Sensor-based data filtering systems

1. A data filtering device, comprising:

a plurality of sensors;

a transmission device;

a filter validator configured to:

receive a filter program, the filter program being defined to obtain data (d) from one or more sensors (m) of the plurality of sensors at a specified frequency (f) and transmit the obtained data using the transmission device,

estimate a resource requirement associated with an execution of the filter program, the resource requirement being estimated according to the following formula:

m *( Pt+Nt )* f,

 with Pt being the time required to obtain the date (d) and Nt being the time required to transmit the of obtained data,

decide if the filter program is installable based at least in part on the estimated resource requirement, and

install the filter program; and

a filter executor configured to apply the filter program to a data stream from the plurality of sensors.

2. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter program includes a set of sequential instruction operators configured to obtain data from the one or more sensors.

3. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter program includes a parameter configured to select the one or more sensors to use for obtaining data.

4. A data filtering device as recited in claim 3 , wherein the filter program further includes a second parameter configured to define the frequency.

5. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter executor is configured to invoke the filter program in response to a predetermined condition being detected by one or more sensors.

6. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter program includes a set of sequential instruction operators configured to obtain data from the one or more sensors, and the filter validator includes a resource requirement profile configured to store resource requirement information and to execute individual instruction operators.

7. A data filtering device as recited in claim 6 , wherein the filter validator further includes a resource requirement profile configured to store resource requirement information for the usage of at least one of the plurality of sensors.

8. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter validator is configured to install the filter program, if the filter validator decides the filter program is installable.

9. A data filtering device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the filter validator is configured to invoke a notification procedure to report a failure of installation, if the filter validator decides the filter program is not installable.

10. A data filtering device as recited in claim 9 , wherein the notification procedure further reports the resource requirement for the filter program.

11. A data filtering device as recited in claim 6 , wherein the resource requirement information includes a CPU cycle required to execute the filter program.

12. A data filtering device as recited in claim 6 , wherein the resource requirement information includes memory usage required to execute the filter program.

13. A data filtering device as recited in claim 6 , wherein the resource requirement information includes memory usage required to store data resulting from execution of the filter program.

14. A data filtering device as recited in claim 7 , wherein the resource requirement information includes power consumption of at least one of the plurality of sensors.

15. A data filtering device as recited in claim 7 , wherein the resource requirement information includes heat value of at least one of the plurality of sensors.

16. A data filtering method used on a monitoring device comprising a plurality of sensors, the method comprising:

receiving, via the monitoring device, a filter program, the filter program being configured to obtain data (d) from one or more sensors (m) of the plurality of sensors at a specified frequency (f);

estimating a resource requirement associated with an execution of the filter program, the resource requirement being estimated according to the following formula:

m *( Pt+Nt )* f,

 with Pt being the time required to obtain the data (d) and Nt being the time required to transmit the obtained data;

deciding if the filter program is installable based at least in part on the estimated resource requirement;

dynamically installing the filter program on the monitoring device; and

applying, via the monitoring device, the filter program to a data stream from the plurality of sensors.

17. An article comprising:

a non-transitory signal bearing medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon, which, if executed by one or more processors, operatively enable a computing-type monitoring device comprising a plurality of sensors to:

receive a filter program, the filter program being defined to obtain data (d) from one or more sensors (m) of the plurality of sensors at a specified frequency (f);

estimate resource requirement associated with an execution of the filter program, the resource requirement being estimated according to the following formula:

m *( Pt+Nt )* f,

 with Pt being the time required to obtain the data (d) and Nt being the time required to transmit the obtained data;

decide if the filter program is installable based at least in part on the estimated resource requirement;

dynamically install the filter program on the monitoring device; and

apply the filter program to a data stream from the plurality of sensors.