Alarm probability

• US 9,646,486 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2012
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/981,657
• Time in Patent Office: 498 Days
• Field of Search: 340506, 3405731, 3405681, 340531, 3406916, 340541, 340501, 340565, 340566, 34053911, 3405391, 340522, 340529, 340527
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/00 Burglar, theft or intruder alarms
• 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 29/02 Monitoring continuously signalling or alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors

Abstract

Alarm system technology, in which an alarm event is detected at a property monitored by an alarm system when the alarm system was set in an armed state. Based on detection of the alarm event, an alarm probability score that indicates a likelihood of the alarm event being an emergency situation is determined and the alarm event is handled based on the determined alarm probability score.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting an event at a property monitored by a monitoring system;

determining an alarm probability score of the detected event;

based on comparing the alarm probability score to a threshold, determining to delay reporting the event to a central monitoring server;

based on determining to delay reporting, performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation by;

accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system,

evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation, and

determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data; and

based on determining that the event is an emergency event, reporting the detected event to the central monitoring server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing weather data that describes weather conditions at the property monitored by the monitoring system at a time associated with the event.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the weather data suggests that the event could have been caused by weather conditions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing crime data that describes crime activity in a region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the crime data suggests that the event matches crime activity reported in the region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing locale data defined based on sensor data collected by other monitoring systems located in a region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the locale data suggests that the event is similar to other events detected by the other monitoring systems located in the region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

8. The method of claim 1:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises accessing contemporaneous sensor data collected by the monitoring system, the contemporaneous sensor data being sensor data captured within a threshold period of time before or after the event, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that the external data and the contemporaneous sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.

9. The method of claim 1:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises accessing historical usage data defined based on historical sensor data collected by the monitoring system, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that external data and the historical sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.

10. The method of claim 1:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises;

accessing contemporaneous sensor data collected by the monitoring system, the contemporaneous sensor data being sensor data captured within a threshold period of time before or after the event, and

accessing historical usage data defined based on historical sensor data collected by the monitoring system, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that the external data, the contemporaneous sensor data, and the historical sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.

11. An electronic system 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;

detecting an event at a property monitored by a monitoring system;

determining an alarm probability score of the detected event;

based on comparing the alarm probability score to a threshold, determining to delay reporting the event to a central monitoring server;

based on determining to delay reporting, performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation by;

accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system,

evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation, and

determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data; and

based on determining that the event is an emergency event, reporting the detected event to the central monitoring server.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing weather data that describes weather conditions at the property monitored by the monitoring system at a time associated with the event.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the weather data suggests that the event could have been caused by weather conditions.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing crime data that describes crime activity in a region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the crime data suggests that the event matches crime activity reported in the region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein accessing external data that is relevant to the event and captured by a system other than the monitoring system comprises accessing locale data defined based on sensor data collected by other monitoring systems located in a region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein evaluating whether the external data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation comprises evaluating whether the locale data suggests that the event is similar to other events detected by the other monitoring systems located in the region of the property monitored by the monitoring system.

18. The system of claim 11:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises accessing contemporaneous sensor data collected by the monitoring system, the contemporaneous sensor data being sensor data captured within a threshold period of time before or after the event, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that the external data and the contemporaneous sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.

19. The system of claim 11:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises accessing historical usage data defined based on historical sensor data collected by the monitoring system, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that external data and the historical sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.

20. The system of claim 11:

wherein performing heuristics on available data relevant to the event to assess the likelihood of the event being associated with an emergency situation further comprises;

accessing contemporaneous sensor data collected by the monitoring system, the contemporaneous sensor data being sensor data captured within a threshold period of time before or after the event, and

accessing historical usage data defined based on historical sensor data collected by the monitoring system, and

wherein determining that the event is an emergency event based on the evaluation of the external data comprises determining that the external data, the contemporaneous sensor data, and the historical sensor data suggests that the event is associated with an emergency situation.