HOME AUTOMATION CONTROL SYSTEM

• US 20150355649A1
• Filed: 06/05/2014
• Published: 12/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wise Spaces Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Wise Spaces Ltd.
• Inventors: OVADIA, Yehuda
• Granted Patent: US 9,939,823 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25011 Domotique, I-O bus, home automation, building automation
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0438 Sensor means for detecting
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/17821 characterised by the analysis of the input signals only
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/16 using artificial neural networks
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/20 Speech recognition techniques specially adapted for robustness in adverse environments, e.g. in noise, of stress induced speech G10L21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/22 Interactive procedures; Man-machine interfaces

Abstract

A smart premises controller unit for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and for controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to the processing includes an alarm resolver to activate an alarm, a climate resolver to control a climate in the room and a presence resolver to determine at least the presence of a human in the room. Each resolver receives input from a subset of the plurality of sensors and each the resolver comprises a sensor processor and scorer for at least one of its associated subset of sensors. Each resolver comprises a set of models for each of its associated sensors according to its type of resolver. Each sensor processor and scorer matches its sensor data against its models to produce a score for each of its associated models.

Claims

1. A smart premises controller unit for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the controller unit comprising at least two of the following resolvers:

an alarm resolver to activate an alarm;

a climate resolver to control a climate in said room; and

a presence resolver to determine at least the presence of a human in said room;

wherein each said resolver receives input from a subset of said plurality of sensors and each said resolver comprises a sensor processor and scorer for at least one of its associated subset of sensors,

wherein each said resolver comprises a set of models for each of its associated sensors according to its type of resolver, and

wherein each said sensor processor and scorer matches its sensor data against its models to produce a score for each of its associated models.

2. The unit according to claim 1 and wherein said plurality of sensors comprises two or more of the following:

a movement sensor for detecting movement of a mammal in the at least one room;

an acoustic sensor for sensing sound in the at least one room;

a thermometer for sensing an ambient temperature in the at least one room;

a light sensor for sensing a level of illumination in the at least one room;

a humidity sensor for sensing a humidity level in the at least one room;

a CO₂ sensor for sensing a CO₂ level in the at least one room; and

an image sensor for imaging the at least one room.

3. The unit according to claim 1 wherein the one or more pieces of equipment comprise any one of an alarm system, appliances and electrical devices, an entertainment system, and a HVAC elements.

4. The unit according to claim 2 wherein said subset of sensors for said alarm resolver comprises at least two of the following:

said movement sensor, said acoustic sensor, said light sensor, said CO₂ sensor, and said image sensor.

5. The unit according to claim 2 wherein said subset of sensors for said presence resolver comprises at least two of the following:

said movement sensor, said acoustic sensor, said light sensor, said CO₂ sensor, and said image sensor.

6. The unit according to claim 2 wherein said subset of sensors for said climate resolver comprises at least two of the following:

said thermometer, said humidity sensor and said CO₂ sensor.

7. The unit according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of sensors is an acoustic sensor, wherein said presence resolver and said alarm resolver receive the output of said acoustic sensor and also comprising a voice resolver for generating a voice instruction responsive to signaling from said acoustic sensor.

8. The unit according to claim 1 wherein each said resolver comprises a multifunctional processor to combine at least said scores from different disciplines producing an overall score.

9. The unit according to claim 1 and wherein at least one of said resolvers comprises a cognitive unit to learn from at least its sensor data and to modify parameters of operation of said resolver.

10. The unit according to claim 1 and also comprising an event resolver to change the state at least one of said pieces of equipment wherein said event resolver comprises a learning module to learn from events produced by at least one of:

said presence resolver, said alarm resolver, said climate resolver, voice resolver for generating a voice instruction and input from a user.

11. The unit according to claim 10 and also comprising a cognitive unit to analyze the statistics of said learning module and to generate therefrom at least one of scenario and/or automation updates for automatic operation of said equipment.

12. The unit according to claim 10 and also comprising a proactive module to analyze the statistics of said learning module and to generate therefrom at least one new change of state of at least one of said pieces of equipment or at least one new scenario for said equipment.

13. The unit according to claim 1 and wherein at least two of said plurality of sensors is integrally formed with said unit.

14. An automation unit for controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises, to form, with at least another automation unit, a distributed control system, each automation unit comprising:

a controller to control at least one of said pieces of equipment and/or to control said equipment according to a schedule;

a communication module to communicate with other units in a single premises; and

a database storing a local database and at least one shared database from another of said at least one other units.

15. The unit according to claim 14 and also comprising a recovery unit to take over the operation of a non-functioning portion of one of said units using data in said shared database associated with said non-functioning portion.

16. An automation unit for controlling pieces of equipment in a room, the unit comprising:

a touch screen display to receive input from a user of said unit, said touch screen display having a default screen to display categories of elements related to said pieces of equipment to be controlled;

a database of events for said pieces of equipment; and

a proactive unit to review said events, to determine the most frequently used ones of said pieces of equipment of different application categories and to indicate to said touch screen display to display said frequently used ones of said pieces of equipment on said default screen.

17. A cognitive automation unit for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the cognitive automation unit comprising at least two of the following resolvers:

an alarm resolver to activate an alarm;

a climate resolver to control a climate in said room;

a presence resolver to determine the presence of a human in said room; and

a voice resolver to generate a voice instruction;

an event resolver to control at least one of said pieces of equipment from events produced by at least one of;

said presence resolver, said alarm resolver, said climate resolver, said voice resolver and input from a user,

wherein each of said alarm, voice, climate and presence resolver receives input from a subset of said plurality of sensors; and

wherein at least one resolver comprises a resolver analyzer to learn from output of its said subset of sensors and/or processing of its resolver and/or events produced thereby and to modify parameters of operation of said resolver.

18. The unit according to claim 17 wherein said event resolver also comprises an updater module to analyze the statistics of events and to generate therefrom at least one of scenario or automation updates for automatic control of said equipment.

19. The unit according to claim 17 wherein said event resolver also comprises a proactive module to analyze the statistics of said events and to generate therefrom at least one new change of state of at least one of said pieces of equipment or at least one new scenario for said equipment.

20. A proactive automation unit for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the proactive automation unit comprising at least one of the following resolvers:

an alarm resolver to activate an alarm;

a climate resolver to control a climate in said room;

a presence resolver to determine the presence of a human in said room;

a voice resolver to generate a voice instruction ;

wherein each of said alarm, climate and presence resolver receives input from a subset of said plurality of sensors;

and also comprising;

an event resolver to control said pieces of equipment at least in response to said events, wherein said event resolver comprises;

a proactive module to generate at least one new change of state of at least one piece of equipment and/or a scenario based on event data from said resolvers.

21. An energy controller for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the energy controller comprising:

a presence resolver to determine the presence of a human in said room;

a climate resolver to maintain a climate in said room as defined by a user of said room with minimal energy expenditure and in response to output of said presence resolver;

wherein each said resolver receives input from a subset of said plurality of sensors and each said resolver comprises a sensor processor and scorer for at least one of its associated subset of sensors,

wherein each said resolver comprises a set of models for each of its associated sensors according to its type of resolver,

wherein each said sensor processor and scorer matches its received sensor data against its models to produce a score for each of its associated models, and

wherein each said resolver comprises a multifunctional processor to combine at least said scores from different disciplines into a an overall score; and

an event resolver to control energy consuming pieces of equipment in response to output of said climate and presence resolvers.

22. The energy controller according to claim 21 and wherein at least one resolver comprises a cognitive automation unit to learn from at least its sensor data, to modify parameters of operation of said resolver.

23. The energy controller according to claim 21 and also comprising a proactive module to generate a change of state for said at least one piece of equipment and/or a scenario for said pieces of equipment based on event data from said resolvers.

24. A voice resolver unit to process audio data, the unit comprising:

a noise detection and cancellation module operative on said audio data;

a voice recognition engine to recognize voice in the output of said noise detection and cancellation module;

a noise model scorer to match received audio data against at least two noise models to determine the type or types of noise in said audio data; and

a recognition analyzer to analyze the quality of the output of said recognition engine as a function of the operation of said noise detection and cancellation module according to the type or types of noise detected.

25. An automation unit for a premises, the automation unit comprising:

at least two sensors, of which one is an acoustic sensor to sense sound in said room; and

a presence resolver to determine if a person is in said room, said presence resolver comprising a multifunctional processor to determine said presence from the output of said at least two sensors.

26. An alarm system protecting a predefined space, the alarm system comprising:

an acoustic sensor to sense sound in said space;

a movement sensor to detect movement in said space; and

an alarm resolver to determine if a person is in said room, said alarm resolver comprising a multifunctional processor to determine if a room has been invalidly entered from the output of at least said sensors and to activate an alarm when said determination is positive.

27. A method for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the method comprising at least two of the following steps:

resolving whether to activate an alarm;

resolving a climate in said room; and

resolving at least the presence of a human in said room;

each resolving comprising matching sensor data from its associated subset of said plurality of sensors against its separate set of models for each of its associated sensors to produce a score for each of its associated models,

wherein each resolving comprises receiving input from a subset of said plurality of sensors.

28. The method according to claim 27 wherein each said resolving comprises combining at least said scores from different disciplines producing an overall score.

29. The method according to claim 27 and wherein at least one of said resolving comprises learning from at least its associated sensor data and modifying parameters of operation.

30. The method according to claim 27 and also comprising changing the state of at least one of said pieces of equipment wherein said changing comprises learning from events produced by at least one of said resolving, generating a voice instruction and input from a user.

31. The method according to claim 30 and also comprising analyzing the statistics of said learning and generating therefrom at least one of scenario and/or automation updates for automatic operation of said equipment.

32. The method according to claim 30 and also comprising analyzing the statistics of said learning and proactively generating therefrom at least one new change of state of at least one of said pieces of equipment or at least one new scenario for said equipment.

46. The method according to claim 27 and also comprising generating a voice instruction responsive to signaling from an acoustic sensor.

33. A distributed method for controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises, the method comprising:

controlling at least one of said pieces of equipment and/or controlling said equipment according to a schedule;

communicating with at least one other units in a single premises; and

storing a local database and at least one shared database from another of said at least one other units.

34. The method according to claim 33 and also comprising taking over the operation of a non-functioning portion of one of said units using data in said shared database associated with said non-functioning portion.

35. A method for controlling pieces of equipment in a room, the method comprising:

having a touch screen display, said touch screen display having a default screen to display categories of elements related to said pieces of equipment to be controlled;

receiving input from a user via said touch screen;

storing events for said pieces of equipment;

proactively reviewing events to determine the most frequently used ones of said pieces of equipment of different application categories; and

indicating to said touch screen display to display said frequently used ones of said pieces of equipment on said default screen.

36. A cognitive method for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the method comprising at least two of the following resolving and controlling steps:

resolving whether to activate an alarm;

resolving a climate in said room;

resolving the presence of a human in said room; and

resolving a voice instruction;

controlling at least one of said pieces of equipment according to events produced by at least one of said resolving and input from a user;

wherein each of said resolving comprises receiving input from a subset of said plurality of sensors; and

wherein at least one of said resolving and controlling comprises learning from output of its associated subset of sensors and/or its processing and/or events produced thereby and modifying parameters of operation of said resolver.

37. The method according to claim 36 and also comprising analyzing the statistics of events and generating therefrom at least one of scenario or automation updates for automatic control of said equipment.

38. The method according to claim 36 and also comprising proactively analyzing the statistics of said events and generating therefrom at least one new change of state of at least one of said pieces of equipment or at least one new scenario for said equipment.

39. A proactive method for processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the proactive method comprising at least one of the following steps of resolving:

resolving whether to activate an alarm;

resolving a climate in said room;

resolving the presence of a human in said room;

resolving a voice instruction;

wherein each of said resolving comprises receiving input from a subset of said plurality of sensors;

and also comprising;

resolving the control of said pieces of equipment at least in response to events; and

proactively generating at least one new change of state of at least one piece of equipment and/or a scenario based on event data from said resolving.

40. A method for controlling energy use by processing data received from a plurality of sensors and controlling and monitoring one or more pieces of equipment in at least one room in a premises responsive to said processing, the method comprising:

resolving the presence of a human in said room;

resolving a climate in said room as defined by a user of said room with minimal energy expenditure and in response to output of said presence resolving;

each resolving comprising matching sensor data from its associated subset of said plurality of sensors against its separate set of models for each of its associated sensors to produce a score for each of its associated models and combining at least said scores from different disciplines into an overall score, and

wherein each resolving comprises receiving input from a subset of said plurality of sensors.

41. The method according to claim 40 and wherein at least one of said resolving comprises learning from at least its sensor data and modifying parameters of operation.

42. The method according to claim 40 and also comprising proactively generating a new change of state for said at least one piece of equipment and/or a scenario for said pieces of equipment based on event data from said resolving.

43. A method to process audio data, the method comprising:

detecting and cancelling noise in said audio data;

recognizing voice in said audio data after said detecting and cancelling;

matching received audio data against at least two noise models to determine the type or types of noise in said audio data; and

analyzing the quality of the output of said recognized voice as a function of the operation of said detecting and cancelling according to the type or types of noise detected.

44. A method for determining if a person is in a room, the method comprising:

sensing a room with at least two sensors, of which one is an acoustic sensor; and

determining if said person is in said room at least from the output of said sensing.

45. A method for protecting a predefined space, the method comprising:

sensing sound in said space;

detecting movement in said space;

determining if said space has been invalidly entered at least from the output of said sensing and detecting; and

when said method is activated, activating an alarm if said determining is positive.