Device operational profiles

• US 10,123,191 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2014
• Issued: 11/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaw, Venson
• Primary Examiner(s): Dailey, Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US14/529,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20160127172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,467 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Concepts and technologies are disclosed herein for device operational profiles. According to one aspect disclosed herein, a profile orchestration system can receive information from a user device. The information can identify a service to be provided by the user device using, at least in part, sensor data received from one or more sensor devices. The profile orchestration system can determine a device operational profile that is suitable for generating one or more settings that are useable by the sensor device(s) to collect the sensor data. The profile orchestration system can send the device operational profile to a profile provisioning system. The profile provisioning system can utilize the device operational profile to provision the sensor device(s) with the setting(s). The sensor device(s) can utilize the setting(s) to perform one or more operations in support of the user device providing the service.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a profile orchestration system comprising a processor, information from a user device, wherein the information identifies a location of the user device and further identifies a service to be provided by the user device to a user of the user device;

determining, by the profile orchestration system, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of a plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in a device operational profile database is suitable for a sensor device located within an area associated with the location of the user device;

in response to determining that an existing device operational profile of the plurality of existing device operational profiles suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device does not exist, generating, by the profile orchestration system, based on the information received from the user device, a device operational profile comprising characterizations of how the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device is to perform in order to collect sensor data and to provide the sensor data to the user device for use by an application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device; and

sending, by the profile orchestration system, the device operational profile to a profile provisioning system that uses the device operational profile to generate a setting to provision the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device so that the sensor device performs in accordance with the characterizations of the device operational profile to collect the sensor data and to provide, via a sensor network, the sensor data to the user device for use by the application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information further identifies the application executed by the user device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information further identifies a user preference.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information further identifies a capability of the user device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining, by the profile orchestration system, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of the plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in the device operational profile database is suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device comprises:

generating a lookup query comprising the information; and

sending the lookup query to the device operational profile database.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the profile orchestration system, based on the information received from the user device, whether an existing device operational profile can be modified to be suitable for the sensor device within the area associated with the location of the user device, wherein the device operational profile is generated by the profile orchestration system further in response to determining that an existing device operational profile cannot be modified to be suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the characterizations comprise at least one of an operation to be performed by the sensor device, an amount of time the operation is to be performed, or a frequency with which the operation is to be performed.

7. A profile orchestration system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving information from a user device, wherein the information identifies a location of the user device and further identifies a service to be provided by the user device to a user of the user device,

determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of a plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in a device operational profile database is suitable for a sensor device located within an area associated with the location of the user device,

in response to determining that an existing device operational profile of the plurality of existing device operational profiles suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device does not exist, generating, based on the information received from the user device, a device operational profile comprising characterizations of how the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device is to perform in order to collect sensor data and to provide the sensor data to the user device for use by an application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device, and

sending the device operational profile to a profile provisioning system that uses the device operational profile to generate a setting to provision the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device so that the sensor device performs in accordance with the characterizations of the device operational profile to collect the sensor data and to provide, via a sensor network, the sensor data to the user device for use by the application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device.

8. The profile orchestration system of claim 7, wherein the information further identifies at least one of:

the application executed by the user device;

a user preference;

or

a capability of the user device.

9. The profile orchestration system of claim 7, wherein the sensor device is one of a plurality of sensor devices that form the sensor network.

10. The profile orchestration system of claim 7, wherein determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of the plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in the device operational profile database is suitable for the sensor device within the area associated with the location of the user device comprises:

generating a lookup query comprising the information; and

sending the lookup query to the device operational profile database.

11. The profile orchestration system of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether an existing device operational profile can be modified to be suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device, wherein the device operational profile is generated by the profile orchestration system in response to determining that an existing device operational profile cannot be modified to be suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device.

17. The profile orchestration system of claim 7, wherein the characterizations comprise at least one of an operation to be performed by the sensor device, an amount of time the operation is to be performed, or a frequency with which the operation is to be performed.

12. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a profile orchestration system, cause the profile orchestration system to perform operations comprising:

receiving information from a user device, wherein the information identifies a location of the user device and further identifies a service to be provided by the user device to a user of the user device;

determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of a plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in a device operational profile database is suitable for a sensor device located within an area associated with the location of the user device;

in response to determining that an existing device operational profile of the plurality of existing device operational profiles suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device does not exist, generating, based on the information received from the user device, a device operational profile comprising characterizations of how the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device is to perform in order to collect sensor data and to provide the sensor data to the user device for use by an application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device; and

sending the device operational profile to a profile provisioning system that uses the device operational profile to generate a setting to provision the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device so that the sensor device performs in accordance with the characterizations of the device operational profile to collect the sensor data and to provide, via a sensor network, the sensor data to the user device for use by the application executed by the user device to provide the service to the user of the user device.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the information further identifies at least one of:

the application executed by the user device;

a user preference;

or

a capability of the user device.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether one of the plurality of existing device operational profiles stored in the device operational profile database is suitable for generating the setting to provision the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device comprises:

generating a lookup query comprising the information; and

sending the lookup query to the device operational profile database.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise determining, based on the information received from the user device, whether an existing device operational profile can be modified to be suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device, wherein the device operational profile is generated by the profile orchestration system in response to determining that an existing device operational profile cannot be modified to be suitable for the sensor device located within the area associated with the location of the user device.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the characterizations comprise at least one of an operation to be performed by the sensor device, an amount of time the operation is to be performed, or a frequency with which the operation is to be performed.