Cloud-Communicative Sensor Devices for Scalable Security Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional security/automation systems are limited by the need for a physical control panel within radio range of sensors, which restricts system scalability and flexibility, and lack efficient methods for remote monitoring and notification of alarm conditions.
Innovation Solution
A deconstructed security/automation system that moves application intelligence to the cloud, allowing sensors to communicate directly with a cloud system via cellular radios, enabling remote monitoring and notification, and incorporating AI for event detection and response without requiring separate sensors for each event type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a physical control panel is required within radio range of sensors, then the system can process sensor signals locally, but the system scalability and flexibility are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the control panel functionality into separate components: sensor devices with cellular radios for remote signal transmission, and a remote server for signal processing and alarm management. This segmentation eliminates the need for a centralized physical control panel within radio range, allowing sensors to be distributed across multiple locations while maintaining system functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
A cellular network acts as an intermediary between remote sensor devices and the cloud-based server. The cellular radio in each sensor device transmits alarm signals through this intermediary to the remote server, enabling communication without requiring direct radio range or physical proximity between sensors and the control system.
2Productivity
If sensors transmit alarm signals through a local control panel, then the system structure is simple, but remote monitoring and notification efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device incorporates an integrated cellular radio that enables it to autonomously transmit alarm signals directly to the remote server without requiring manual intervention or routing through a local control panel. This self-service capability allows remote locations to independently communicate alarm conditions, improving notification efficiency while maintaining simple sensor device operation.
3Measurement precision
If separate sensors are used for each event type, then the detection precision is high, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a universal sensor device platform that can detect multiple types of events (fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, intrusion) using a single integrated device. The sensor device includes multiple sensor elements that can identify different physical phenomena, allowing one device to replace multiple specialized sensors while maintaining detection precision through AI-based event analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses AI technology to analyze sensor signals and differentiate between various event types based on signal patterns and characteristics. By changing from physical sensor specialization to computational parameter analysis, the system achieves high detection precision for multiple event types without requiring separate hardware sensors for each event.
Data Source
AI summary
Example implementations include a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium comprising receiving, by a processor of at least one sensor device, a signal from a sensor element of the at least one sensor device, wherein the sensor element is configured to sense a physical phenomenon, wherein the signal is indicative of the physical phenomenon as sensed by the sensor element; determining, by the processor of the at least one sensor device, whether a level of the signal is indicative of an alarm condition; and using a cellular radio of the at least one sensor device to send a notification directly to a cloud system in response to the level of the signal being indicative of the alarm condition.