SYSTEM AND METHOD IN A NETWORK CONTROLLER FOR REMOTELY MONITORING AND/OR CONTROLLING DEVICES
A system and method for remotely monitoring and/or controlling devices, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.
1 . A method for remotely controlling and/or monitoring a device, the method comprising, automatically without direct user interaction:
receiving an image-based device selection input from a user, the image-based device selection input based at least in part on an image of a device environment;
identifying a user-selected device based, at least in part, on the received image-based device selection input;
establishing a communication link with the identified user-selected device; and
providing a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image of a device environment is a camera image.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image of a device environment is a map image.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image of a device environment comprises graphical features to indicate user-selectable devices in the image.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said receiving an image-based device selection input from a user comprises receiving a user indicating a location of a device in the image.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said establishing a communication link comprises accessing database information for the identified user-selected device, where the accessed database information comprises information indicating a manner in which to establish the communication link.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the accessed database information comprises communication network address information for the identified user-selected device.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the accessed database information comprises communication protocol information for the identified user-selected device.
9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein accessing database information comprises accessing information from a database separate from a system implementing the method.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said establishing a communication link comprises establishing an initial communication link with the identified user-selected device and determining, via the initial communication link, how to establish additional communication links with the identified user-selected device.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing a user interface comprises providing a generic user interface via which a user may interact with a plurality of different types of devices.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing a user interface comprises providing a user interface comprising features specifically associated with the identified user-selected device.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing a user interface comprises accessing database information for the identified user-selected device, where the accessed database information comprises user interface information.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the accessed database information describes respective signals to communicate to the identified user-selected device corresponding to respective user inputs.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing a user interface comprises communicating, with the identified user-selected device, information descriptive of graphical user interface features to present to a user.
16 . The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving a user input via the provided user interface, and converting the received user input to information understood by the identified user-selected device.
17 . A system for remotely controlling and/or monitoring a device, the system comprising:
at least one module operable to, at least:
receive an image-based device selection input from a user, the image-based device selection input based at least in part on an image of a device environment;
identify a user-selected device based, at least in part, on the received image-based device selection input;
establish a communication link with the identified user-selected device; and
provide a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device.
18 . The system of claim 17 , where the image of a device environment is a camera image.
19 . The system of claim 17 , where the image of a device environment is a map image.
20 . The system of claim 17 , where the image of a device environment comprises graphical features to indicate user-selectable devices in the image.
21 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to receive an image-based device selection input from a user by, at least in part, operating to receive a user indicating a location of a device in the image.
22 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to establish a communication link with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to access database information for the identified user-selected device, where the accessed database information comprises information indicating a manner in which to establish the communication link.
23 . The system of claim 22 , where the accessed database information comprises communication network address information for the identified user-selected device.
24 . The system of claim 22 , where the accessed database information comprises communication protocol information for the identified user-selected device.
25 . The system of claim 22 , wherein said at least one module operates to access database information for the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to access information from a database separate from the system.
26 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to establish a communication link with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to establish an initial communication link with the identified user-selected device and determine, via the initial communication link, how to establish additional communication links with the identified user-selected device.
27 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to provide a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to provide a generic user interface via which a user may interact with a plurality of different types of devices.
28 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to provide a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to provide a user interface comprising features specifically associated with the identified user-selected device.
29 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to provide a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to access database information for the identified user-selected device, where the accessed database information comprises user interface information.
30 . The system of claim 29 , where the accessed database information describes respective signals to communicate to the identified user-selected device corresponding to respective user inputs.
31 . The system of claim 17 , wherein said at least one module is operable to provide a user interface via which a user may interact with the identified user-selected device by, at least in part, operating to communicate, with the identified user-selected device, information descriptive of graphical user interface features to present to a user.
32 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one module is operable to receive a user input via the provided user interface, and convert the received user input to information understood by the identified user-selected device.