Autonomous monitoring method and system using sensors of different sensitivities
AssigneeSmith Detection Inc.
InventorsSteven A. Sunshine, Timothy E. Burch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system of monitoring for chemical or other toxic agents includes operating a plurality of first type sensors having a first level of sensitivity to an agent in a monitored area. Concurrently a second type sensor is operated having a second level of sensitivity to the agent in the monitored area, where the second level of sensitivity is at least ten times more sensitive than the first level of sensitivity. Input from the plurality of first type sensors and the second type sensor is received and analyzed, at a central location, in order to determine the presence of the agent in the monitored area.
Claims21
-28. (canceled)
A system for monitoring an area of interest for an agent, the system comprising:
- a central analysis unit configured to wirelessly communicate in a mesh network with a plurality of sensor nodes of different types to monitor an area for an agent, the central analysis unit being further configured to communicate with a central location via an other network to communicate alarm data and sensor data to the central location that is remote from the central analysis unit.
A method comprising:
- receiving sensor data that is multidimensional over a mesh network from sensor nodes, wherein at least one of the sensor nodes includes a communication module that is a separate part of the sensor node from a part that includes a sensor;
- receiving alarm data that indicates an agent's presence in an area being monitored by the sensor nodes;
- interpreting sensor data from more than one of the sensor nodes by a central analysis unit responsive to receipt of the alarm data;
- communicating an alarm based on said interpreted sensor data to a central location via an other network to notify a plurality of computing systems of the alarm.
One or more non-transitory computer readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to:
- control node function of a plurality of sensor nodes of different types that, respectively, are configured to alarm based on an algorithm that is usable to identify an agent's presence by pattern matching sensor data with a library;
- alarm based on at least one of (i) an alarm received from one of said sensor nodes, and (ii) identification of the agent by the computing system based on sensor data received from one of said sensor nodes;
- and
- communicate the alarm via a network that is different from a network used to communicate with said sensor nodes to hand-held computing systems to notify the hand-held computing systems of said alarm's existence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.