SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN A NETWORK OF MOVING THINGS

• US 20170086230A1
• Filed: 08/04/2016
• Published: 03/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Veniam Inc.
• Original Assignee: Veniam Inc.
• Inventors: Azevedo, Joao, Cardote, Andre
• Granted Patent: US 10,841,379 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points

Abstract

Systems and methods for environmental management in a network of moving things. As non-limiting examples, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods for integrating sensors, mobile access points, and/or the network of moving things with municipal waste management systems, pollution control systems, etc.

Claims

1. A mobile access point (MAP) comprising:

at least one module operable to, at least;

establish communication links directly with other mobile access points;

establish communication links directly with sensors positioned along a travel route of the MAP;

collect waste management-related sensor data from the sensors; and

communicate information related to the collected waste management-related sensor data to a second system.

2. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the MAP is mechanically coupled to a vehicle that is unrelated to waste management.

3. The mobile access point of claim 2, wherein:

the vehicle comprises a public transportation vehicle; and

the at least one module is operable to provide communication services to passengers of the public transportation vehicle.

4. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the second system comprises a central controller and/or a central database.

5. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the second system comprises another mobile access point.

6. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the information to the second system.

7. The mobile access point of claim 6, wherein the plurality of manners comprises:

a first manner comprising communicating the information to the second system via a vehicle communication network; and

a second manner comprising communicating the information to the second system via a cellular communication network.

8. The mobile access point of claim 6, wherein the plurality of manners comprises:

a first manner comprising immediately communicating the information to the second system; and

a second manner comprising communicating the information to the second system in a delay tolerant manner.

9. The mobile access point of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the information to the second system based, at least in part, on a value of the collected waste management-related sensor data.

10. The mobile access point of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the information to the second system based, at least in part, on time-of-day and/or day-of-week.

11. The mobile access point of claim 6, wherein the at least one module is operable to:

determine a priority of the information; and

determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the information to the second system based, at least in part, on the determined priority.

12. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the at least one module is operable to:

receive data collection control information from a central controller while the MAP is traveling on the travel route; and

adjust how the waste management-related sensor data is being collected based, at least in part, on the received data collection control information.

13. A mobile access point (MAP) comprising:

at least one module operable to, at least;

establish communication links directly with other mobile access points;

establish communication links directly with sensors positioned along a travel route of the MAP;

collect waste management-related sensor data from the sensors; and

analyze the collected waste management-related sensor data to identify at least one action to perform.

14. The mobile access point of claim 13, wherein the at least one module is operable to analyze the collected waste management-related sensor data to determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the collected waste management-related sensor data to a second system.

15. The mobile access point of claim 13, wherein the at least one module is operable to analyze the collected waste management-related sensor data to determine whether to modify a waste collection plan.

16. The mobile access point of claim 15, wherein the at least one module is operable to:

receive a waste collection plan prior to collecting the waste management-related sensor data from the sensors; and

modify the waste collection plan in real-time based, at least in part, on the collected waste management-related sensor data.

17. The mobile access point of claim 16, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine to modify the waste collection plan autonomously.

18. The mobile access point of claim 16, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine whether to modify the waste collection plan in real-time based, at least in part, on comparison of the collected waste management-related sensor data with a threshold value.

19. The mobile access point of claim 16, wherein the at least one module is operable to communicate information regarding the modified waste collection plan to a second system.

20. The mobile access point of claim 16, wherein the received waste collection plan is based, at least in part, on waste management-related sensor data previously collected from the sensors.

21. A mobile access point (MAP) comprising:

at least one module operable to, at least;

establish communication links directly with other mobile access points;

establish communication links directly with sensors positioned along a travel route of the MAP;

collect municipal service-related sensor data from the sensors; and

communicate information related to the collected municipal service-related sensor data to a second system.

22. The mobile access point of claim 21, wherein the at least one module is operable to establish communication links with personal communication devices.

23. The mobile access point of claim 21, wherein the MAP is mechanically coupled to a vehicle that is unrelated to a municipal service corresponding to the collected municipal service-related sensor data.

24. The mobile access point of claim 21, wherein the second system comprises another mobile access point.

25. The mobile access point of claim 21, wherein the at least one module is operable to determine at least one of a plurality of manners in which to communicate the information to the second system.

26. The mobile access point of claim 21, wherein the at least one module is operable to:

receive data collection control information from a central controller while the MAP is traveling on the travel route; and

adjust how the municipal service-related sensor data is being collected based, at least in part, on the received data collection control information.