Sensor stimulation and response approach for mapping sensor network addresses to identification information

• US 9,655,075 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2012
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Pierrel, Sbastien, Saros, Jakob
• Primary Examiner(s): Sams, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bassett, Daniel G
• Application Number:
  US14/421,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20150223186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,733 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/103 across network layers, e.g. resolution of network layer into physical layer addresses or address resolution protocol [ARP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

Methods, sensor network monitors (150), and mobile terminals (120) are disclosed that map a plurality of sensors (110) to sensor identification information provided by the mobile terminals (120). A method includes receiving (500) stimulus characteristic information, which characterizes a stimulus provided to one of the sensors (110), and an associated sensor identification information from the mobile terminal (120). A response signal is received (502) from the sensor (110) responding to the stimulus. A network address of the sensor (110) is identified. The response signal is matched (504) to the stimulus characteristic information. The network address of the sensor (110) is associated (506) with the sensor identification information associated with the stimulus characteristic information matched to the response signal. The network address of the sensor (110) and the associated sensor identification information is provided (508) to a resource directory (152) for storage.

Claims

1. A method performed by a sensor network monitor and a mobile terminal in a communications system for mapping a plurality of sensors, which comprise at least a camera sensor, to sensor identification information provided by the mobile terminal, the method comprising:

providing a stimulus to a motion sensor of the mobile terminal, the stimulus causing the motion sensor to generate a sequence of motion direction values while the mobile terminal is moved within a viewable space of the camera sensor, which generates a video signal;

generating stimulus characteristic information, comprising the sequence of motion direction values, at the mobile terminal, which characterizes the stimulus provided to the motion sensor and which provides sensor identification information for the camera sensor;

receiving at the sensor network monitor the stimulus characteristic information, and the associated sensor identification information from the mobile terminal;

receiving the video signal from the camera sensor, and identifying at the sensor network monitor a network address of the camera sensor;

matching at the sensor network monitor the video signal from the camera sensor to the stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal by receiving the video signal from the camera sensor, and matching the sequence of motion direction values to a pattern of movement of the mobile terminal detected within the video signal;

associating the network address of the camera sensor with the sensor identification information associated with the stimulus characteristic information matched to the video signal; and

providing the network address of the camera sensor and the associated sensor identification information to a resource directory for storage.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the step of receiving the stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal further comprises receiving information identifying a pattern of light emissions by a light output device of the mobile terminal while the mobile terminal is within a viewable space of the camera sensor; and

the step of matching the video signal from the sensor to the stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal further comprises receiving the video signal from the camera sensor, and matching the information identifying the pattern of light emissions to a pattern of light detected within the video signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the step of receiving stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal further comprises receiving a time stamp as part of the stimulus characteristic information that identifies when the stimulus was provided to the camera sensor; and

the step of matching the video signal from the camera sensor to the stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal further comprises excluding from the matching, sensor signals from any of the sensors that correspond to times that do not correlate to the time stamp.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor identification information includes at least one of:

geographic location coordinates of the sensor, a user defined location of the sensor, and a user defined description of the sensor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the step of communicating the stimulus characteristic information and the sensor identification information to the sensor network monitor comprises communicating the geographic location coordinates of the camera sensor identified by the mobile terminal during the obtaining of the sensor identification information with the stimulus characteristic information to the sensor network monitor.

6. A system comprising a sensor network monitor and a mobile terminal,

the sensor network monitor comprising:

a network interface configured to communicate with a plurality of sensors, which includes at least a camera sensor, and a mobile terminal; and

a processor circuit configured to;

receive stimulus characteristic information, comprising a sequence of motion direction values, generated by the mobile terminal responsive to at least one of an observance of a stimulus and a knowledge of the stimulus, which characterizes the stimulus provided to the camera sensor of the plurality of sensors, and associated sensor identification information from the mobile terminal;

receive a video signal from the camera sensor responding to the stimulus, and identify a network address of the camera sensor;

match the video signal received from the camera sensor to the stimulus characteristic information received from the mobile terminal by receiving the video signal from the camera sensor, and matching a sequence of motion direction values to a pattern of movement of the mobile terminal detected within the video signal;

associate the network address of the camera sensor with the sensor identification information associated with the stimulus characteristic information matched to the video signal; and

communicate the network address of the sensor and the associated sensor identification information to a resource directory for storage; and

the mobile terminal comprising;

a network interface configured to communicate with the sensor network monitor; and

a processor circuit configured to;

obtain sensor identification information for the camera sensor;

generate, by a motion sensor of the mobile terminal, the sequence of motion direction values while the mobile terminal is moved within a viewable space of the camera sensor, which generates the video signal received by the sensor network monitor;

generate stimulus characteristic information, which characterizes the stimulus provided to the motion sensor; and

communicate the stimulus characteristic information and the sensor identification information to the sensor network monitor.

7. A computer program product for mapping a plurality of sensors, which comprise at least a camera sensor, comprising:

one or more computer-readable, non-transitory mediums;

program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage mediums, said program instructions being executable by one or more processors to;

generate, by a motion sensor of a mobile terminal, a sequence of motion direction values while the mobile terminal is moved within a viewable space of the camera sensor, which generates a video signal;

generate stimulus characteristic information, comprising the sequence of motion direction values, at the mobile terminal, which characterizes the stimulus provided to the motion sensor and which provides sensor identification information for the motion sensor;

receive at a sensor network monitor the stimulus characteristic information;

receive the video signal from the camera sensor, and identifying at the sensor network monitor a network address of the camera sensor;

match at the sensor network monitor the video signal from the camera sensor to the stimulus characteristic information from the mobile terminal by receiving the video signal from the camera sensor, and matching the sequence of motion direction values to a pattern of movement of the mobile terminal detected within the video signal;

associate at the sensor network monitor the network address of the camera sensor with the sensor identification information associated with the stimulus characteristic information matched to the video signal; and

communicate by the sensor network monitor the network address of the camera sensor and the associated sensor identification information to a resource directory for storage.