Home wireless discovery
In one implementation, a method for detecting a configuration of wireless sensors within a vicinity includes a method of assessing wireless sensors in the vicinity of an application computing system. The application computing system is operated in a listen mode to receive and record wireless transmissions produced by one or more wireless sensors producing wireless transmissions in the vicinity of the application computing system. The recorded wireless transmissions are evaluated using a rule set that embodies normal operating characteristics of various types of wireless sensors in an operating environment to generate a conclusion regarding at least one attribute of at least one wireless sensor that produced the recorded wireless transmissions. The generated conclusion can be used so that the at least one wireless sensor is utilized in the application computing system.
1. A method comprising:
assessing wireless sensors of a wireless security system that is installed at a premises and that serves as a gateway for a plurality of known wireless sensors that are installed in the vicinity of the wireless security system, wherein the gateway is used to identify and enroll an unknown wireless sensor that is also installed in the vicinity of the wireless security system, the assessing including:
operating, over an observation time period, the wireless security system in a listen mode to receive and record a sequence of wireless transmissions produced by the unknown wireless sensor producing wireless transmissions in the vicinity of the wireless security system, wherein the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions includes (i) wireless packets transmitted by the one or more unknown wireless sensors and detected by the wireless security system, and (ii) timing information for when the wireless packets were detected by the wireless security system;
evaluating the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, the evaluating including evaluating the wireless packets and the timing information to determine, for the unknown wireless sensor, an inferred physical location relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors; and
generating, for the unknown wireless sensor that produced the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, and based at least in part on the inferred physical location relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors, a conclusion regarding an absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises; and
enrolling, using the conclusion, the unknown wireless sensor into the wireless security system, the enrolling permitting the wireless security system to correctly interpret wireless transmissions by the one or more unknown wireless sensors.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is a location within the premises or at the perimeter of the premises.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the wireless security system serves as the gateway between the known wireless sensors and a user interface device of the wireless security system; and
the assessing further includes presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor includes depicting the unknown wireless sensor as part of a grouping of wireless sensors that are determined as being in physical proximity to each other.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor includes presenting sensor location information that indicates a location within the premises or at the perimeter of the premises.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the user interface is presented through a panel display of the wireless security system.
7. The method of claim 3 , wherein the user interface is presented through an application on a mobile computing device.
8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the assessing further includes:
receiving, through the user interface, information that indicates a confirmation of the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor, wherein generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is performed in response to receiving the information that indicates the confirmation of the inferred physical location.
9. The method of claim 3 , wherein the assessing further includes:
determining that an insufficient amount of data exists for generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises;
in response to determining that an insufficient amount of data exists, presenting a prompt on the user interface that instructs a user to perform a specific action at a specific location at the premises;
receiving and recording a sequence of wireless transmissions produced by the unknown wireless sensor that result from user performance of the specific action at the specific location at the premises; and
reevaluating the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, wherein generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is performed after a sufficient amount of data exists for generating the conclusion.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the assessing and the enrolling is performed without an identifier of the unknown wireless sensor having been transmitted by the unknown wireless sensor to the wireless security system.
11. A wireless security system with one or more processors and memory, the memory storing a premises security system interface and a control application that is executable by the one or more processors of the wireless security system, the wireless security system comprising:
a wireless transceiver configured to receive signals generated by wireless sensors;
an enrolled sensors data store storing information for wireless sensors that are enrolled in the wireless security system, the information including sensor identifiers and sensor locations; and
a wireless application discovery program configured to perform operations including:
assessing wireless sensors of a wireless security system that is installed at a premises and that serves as a gateway for a plurality of known wireless sensors that are installed in the vicinity of the wireless security system, wherein the gateway is used to identify and enroll an unknown wireless sensor that is also installed in the vicinity of the wireless security system, the assessing including:
operating, over an observation time period, the wireless security system in a listen mode to receive and record a sequence of wireless transmissions produced by the unknown wireless sensor producing wireless transmissions in the vicinity of the wireless security system, wherein the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions includes (i) wireless packets transmitted by the one or more unknown wireless sensors and detected by the wireless security system, and (ii) timing information for when the wireless packets were detected by the wireless security system;
evaluating the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, the evaluating including evaluating the wireless packets and the timing information to determine, for the unknown wireless sensor, an inferred physical location relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors; and
generating, for the unknown wireless sensor that produced the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, and based at least in part on the inferred physical location relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors, a conclusion regarding an absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises; and
enrolling, using the conclusion, the unknown wireless sensor into the wireless security system, the enrolling permitting the wireless security system to correctly interpret wireless transmissions by the one or more unknown wireless sensors.
12. The wireless security system of claim 11 , wherein the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is a location within the premises or at the perimeter of the premises.
13. The wireless security system of claim 11 , wherein:
the wireless security system serves as the gateway between the known wireless sensors and a user interface device of the wireless security system; and
the assessing further includes presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor relative to at least one of the known wireless sensors.
14. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor includes depicting the unknown wireless sensor as part of a grouping of wireless sensors that are determined as being in physical proximity to each other.
15. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein presenting on the user interface information related to the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor includes presenting sensor location information that indicates a location within the premises or at the perimeter of the premises.
16. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein the user interface is presented through a panel display of the wireless security system.
17. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein the user interface is presented through an application on a mobile computing device.
18. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein the assessing further includes:
receiving, through the user interface, information that indicates a confirmation of the inferred physical location of the unknown wireless sensor, wherein generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is performed in response to receiving the information that indicates the confirmation of the inferred physical location.
19. The wireless security system of claim 13 , wherein the assessing further includes:
determining that an insufficient amount of data exists for generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises;
in response to determining that an insufficient amount of data exists, presenting a prompt on the user interface that instructs a user to perform a specific action at a specific location at the premises;
receiving and recording a sequence of wireless transmissions produced by the unknown wireless sensor that result from user performance of the specific action at the specific location at the premises; and
reevaluating the recorded sequence of wireless transmissions, wherein generating the conclusion regarding the absolute location of the unknown wireless sensor with respect to the premises is performed after a sufficient amount of data exists for generating the conclusion.
20. The wireless security system of claim 11 , wherein the assessing and the enrolling is performed without an identifier of the unknown wireless sensor having been transmitted by the unknown wireless sensor to the wireless security system.