Distributed communication between internet of things devices

• US 10,375,079 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2016
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: McAfee, LLC
• Original Assignee: McAfee, LLC
• Inventors: Infante-Lopez, Gabriel G., Firby, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wright, Bryan F
• Application Number:
  US15/196,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20180007055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,133 Days
• Field of Search: 726 29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/90335 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/047 Pattern matching networks; Rete networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• 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

Technologies for a distributed Internet of Things (IoT) system are disclosed. Several IoT devices may form a peer-to-peer network without requiring a central server. Information may be stored in a distributed manner in the distributed IoT system, allowing for storing information without transmitting it to a remote server, which may be costly and introduce security or privacy risks. Each IoT device of the distributed IoT system includes a machine learning algorithm that is capable of uncovering patterns in the input of the distributed IoT system, such as a pattern of user inputs in certain situations, and the distributed IoT system may adaptively anticipate a user'"'"'s intentions.

Claims

1. A first Internet of Things (IoT) device comprising:

a communication circuit to receive, from a universal bus to which the first IoT device is subscribed, a message transmitted by a second IoT device, which is communicatively coupled to the universal bus, wherein the message is indicative of an input from a user; and

a processor to;

determine whether the first IoT device is a target of a query based on the message;

determine whether additional information is needed from a third IoT device based on learned knowledge from past queries;

in response to determining whether additional information is needed from the third IoT device, prepare a request for information related to the query for the third IoT device, the third IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus, the communication circuit to transmit the query directly to the third connection IoT device when a pattern associated with the input from the user is recognized, the communication circuit to broadcast the query over the universal bus when the input from the user is generic, the communication circuit to receive a response to the query with the requested information; and

determine an action to be performed by the first IoT device in response to a determination that the first IoT device is the target of the query and based on the requested information; and

cause the first IoT device to perform the action to change a physical environment, based on the query and the requested information.

2. The first IoT device of claim 1, wherein the processor is to apply a machine-learning-based algorithm to determine the action.

3. The first IoT device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further to update the machine-learning-based algorithm based on the input.

4. The first IoT device of claim 2, wherein the processor is to apply the machine-learning-based algorithm to determine that the request for information is to be prepared.

5. The first IoT device of claim 1, wherein the communication circuit is to relay the message indicative of the input from the user to at least one of the third IoT device or a fourth IoT device, which is communicatively coupled to the universal bus.

6. The first IoT device of claim 1, wherein the request for information is for first information, the communication circuit to receive an information query for second information from at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or a fourth IoT device, the fourth IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus, the processor to determine whether the first IoT device has the second information and to determine, based on a privacy setting of the first IoT device, whether sharing of the second information is allowed, and the communication circuit to send, based on a determination that the first IoT device has the second information and a determination that sharing of the second information is allowed, the second information to the at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or the fourth IoT device.

7. The first IoT device of claim 1, wherein the communication circuit is to subscribe the first IoT device to the universal bus by sending a subscription message to one or more directly-connected IoT devices.

8. An Internet of Things (IoT) device comprising:

an input device to receive a first input from a user and a second input from the user;

a processor to;

execute a machine-learning-based algorithm to determine whether to (i) directly communicate a first message indicative of the first input to one or more other IoT devices when a pattern associated with the first input from the user is recognized or (ii) communicate the first message to a universal bus to which the IoT device is subscribed when the first input from the user is generic,

execute the machine-learning-based algorithm to determine whether to (i) directly communicate a second message indicative of the second input to one or more other IoT devices when a pattern associated with the second input from the user is recognized or (ii) communicate the second message to the universal bus when the second input from the user is generic; and

a communication circuit to;

in response to a determination to communicate the first message to the universal bus, send the first message to the universal bus;

in response to a determination to communicate the second message directly to the one or more other IoT devices, send the second message without using the universal bus.

9. The IoT device of claim 8, wherein the input device includes a microphone, the first input includes captured audio data, and the processor is to:

perform automatic speech recognition on the captured audio data to generate transcribed speech data, and

determine whether the transcribed speech data includes a query, the processor to determine whether to communicate the first message indicative of the first input directly to one or more other IoT devices without communicating the first message via the universal bus, or to communicate the first message to the universal bus to which the IoT device is subscribed based on a determination that the transcribed speech data includes the query.

10. A method comprising:

receiving from a universal bus at a first Internet of Things (IoT) device a message transmitted by a second IoT device, the first IoT device subscribed to a universal bus, the second IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus, the message indicative of an input from a user;

determining, by executing an instruction with the first IoT device, whether the first IoT device is a target of a query based on the message;

determining, by executing an instruction with the first IoT device, whether additional information is needed from a third IoT device based on learned knowledge from past queries;

in response to determining whether additional information is needed from the third IoT device, preparing, by executing an instruction with the first IoT device, a request for information related to the query for the third IoT device, the third IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus;

transmitting the query directly from the first IoT device to the third IoT device when a pattern associated with the input from the user is recognized;

broadcasting the query over the universal bus from the first IoT device when the input from the user is generic;

receiving a response to the query with the requested information at the first IoT device;

determining an action to be performed by the first IoT device in response to a determination that the first IoT device is the target of the query and based on the requested information; and

causing the first IoT device to perform the action to change a characteristic of a physical environment.

11. The method of claim 10, further including applying a machine-learning-based algorithm to determine the action to be performed.

12. The method of claim 11, further including updating the machine-learning-based algorithm based on the input.

13. The method of claim 11, further including applying the machine-learning-based algorithm to determine that the request for information related to the query for the third IoT device is to be prepared.

14. The method of claim 10, further including relaying the message indicative of the input from the user to at least one of the third IoT device or a fourth IoT device, which is communicatively coupled to the universal bus.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the request for information is for first information, the method further including:

receiving at the first IoT device, an information query for second information from at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or a fourth IoT device, the fourth IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus;

determining whether the first IoT device has the second information;

determining based on a privacy setting of the first IoT device, whether sharing of the second information is allowed; and

based on the determination that the first IoT device has the second information and that the sharing of the second information is allowed, sending the second information from the first IoT device to the at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or the fourth IoT device.

16. The method of claim 10, further including subscribing the first IoT device to the universal bus by sending a subscription message to one or more directly-connected IoT devices.

17. One or more storage devices or storage disks comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a first Internet of Things (IoT) device to at least:

in response to a message over a universal bus from a second IoT device communicatively coupled to the universal bus, determine whether the first IoT device is a target of a query, the first IoT device subscribed to the universal bus, the message indicative of an input from a user;

determine whether additional information is needed from a third IoT device based on learned knowledge from past queries;

in response to determining whether additional information is needed from the third IoT device, prepare a request for information related to the query for the third IoT device;

transmit the query directly to the third IoT device when a pattern associated with the input from the user is recognized;

broadcast the query over the universal bus when the input from the user is generic;

based on a response to the query with the requested information, determine an action to be performed by the first IoT device; and

instruct performance of the action by the first IoT device, the performance of the action to change at least one physical characteristic of a physical environment.

18. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to execute a machine-learning-based algorithm to determine the action to be performed.

19. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to update the machine-learning-based algorithm based on the input.

20. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to apply the machine-learning-based algorithm to determine that the request for information is to be prepared.

21. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to relay the message indicative of the input from the user to at least one of the third IoT device or a fourth IoT device.

22. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 17, wherein the request for information is for first information, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to:

respond to an information query for second information from at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or a fourth IoT device by determining whether the first IoT device has the second information;

based on a privacy setting of the first IoT device, determine whether sharing of the second information is allowed; and

based on the determination that the sharing of the second information is allowed, send the second information to the at least one of the second IoT device, the third IoT device, or the fourth IoT device.

23. The one or more storage devices or storage disks of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the first IoT device to subscribe the first IoT device to the universal bus by sending a subscription message to one or more directly-connected IoT devices.