Networked premises security

• US 10,657,782 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2017
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bradley, Nigel, Patel, Bhumit, Oberholtzer, Daniel, MacDougall, Alexander, Elliott, Oliver, Doernberg, Aubree, Sakhi, Hifza, Hutsler, Molly
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, James J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lau, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US15/849,981
• Publication Number:
  US 20190197848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 880 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/10 together with the recording, indicating or registering of other data, e.g. of signs of identity
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00563 using personal physical data of the operator, e.g. finger prints, retinal images, voicepatterns
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors

Abstract

A premises security system can leverage cloud-based analytics and captured information about a visitor at the premises to provide security to the premises. The system can include a sensor, an actuator, and a local processing device. The sensor can capture information about a visitor to the premises without requiring the visitor to provide the information. The actuator can perform an action with respect to the premises. The local processing device can communicatively couple to a cloud-based analytics system that can analyze the information with respect to one or more databases that include criminal history information, and return data representing a risk rating for the visitor or a command to perform the action. The local processing device can, in response to receiving the data, output a command to the actuator to perform the action.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a sensor positionable proximate to an entryway into a premises, the sensor being configured to capture information about a visitor to the premises without requiring the visitor to provide the information;

an actuator positionable proximate to the entryway, the actuator being configured to perform an action with respect to the premises;

a local processing device communicatively coupled to the sensor and the actuator, the local processing device comprising;

a network communications port for communicatively coupling to a cloud-based analytics system that is configured to analyze the information with respect to one or more databases that include criminal history information and return to the local processing device data representing a risk rating for the visitor or a command to perform the action;

a processor configured to control the information and the data communicated through the network communications port; and

a memory device having instructions that are executable by the processor to cause the local processing device to;

transmit the information to the cloud-based analytics system via the network communications port;

receive the data from the cloud-based analytics system via the network communications port;

in response to receiving the data, output a command to the actuator to perform the action; and

add visit information to a blockchain stored remotely from the local processing device, the blockchain includes immutable data that is subsequently accessible, the visit information representing a confirmation of a visit and is configured to be added to visit data included in the blockchain, the visit data comprising (i) an identification of the visitor and a name of a service company associated with the visitor, (ii) a date of a visit by the visitor, and (iii) a description of maintenance performed at the premises by the visitor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the sensor is an Internet of Things (IOT) camera positionable in or on a door of the premises, the camera being configured to capture an image representing a face of the visitor,

the local processing device is configured to transmit the image representing the face of the visitor to the cloud-based analytics system that is configured to biometrically compare facial features from the image to the one or more databases and return the risk rating or the command to perform the action,

the actuator is a lock-control device configured to control a lock on a door of the entryway to the premises.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein

the cloud-based analytics system is configured to return the risk rating, the risk rating representing a likelihood that the visitor is a person that is expected to visit or a likelihood that the visitor will commit a crime at the premises,

the local processing device is configured to determine that the lock on the door should remain locked or should be unlocked in response to the risk rating for the visitor, and to output the command to the actuator to lock the door or to unlock the door.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the cloud-based analytics system is configured to receive a photograph of the visitor electronically from a service company associated with the visitor and to compare the image to the photograph.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the local processing device or the cloud-based analytics system is configured to output a notification about the visitor via a telecommunications network to a user device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based analytics system is configured to determine the action to be performed and return the command to perform the action to the local processing device.

7. A method comprising:

capturing, by a sensor, information about a visitor to a premises without requiring the visitor to provide the information;

transmitting, by a local processing device, captured information from the sensor to a cloud-based analytics system by a local processing unit that includes a network communication port through which the captured information is transmitted to a network for receipt by the cloud-based analytics system that analyzes the captured information with respect to one or more databases that include criminal history information to determine a threat category for the visitor;

receiving, by the local processing device, data representing a risk rating for the visitor or a command to perform an action from the cloud-based analytics system;

in response to receiving the data, outputting a command to an actuator to perform the action or to perform another action determined by the local processing device; and

adding visit information to a blockchain stored remotely from the local processing device, the blockchain includes immutable data that is accessible subsequent to the visit information being added to the blockchain, the visit information representing a confirmation of a visit and is added to visit data included in the blockchain, the visit data comprising (i) an identification of the visitor and a name of a service company associated with the visitor, (ii) a date of a visit by the visitor, and (iii) a description of maintenance performed at the premises by the visitor.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the sensor is an Internet of Things (IOT) camera positioned in or on a door of the premises, the camera capturing an image representing a face of the visitor,

the local processing device transmits the image representing the face of the visitor to the cloud-based analytics system that biometrically compares facial features from the image to the one or more databases and returns the risk rating or the command to perform the action,

the actuator is a lock-control device that controls a lock on a door of an entryway to the premises.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the local processing device:

receives the risk rating from the cloud-based analytics system, the risk rating representing a likelihood that the visitor is a person that is expected to visit or a likelihood that the visitor will commit a crime at the premises,

determine that the lock on the door should remain locked or should be unlocked in response to the risk rating for the visitor, and

output the command to the actuator to lock the door or to unlock the door.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the risk rating is based on the cloud-based analytics system receiving and analyzing a photograph of the visitor electronically from a service company associated with the visitor.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

outputting a notification about the visitor via a telecommunications network to a user device.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, by the local processing device and from the cloud-based analytics system, a threat category for the visitor and the action to be performed that corresponds to the threat category, wherein the threat category includes at least one of;

no criminal history;

criminal history exists;

verification as a previous visitor;

verification as an unknown visitor;

verification as an expected visitor;

or

verification as a resident of the premises.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that are executable by a processor to:

control information about a visitor to a premises captured by a sensor without requiring the visitor to provide the information and data communicated through a network communications port to a cloud-based analytics system that is configured to analyze the information with respect to one or more databases that include criminal history information and return the data representing a risk rating for the visitor or a command to perform an action;

transmit the information to the cloud-based analytics system via the network communications port;

receive the data from the cloud-based analytics system via the network communications port;

in response to receiving the data, output a command to perform the action to an actuator positionable proximate to an entryway to the premises; and

add visit information to a blockchain stored remotely from a local processing device configured to include the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the blockchain includes immutable data that is subsequently accessible, the visit information representing a confirmation of a visit and is configured to be added to visit data included in the blockchain, the visit data comprising (i) an identification of the visitor and a name of a service company associated with the visitor, (ii) a date of a visit by the visitor, and (iii) a description of maintenance performed at the premises by the visitor.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

receive information from the sensor that is an Internet of Things (IOT) camera positionable in or on a door of the premises, the information including an image representing a face of the visitor;

transmit the image representing the face of the visitor to the cloud-based analytics system that is configured to biometrically compare facial features from the image to the one or more databases and return the risk rating or the command to perform the action; and

output the command to the actuator to perform the action that involves controlling a door of the entryway to the premises.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

receive the risk rating from the cloud-based analytics system, the risk rating representing a likelihood that the visitor is a person that is expected to visit or a likelihood that the visitor will commit a crime at the premises; and

determine that a lock on the door should remain locked or should be unlocked in response to the risk rating for the visitor, and output the command to the actuator to lock the door or to unlock the door.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to:

receive the risk rating that is based on analysis by the cloud-based analytics system of a photograph of the visitor received electronically from a service company associated with the visitor.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are executable by the processor to output a notification about the visitor via a telecommunications network to a user device.