Alarm probability

• US 10,332,386 B1
• Filed: 05/21/2018
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alarm.com Inc. (Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trundle, Stephen Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/984,532
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 340506, 340511, 3405731, 340517, 340521, 340541, 3405391, 34053911, 34053912, 340522, 340552
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/00 Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/02 Monitoring continuously signalling or alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors

Abstract

Alarm system technology, in which an alarm event is detected at a property monitored by an alarm system when the alarm system was set in an armed state. Based on detection of the alarm event, an alarm probability score that indicates a likelihood of the alarm event being an emergency situation is determined and the alarm event is handled based on the determined alarm probability score.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing, by a monitoring system that is configured to monitor a property and from sensors that are located at the property, sensor data;

based on the sensor data, determining, by the monitoring system, that an alarm event is occurring at the property when the monitoring system is in an armed state;

based on determining that the alarm event is occurring at the property, obtaining, by the monitoring system and from other monitoring systems that monitor other properties in a vicinity of the property, (i) data indicating whether the other monitoring systems are detecting alarm events and (ii) other sensor data collected by other sensors of the other monitoring systems;

based on (i) the sensor data, (ii) the data indicating whether the other monitoring systems are detecting alarm events, and (iii) the other sensor data collected by the other sensors of the other monitoring systems, determining, by the monitoring system, an alarm probability score that reflects a likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation;

comparing, by the monitoring system, the alarm probability score to a threshold;

based on comparing the alarm probability score to the threshold, determining, by the monitoring system, whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold; and

based on determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold, handling, by the monitoring system, the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold comprises determining that the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold, and

handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as an emergency situation based on determining that the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

determining that the sensor data indicates that an event occurred at the property; and

determining that the other sensor data indicates that the event did not occur at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the sensor data indicates that the event occurred at the property and on determining that the other sensor data indicates that the event did not occur at the other properties.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold comprises determining that the alarm probability score does not the threshold, and

handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as a non-emergency situation based on determining that the alarm probability score does not satisfy the threshold.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising:

determining that the sensor data indicates that an event occurred at the property; and

determining that the other sensor data indicates that the same event occurred at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the sensor data indicates that the event occurred at the property and on determining that the other sensor data indicates that the same event occurred at the other properties.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

determining that a cause of the event at the property is the same as a cause of the same events at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the cause of the event at the property is the same as the cause of the same events at the other properties.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the event is a window breaking at each of the property and the other properties at a similar time.

8. The method of claim 5, comprising:

accessing weather information for an area that includes the property and the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on the weather information for the area that includes the property and the other properties.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as an emergency situation by reporting the alarm event to a central monitoring server.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as a non-emergency situation by reporting the alarm event a resident of the property.

11. A monitoring system that is configured to monitor a property, the monitoring system comprising:

one or more computers; and

one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

accessing, by the monitoring system and from sensors that are located at the property, sensor data;

based on the sensor data, determining, by the monitoring system, that an alarm event is occurring at the property when the monitoring system is in an armed state;

based on determining that the alarm event is occurring at the property, obtaining, by the monitoring system and from other monitoring systems that monitor other properties in a vicinity of the property, (i) data indicating whether the other monitoring systems are detecting alarm events and (ii) other sensor data collected by other sensors of the other monitoring systems;

based on (i) the sensor data, (ii) the data indicating whether the other monitoring systems are detecting alarm events, and (iii) the other sensor data collected by the other sensors of the other monitoring systems, determining, by the monitoring system, an alarm probability score that reflects a likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation;

comparing, by the monitoring system, the alarm probability score to a threshold;

based on comparing the alarm probability score to the threshold, determining, by the monitoring system, whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold; and

based on determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold, handling, by the monitoring system, the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein:

determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold comprises determining that the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold, and

handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as an emergency situation based on determining that the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the sensor data indicates that an event occurred at the property; and

determining that the other sensor data indicates that the event did not occur at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the sensor data indicates that the event occurred at the property and on determining that the other sensor data indicates that the event did not occur at the other properties.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein:

determining whether the alarm probability score satisfies the threshold comprises determining that the alarm probability score does not the threshold, and

handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as a non-emergency situation based on determining that the alarm probability score does not satisfy the threshold.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the operations comprise:

determining that the sensor data indicates that an event occurred at the property; and

determining that the other sensor data indicates that the same event occurred at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the sensor data indicates that the event occurred at the property and on determining that the other sensor data indicates that the same event occurred at the other properties.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations comprise:

determining that a cause of the event at the property is the same as a cause of the same events at the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on determining that the cause of the event at the property is the same as the cause of the same events at the other properties.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the event is a window breaking at each of the property and the other properties at a similar time.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations comprise:

accessing weather information for an area that includes the property and the other properties,

wherein the alarm probability score that reflects the likelihood that the alarm event is an emergency situation is based on the weather information for the area that includes the property and the other properties.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as an emergency situation by reporting the alarm event to a central monitoring server.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein handling the alarm event as an emergency situation or as a non-emergency situation comprises handling the alarm event as a non-emergency situation by reporting the alarm event a resident of the property.