Providing electronic content based on sensor data

• US 8,659,417 B1
• Filed: 08/19/2013
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2007
• 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, Martin, Jean-Paul, Slavin, Alison Jane
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): POINT, RUFUS C
• Application Number:
  US13/970,202
• Time in Patent Office: 190 Days
• Field of Search: 340/517, 340/537.15, 340/573.1, 705/14.1, 705/14.4
• US Class Current: 340/517
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0423 detecting deviation from an expected pattern of behaviour or schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/00 Audible signalling systems; Audible personal calling systems
• 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: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Techniques are described for using sensor data derived from a monitoring system to drive personalized content. Sensor data captured by a monitoring system may be used to determine attributes of users of the monitoring system and/or attributes of a property monitored by the monitoring system. The determined attributes may be used to select content to present to users of the monitoring system. Content presentation may be made through the monitoring system and may be triggered based on events detected by the monitoring system.

Claims

1. A system for using sensor data collected via a monitoring system to deliver personalized relevant content, the system comprising:

a monitoring system including one or more sensors configured to sense events related to use of a home of a customer; and

a monitoring application server configured to electronically receive, either directly or via a network communications module, data communications from the monitoring system and provide personalized content to the customer of the monitoring system based on the data communications from the monitoring system,

wherein the monitoring system is configured to send, to the monitoring application server, sensor data that is generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system and that indicates events related to use of the home of the customer sensed by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system; and

wherein the monitoring application server is configured to;

receive, from the monitoring system, the sensor data that is generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system and that indicates events related to use of the home of the customer sensed by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system, the received sensor data reflecting a series of events related to use of the home of the customer detected by the monitoring system over time;

access profiling data related to sensor data associated with use of homes by customers;

evaluate the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data;

based on the evaluation of the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data, determine a profile for the customer of the monitoring system;

use the determined profile to select relevant electronic content for the customer; and

send the selected electronic content to at least one interface used by the customer to control the monitoring system or receive notifications from the monitoring system.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the monitoring application server is configured to use the accessed customer profile to select electronic content by:

comparing at least one attribute associated with the determined profile with electronic content criteria associated with electronic content available for provision by the monitoring application server; and

selecting electronic content for provision to the customer based on the comparison.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the selected electronic content is selected advertising content and the monitoring system is configured to receive and present the selected advertising content based on the customer of the monitoring system agreeing to allow advertising content to be presented through the monitoring system in exchange for a reduction of a fee associated with the monitoring system.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the reduction of the fee associated with the monitoring system includes at least one of a reduction of an installation fee for the monitoring system, a reduction of a periodic monitoring fee associated with monitoring services offered for the monitoring system, and a reduction of a fee for enhanced functionality offered by the monitoring system.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the monitoring system comprises a security system configured to provide security monitoring operations associated with the home of the customer of the monitoring system; and

the monitoring application server is configured to exchange communications with the security system to facilitate security monitoring for the home of the customer of the monitoring system.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the customer of the security system receives a reduced fee associated with the security monitoring for the home of the customer of the monitoring system based on the customer of the security system agreeing to allow the monitoring application server to present advertising content to the customer through one or more interfaces that the customer has designated for receiving security system information.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the selected electronic content is selected advertising content and the monitoring application server is configured to send the selected advertising content to at least one interface used by the customer by presenting the advertising content in a manner in which a user may accept an offer included in the advertising content through interaction with the interface; and

the monitoring system is configured to;

receive, from the user, user input related to the offer included in the advertising content, and

send, to the monitoring application server, an electronic communication based on the user input related to the offer; and

the monitoring application server is configured to;

receive, from the monitoring system, the electronic communication based on the user input related to the offer,

determine whether the user accepted the offer based on the electronic communication, and

in response to determining that the user accepted the offer, send order information to a vendor associated with the offer to enable fulfillment of an order corresponding to the user'"'"'s acceptance of the offer.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the monitoring application server is configured to:

track offer acceptance information based on the determination of whether the user accepted the offer; and

select future advertising content for the user based on the tracked offer acceptance information.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the monitoring application server is configured to send the selected electronic content to at least one interface used by the customer by sending the selected electronic content to the monitoring system;

the monitoring system includes one or more output devices and is configured to;

receive the selected electronic content from the monitoring application server;

after receipt of the selected electronic content, detect an event based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system; and

in response to detecting the event, trigger presentation of the selected electronic content on at least one of the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the monitoring system is configured to:

detect the event based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system by inferring presence of a person in an area based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system; and

in response to detecting the event, trigger presentation of the selected electronic content on at least one of the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system by;

selecting, from among the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system, an output device that is proximate to the area in which presence of the person has been inferred; and

triggering presentation of the selected electronic content on the selected output device in response to inferring presence of the person in the area.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the monitoring system is configured to:

infer an identity of a user that triggered generation of the sensor data by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system based on the detected event;

receive the selected electronic content from the monitoring application server by receiving a first advertisement associated with a first user associated with the monitoring system and a second advertisement associated with a second user associated with the monitoring system, the second user being different from the first user; and

trigger presentation of the selected electronic content on at least one of the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system by;

determining whether the inferred identity corresponds to the first user or the second user;

in response to determining that the inferred identity corresponds to the first user, presenting the first advertisement; and

in response to determining that the inferred identity corresponds to the second user, presenting the second advertisement.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the monitoring system is configured to infer the identity of the user that triggered generation of the sensor data by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system based on the detected event by:

determining a room in the home of the customer of the monitoring system associated with the detected event;

accessing, from electronic storage, data relating rooms in the home of the customer of the monitoring system with users of the monitoring system;

comparing the determined room to the accessed data relating rooms in the home of the customer of the monitoring system with users of the monitoring system; and

inferring the identity of the user based on the comparison.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the monitoring system is configured to infer the identity of the user that triggered generation of the sensor data by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system based on the detected event by:

accessing sensor data generated by multiple sensors within in the home of the customer of the monitoring system;

determining a movement pattern of a user within the home of the customer of the monitoring system based on the accessed sensor data generated by multiple sensors; and

inferring the identity of the user based on the determined movement pattern.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the monitoring system is configured to:

receive the selected electronic content from the monitoring application server by receiving a first advertisement associated with a first product or service related to remedying a particular problem the monitoring system is configured to detect;

detect an event based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system by detecting the particular problem; and

trigger presentation of the selected electronic content on at least one of the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system by presenting the first advertisement associated with the first product or service related to remedying the particular problem based on detecting the particular problem.

15. The system of claim 1:

wherein the monitoring application server is configured to receive sensor data by receiving motion sensor data and contact sensor data that reflects patterns of motion sensor events and contact sensor events;

wherein the monitoring application server is configured to access profiling data by accessing profiling data that relates to schedules of leaving and returning to homes;

wherein the monitoring application server is configured to evaluate the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data by;

identifying, for the customer of the monitoring system, a schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system based on the patterns of motion sensor events and contact sensor events, and

evaluating the identified schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system against the accessed profiling data;

wherein the monitoring application server is configured to determine the profile for the customer of the monitoring system by determining the profile for the customer of the monitoring system based on the evaluation of the identified schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system against the accessed profiling data.

16. A method for using sensor data collected via a monitoring system to deliver personalized relevant content, the method comprising:

receiving, from a monitoring system that includes one or more sensors configured to sense events related to use of a home of a customer, sensor data that is generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system and that indicates events related to use of the home of the customer sensed by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system, the received sensor data reflecting a series of events related to use of the home of the customer detected by the monitoring system over time;

accessing profiling data related to sensor data associated with use of homes by customers;

evaluating the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data;

based on the evaluation of the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data, determining a profile for the customer of the monitoring system;

using the determined profile to select relevant electronic content for the customer; and

sending, by a monitoring application server that includes at least one processor, the selected electronic content to at least one interface used by the customer to control the monitoring system or receive notifications from the monitoring system.

17. A monitoring application server for using sensor data collected via a monitoring system to deliver personalized relevant content, the monitoring application server comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a monitoring system that includes one or more sensors configured to sense events related to use of a home of a customer, sensor data that is generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system and that indicates events related to use of the home of the customer sensed by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system, the received sensor data reflecting a series of events related to use of the home of the customer detected by the monitoring system over time;

accessing profiling data related to sensor data associated with use of homes by customers;

evaluating the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data;

based on the evaluation of the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data, determining a profile for the customer of the monitoring system;

using the determined profile to select relevant electronic content for the customer; and

sending the selected electronic content to at least one interface used by the customer to control the monitoring system or receive notifications from the monitoring system.

18. The monitoring application server of claim 17:

wherein receiving sensor data comprises receiving motion sensor data and contact sensor data that reflects patterns of motion sensor events and contact sensor events;

wherein accessing profiling data comprises accessing profiling data that relates to schedules of leaving and returning to homes;

wherein evaluating the series of events related to use of the home of the customer included in the received sensor data against the accessed profiling data comprises;

identifying, for the customer of the monitoring system, a schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system based on the patterns of motion sensor events and contact sensor events, and

evaluating the identified schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system against the accessed profiling data;

wherein determining the profile for the customer of the monitoring system comprises determining the profile for the customer of the monitoring system based on the evaluation of the identified schedule of leaving and returning to the home of the customer of the monitoring system against the accessed profiling data.

19. The monitoring application server of claim 17:

wherein sending the selected electronic content to at least one interface used by the customer comprises sending the selected electronic content to the monitoring system; and

wherein the operations further comprise;

after sending the selected electronic content to the monitoring system, detecting an event based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system; and

in response to detecting the event, triggering presentation of the selected electronic content on one or more output devices included in the monitoring system.

20. The monitoring application server of claim 19:

wherein detecting the event based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system comprises inferring presence of a person in an area based on sensor data generated by the one or more sensors included in the monitoring system; and

wherein triggering presentation of the selected electronic content on the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system comprises;

selecting, from among the one or more output devices included in the monitoring system, an output device that is proximate to the area in which presence of the person has been inferred; and

triggering presentation of the selected electronic content on the selected output device in response to inferring presence of the person in the area.