IP Library Granted Patent US 12688693
Granted Patent B2
US 12688693 · App. 18/194,533 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Actuating plumbing systems based on surveillance data

Inventor: Barrett Morgan (Salt Lake City, UT)
G06V20/52G06V10/25G06V10/82G06V40/103G06V40/172
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12688693
App. No.
18/194,533
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Communications between an onsite surveillance system and a plumbing system for actuating one or more components of the plumbing system based on data sensed by the onsite surveillance system. A method includes receiving an image frame from a surveillance camera and identifying an object of interest within the image frame. The method includes instructing a plumbing controller to actuate one or more components of a plumbing system in response to determining that the object of interest depicts a non-authorized person located at the property and/or receiving an indication from a user that the non-authorized person is located at the property.

Claims (45)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving an image frame from a surveillance camera, wherein the surveillance camera is a component of a surveillance system for a property;

identifying an object of interest within the image frame; and

instructing a plumbing controller to actuate one or more components of a plumbing system in a first zone associated with the property in response to:

determining, at an image analysis component, that the object of interest depicts a non-authorized person located at the property; and

identifying the non-authorized person is located in the first zone, wherein the first zone is one of a plurality of zones associated with the property.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person by executing an algorithm trained to classify an identity of the object of interest based on the image frame.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein determining whether the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person further comprises cross-checking the identity of the object of interest against a listing of authorization parameters.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person comprises:

classifying the object of interest into one classification wherein the one classification is one of a plurality of classifications including a human, an animal, and a vehicle;

determining an identity of the one or more of the human, the animal, or the vehicle; and

determining whether the one or more of the human, the animal, or the vehicle is allowed to be located at the property based on a listing of authorization parameters.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person comprises determining based on a listing of authorization parameters; and

wherein the listing of authorization parameters comprises a listing of explicitly non-authorized persons.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the object of interest depicts the non-authorized persons comprises determining based on a listing of authorization parameters, and wherein the listing of authorization parameters comprises one or more of:

a timeframe when persons are not authorized to enter the property;

a portion of the property where persons are not authorized to be located; or

a listing of animal types that are not authorized to be located at the property.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-authorized person is one or more of a human, an animal, or a vehicle.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surveillance system further comprises one or more of a noise sensor, a microphone, a motion sensor, a door sensor, or a window sensor; and

wherein the method further comprises corroborating data determined based on the image frame with data received from the one or more of the noise sensor, the microphone, the motion sensor, the door sensor, or the window sensor.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person comprises determining that a violent dispute is currently occurring at the property based on one or more of a video stream output by the surveillance camera or an audio stream output by a microphone.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving an indication from a user that the non-authorized person is located at the property; and

wherein receiving the indication from the user that the non-authorized person is located at the property comprises receiving an alert via one or more of a mobile phone application, a surveillance controller located at the property, or a communication channel established with an emergency response force.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein instructing the plumbing controller to actuate the one or more components of the plumbing system comprises instructing an irrigation controller to open a plurality of valves for more than one of the plurality of zones.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein instructing the plumbing controller to actuate the one or more components of the plumbing system comprises instructing the plumbing controller to open a valve in an interior fire suppression system.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein instructing the plumbing controller to actuate the one or more components of the plumbing system comprises instructing the plumbing controller to open a valve and release water for one or more of a sink faucet, a showerhead, a bathtub faucet, or a toilet.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person by:

processing the image frame with a neural network configured to draw a bounding box around the object of interest; and

executing a facial recognition algorithm on the image data within the bounding box to determine whether the object of interest matches stored image data depicting the non-authorized person, wherein the stored image data is stored in association with a listing of authorization parameters.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein instructing the plumbing controller to actuate the one or more components of the plumbing system comprises instructing the plumbing controller to open a valve and release water with the plumbing system; and

wherein the method further comprises instructing the plumbing controller to continue releasing water with the plumbing system until the non-authorized person leaves the property.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-authorized person is an animal located at the property.

17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a video stream from the surveillance camera in real-time; and

determining that the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person, wherein the determining comprises processing the video stream with a machine learning algorithm configured to predict whether the non-authorized person is engaging in behavior that is classified as suspicious.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein a listing of suspicious behaviors is stored on a database, and wherein the listing of suspicious behaviors comprises:

the non-authorized person peering into one or more windows at the property;

the non-authorized person attempting to open a locked door at the property for a threshold duration of time;

the non-authorized person breaking a window at the property; and

the non-authorized person loitering at the property for a threshold duration of time within a certain timeframe.

19 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically sending an alert to an emergency service in response to determining that the object of interest depicts the non-authorized person located at the property.

20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising automatically sending a query to a user requesting confirmation that the non-authorized person located at the property is not currently authorized to be at the property; and

in response to receiving confirmation from the user that the non-authorized person is not currently authorized to be at the property, instructing the plumbing controller to actuate the one or more components of the plumbing system.