False alarm avoidance in security systems filtering low in network

• US 9,384,656 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2014
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Patterson, Hap, Hauhn, Joseph E., Rasband, Paul B., Mucci, Anthony, Hall, Stewart E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bousono, Orlando
• Application Number:
  US14/202,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254972A1
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19663 Surveillance related processing done local to the camera
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19671 Addition of non-video data, i.e. metadata, to video stream
• 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 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/185 Signal analysis techniques for reducing or preventing false alarms or for enhancing the reliability of the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors

Abstract

Embodiments of intrusion detection systems are described and which include an intrusion detection panel that receives binary and metadata sensor data from which the presence of an alarm condition is detected. In addition sensor devices analyze sensor data received from other sensor devices that are in a peer to peer relationship with the corresponding sensor device to validate whether the indicated alarm condition is a valid alarm or a false alarm.

Claims

1. An system comprises:

a system processor device;

system memory in association with the system processor device; and

a plurality of sensor devices, each of the plurality of sensor devices comprising;

at least one sensor element;

a sensor processor device coupled to the at least one sensor element;

a sensor memory in communication with the sensor processor device; and

a storage device that stores a program of computing instructions configured to cause the sensor processor device to;

receive sensor data from the at least one sensor element of a corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices;

analyze the received sensor data for an occurrence of an alarm condition;

receive sensor data from at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices that is in a peer to peer relationship with the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices;

analyze the received sensor data from the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices to validate whether an alarm condition raised by the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices is a valid alarm or a false alarm, with the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices communicating the occurrence of the alarm condition directly by a message transmitted over a local network to the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices;

send a composite declaration of the alarm condition to the system processor device when the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices and the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices each detect the occurrence of the alarm condition; and

send results of the analyzed sensor data to the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices that is in the peer to peer relationship with the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor data received from the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices is a binary signal sent by the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor data received from the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices is a signal that includes metadata, with the metadata comprising information resulting from processing of inputs by the corresponding one of the plurality of sensor devices and data regarding a state of an environment within range of the at least one other of the plurality of sensor devices.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the computing instructions further comprise instructions to:

determine whether there was an indication of a forced entry;

determine whether there was an indication of a perimeter presence using the metadata; and

determine whether there was an indication of a valid interior violation.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the computing instructions further comprise instructions to:

maintain counts of and/or record details regarding false alarms asserted by the plurality of sensor devices; and

periodically send information regarding these false alarms to a monitoring station.

6. A sensor device comprising:

at least one sensor element;

a processor device;

a memory in communication with the processor device;

a storage device that stores a program of computing instructions configured to cause the processor device to;

receive sensor data from the at least one sensor element of the sensor device;

analyze the received sensor data for the presence of an alarm condition;

receive sensor data from a second, different sensor device that is in a peer to peer relationship with the sensor device;

analyze the received sensor data from the second, different sensor device that is in a peer to peer relationship with the sensor device to validate whether the alarm condition is a valid alarm or a false alarm, with the sensor device receiving a communication of an occurrence of the alarm condition directly from the second, different sensor device by a message transmitted over a local network;

send the occurrence of the alarm condition as a composite event declaration when the sensor device and the second, different sensor device each detect the occurrence of the alarm condition; and

send results of the analyzed sensor data to the second, different sensor device that is in the peer to peer relationship with the sensor device;

wherein the sensor device further comprises a network interface configured to communicate the analyzed sensor data and the alarm conditions to other sensor devices that are in a peer to peer relationship with the sensor device.

7. The sensor device of claim 6, further comprising a plurality of sensor elements that includes the at least one sensor element.

8. The sensor device of claim 7 wherein the sensor data received from the at least one sensor element is sensor metadata, with the metadata comprising information resulting from processing of inputs by the sensor device and data regarding a state of an environment within range of the sensor device.

9. The sensor device of claim 6 wherein the computing instructions further comprises instructions to analyze the sensor data received from the at least one sensor element according to order of arrival of the sensor data received from the at least one sensor element.

10. The sensor device of claim 6 wherein the sensor device further comprises:

a plurality of sensor elements including the at least one sensor element, and the computing instructions further comprise instructions to analyze data received from the plurality of sensor elements according to order of arrival of the sensor data received from the plurality of sensor elements.

11. The sensor device of claim 10 wherein the plurality of sensor elements are selected from the group consisting of contact switches and glass break sensors, enhanced motion detectors, video cameras, microphones and/or other sound capturing devices.

12. The sensor device of claim 6 wherein the network interface is configured to send the composite event declaration to a detection panel.

13. The sensor device of claim 8 wherein the processor device is further configured to:

determine whether there was an indication of a forced entry;

determine whether there was an indication of a perimeter presence using the metadata; and

determine whether there was an indication of a valid interior violation.

14. The sensor device of claim 7, wherein the computing instructions further comprise instructions to analyze binary outputs from conventional sensor devices and metadata outputs from other sensor devices to determine whether to assert the alarm condition.

15. The sensor device of claim 13 wherein the processor device is further configured to:

process the metadata to assign a first one of a plurality of different levels of awareness; and

communicate the assigned first one of the plurality of different levels of awareness to a monitoring station.