Methods and arrangements for sensors
Generally, smart sensors, logic to process messages from smart sensors, and smart sensor systems are described herein. Embodiments may comprise logic such as hardware and/or code to communicate events as messages via a messaging system to post the messages to a messaging account. The messaging system may be a texting service like Twitter™ that captures the messages and then re-broadcasts the messages, e.g., immediately as a tweet or a cellular text message. In some embodiments, the smart sensor comprises a communications module with a Twitter™ application program interface (API) on a communications platform with a software/hardware framework to interconnect with one or more pluggable monitors with sensors. In other embodiments, the communications module may be integrated with one or more monitors. Further embodiments comprise a smart-device, which can provide status updates and event notifications to a user.
1. An apparatus comprising:
a device to be contained in a security system for a building;
wherein the device includes circuitry to receive a signal from a sensor indicating an alarm condition and circuitry to transmit, based on receipt of the signal, a message to a remote device indicative of the alarm condition;
wherein the message is an email or a message suitable for presentation on a cellular telephone device;
wherein the device further comprises command interpretation circuitry to monitor a communication channel for a reply message, the communication channel being an Internet connection or cellular telephone service, to determine a command based upon the reply message, and to communicate with action execution circuitry to execute at least one action based upon the command.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises a text message.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises a digitized image.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises a user interface to interact with a user to determine user-definable settings and to store the user-definable settings in a memory.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises aggregation logic to select the message based upon the signal and input from at least one other sensor.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device further comprises metadata logic to transmit metadata with the message.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry to transmit a message to a remote device indicative of the alarm condition comprises circuitry to transmit a first message including text indicative of the alarm condition via a first messaging modality and circuitry to transmit a second message, different from the first message, including an image representative of the alarm condition via a second messaging modality different from the first messaging modality.
8. A method comprising:
receiving, by a device contained in a security system for a building, a signal from a sensor indicating an alarm condition;
transmitting, by the device based on receipt of the signal, a message to a remote device indicative of the alarm condition, wherein the message is an email or a message suitable for presentation on a cellular telephone device;
identifying, by the device from a communication channel that is an Internet connection or a cellular telephone service, a reply message;
determining, by the device based upon the reply message, a command; and
executing, by the device, at least one action based upon the command.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the message comprises a text message.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the message comprises a digitized image.
11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining, by the device based on a user interface, user-definable settings; and
storing, by the device, the user-definable settings in memory.
12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising selecting, by the device based upon the signal and input from at least one other sensor, the message.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the message includes metadata.
14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the transmitting the message to the remote device indicative of the alarm condition comprises:
transmitting a first message that includes text indicative of the alarm condition via a first messaging modality; and
transmitting a second message, different from the first message, that includes an image representative of the alarm condition via a second messaging modality different from the first messaging modality.
15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a device contained in a security system for a building to:
identify a signal from a sensor indicating an alarm condition;
transmit, based on identification of the signal, a message to a remote device indicative of the alarm condition, wherein the message is an email or a message suitable for presentation on a cellular telephone device;
identify, from a communication channel that is an Internet connection or a cellular telephone service, a reply message;
determine, based upon the reply message, a command; and
execute at least one action based upon the command.
16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the message comprises a text message.
17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the message comprises a digitized image.
18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further to:
determine, based on a user interface, user-definable settings; and
store the user-definable settings in memory.
19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further to select, based upon the signal and input from at least one other sensor, the message.
20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the message includes metadata.
21. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions to transmit the message to the remote device indicative of the alarm condition comprise instructions to:
transmit a first message that includes text indicative of the alarm condition via a first messaging modality; and
transmit a second message, different from the first message, that includes an image representative of the alarm condition via a second messaging modality different from the first messaging modality.