Data collection piggyback protocol

A method of carrying data between a collecting device and a destination, the method comprising:

• using a processor to perform acts comprising:
• receiving, from said collecting device, and indication that said collecting device has packets to upload to a mobile device on which the method is performed, said mobile device performing a function for a person other than carrying data from said collecting device;
• determining that space is available on said mobile device to carry data;
• receiving a packet from said collecting device;
• after said mobile device leaves a communication range of said collecting device and is no longer able to communicate with said collecting device, making a connection with a network;
• and
• uploading said packet to said network to be transported to said destination.

A collecting device comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor;
• a sensor that collects data;
• and
• a component that is stored in said memory, that executes on said processor, that divides said data into a plurality of packets, that stores said packets in said memory, that advertises via a communication link that said collecting device has packets to transmit, that receives, from a first mobile device of a person, an indication that said first mobile device is available to carry some or all of said packets, said first mobile device performing a function for said person other than carrying data from said collecting device, that uploads a first plurality of said packets to said first mobile device to be transmitted to a destination that is distinct from said collecting device and from said first mobile device.