Automated cleaning in a sensor network

• US 8,965,623 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2012
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Rakshit, Sarbajit K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALSOMIRI, MAJDI A
• Application Number:
  US13/469,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20130304301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 701 24- 28, 701/200, 700/250, 318/568.12, 318/568.16, 318/580, 15/3, 901/1
• US Class Current: 701/25
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058

Abstract

A system, method and computer program product for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device. A computer receives one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, with each of the one or more sensors associated with a physical location. The computer determines that due to an environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors is out of a threshold value range. The computer determines an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range.

Claims

1. A method for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device, the method comprising the steps of:

a computer receiving one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, wherein each of the one or more sensors is positioned in a physical location;

the computer determining that due to the environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location is out of a threshold value range;

the computer determining an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location, wherein the one or more data signals of the one or more sensors are experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range; and

the computer sending an alert to the electronic cleaning device to clean the environmental condition at the one or more sensors until the signal strength of the one or more data signals received is no longer out of the threshold value range.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer determines the optimal route from the current location of two or more electronic cleaning devices to the location of the environmental condition.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer is associated with the electronic cleaning device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network connecting the electronic cleaning device and the computer is a wireless network connection.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic cleaning device includes a user interface that is configured to depict one or more locations where the one or more sensors experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range occurs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors comprises an infrared sensor, a Doppler sensor, and a proximity sensor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer determines the optimal route to two or more sensors experiencing an environmental condition by considering, at least in part, an order of attending to the sensor having a signal strength further out of the threshold value range before attending to the sensor having a signal strength closer to the threshold value range.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer determines the optimal route to the one or more sensors experiencing an environmental condition by considering, at least in part, a least amount of distance traveled.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

the computer calibrating each of the one or more sensors to the environmental conditions to determine the signal strength threshold limit range; and

responsive to the computer calibrating each sensor, the computer receiving a request to alter the threshold limit range by a user of the electronic cleaning device attending to the environmental condition.

10. A computer program product for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device, the compute program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable, tangible storage devices;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to receive one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, wherein each of the one or more sensors is positioned in a physical location;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine that due to the environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location is out of a threshold value range;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to determine an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location, wherein the one or more data signals of the one or more sensors are experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range; and

program instruction, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to send an alert to the electronic cleaning device to clean the environmental condition at the one or more sensors until the signal strength of the one or more data signals received is no longer out of the threshold value range.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the program instructions to determine an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range, determines the optimal route from the current location of two or more electronic cleaning devices to the location of the environmental condition.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the computer is associated with the electronic cleaning device.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the network connecting the electronic cleaning device and the computer is a wireless network connection.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the electronic cleaning device includes a user interface that is configured to depict one or more locations where the one or more sensors experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range occurs.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors comprises an infrared sensor, a Doppler sensor, and a proximity sensor.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein instructions to determine an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range, determines the optimal route to two or more sensors experiencing an environmental condition by considering, at least in part, an order of attending to the sensor having a signal strength that is further out of the threshold value range before attending to the sensor having a signal strength closer to the threshold value range.

17. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein instructions to determine an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range, determines the optimal route to the one or more sensors experiencing an environmental condition by considering, at least in part, a least amount of distance traveled.

18. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, to calibrate each of the one or more sensors to the environmental conditions to determine the signal strength threshold limit range; and

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices, responsive to calibrating each sensor, to receive a request to alter the threshold limit range by a user of the electronic cleaning device attending to the environmental condition.

19. A computer system for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device, the computer system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer readable storage media; and

program instructions stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more computer processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to receive one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, wherein each of the one or more sensors is positioned in a physical location;

program instructions to determine that due to the environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location is out of a threshold value range;

program instructions to determine an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more sensors positioned in the physical location, wherein the one or more data signals of the one or more sensors are experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range; and

program instructions to send an alert to the electronic cleaning device to clean the environmental condition at the one or more sensors until the signal strength of the one or more data signals received is no longer out of the threshold value range.