuffle data received by the monitoring system.

25) A system for measuring, capturing, analyzing and transmitting data from a plurality of sensors, the system comprising:

- a network;

- a collecting device connected to the plurality of sensors, the collecting device comprising:

- a network interface configured to connect to the network;

- a power source;

- a processing unit configured: - to read values from the plurality of sensors;

- to communicate the read values to a monitoring system using the network interface using a transmission protocol;

- a device; - the monitoring system configured to communicated with the collecting device using , the monitoring system comprising:

- a network interface configured to connect to the network;

- a data source;

- a controller configured: - to store the receive values from the collecting device in the data source;

- to perform an analysis on the stored values to determine if the values respect predetermined requirements;

- to generate a monitoring alert if the values do not respect one or more of the predetermined requirements and to send the monitoring alert to the device.

26) The system of claim 25, the predetermined requirements being that the sample values are required to be inside a pre-determined boundary.

27) The system of any one of claims 25 or 26, the collecting device being further configured to perform a preliminary boundary analysis on the read sample values and to only communicate the sample values outside of the preliminary boundary analysis to the monitoring system.

28) The system of any one of claims 25 to 27, the monitoring system being further configured to perform two-step analysis of the received sample values, a first step comparing the received sample values to predetermined conditions and a second step analyzing tendencies of the received sample values over time. 29) The system of any one of claims 25 to 28, the system comprising a plurality of collection devices, each of the collection devices being configured to connect to the monitoring server through the network.

30) The system of claim 29, the monitoring system being further configured to receive read data from each of the collection devices.

31) The system of any one of claims 25 to 30, the collection device and the monitoring system being further configured to communicate with each other using a transmission protocol and configuration protocol.

32) The system of any one of claims 25 to 31, the network interface of the collecting device comprising a modem connected to one or more antenna.

33) The system of any one of claims 25 to 32, the collecting device being further configured to connect to one or more external sensors and communicated to raw data of the external sensors to the monitoring system.

34) The system of any one of claims 25 to 33, the collection device comprising a housing to receive the plurality of sensors.

35) The system of claim 34, the housing being adapted to protect the plurality of sensors against harsh weather conditions.

36) The system of any one of claims 25 to 35, the plurality of sensors being anyone of the followings: a GPS, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, an accelerometer, a carbon monoxide sensor, a nitrogen dioxide sensor, an amonia sensor or a light sensor.

37) The system of any one of claims 25 to 36, the monitoring alert being anyone of the followings: a SMS, a voice mail or an email message to the device of a user.

38) The system of any one of claims 25 to 37, the device being a third-party server. 39) The system of any one of claims 25 to 38, the collection device being further configured to automatically connect to the monitoring server through the network.