US-12625218-B2 - System for monitoring a space by a portable sensor device and a method thereof

US12625218B2US 12625218 B2US12625218 B2US 12625218B2US-12625218-B2

Abstract

A method and a system for monitoring a space by a portable sensor device ( 102 ) are disclosed. The portable sensor device ( 102 ) comprising a first sensor ( 120 ) of a first sensor type for providing first sensor data indicative of first environmental information in the space, and a second sensor ( 122 ) of a second sensor type for providing second sensor data indicative of second environmental information in the space. The method comprises determining a location of the portable sensor device ( 102 ) in the space, transmitting, if the portable sensor device ( 102 ) is located at the first location, the first sensor data indicative of the first environmental information via the communication unit to a first device or application ( 110 ) of a plurality of devices or applications ( 110, 112 ), and transmitting, if the portable sensor (device 102 ) is located at the second location, the second sensor data indicative of the second environmental information via the communication unit to a second device or application ( 112 ) of the plurality of devices or applications ( 110, 112 ).

Inventors

Bartel Marinus Van De Sluis
Dzmitry Viktorovich Aliakseyeu
TOBIAS BORRA

Assignees

SIGNIFY HOLDING B.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210326
Priority Date: 20200330

Claims (14)

1 . A method of monitoring a space by a portable sensor device, the portable sensor device comprising a first sensor of a first sensor type for providing first sensor data indicative of first environmental information in the space, and a second sensor of a second sensor type different from the first sensor type for providing second sensor data indicative of second environmental information in the space, the method comprising: determining a location of the portable sensor device in the space, determining if the portable sensor device has been located at the location for a predetermined period of time, transmitting, if the portable sensor device is located at a first location in the space, the first sensor data indicative of the first environmental information via the communication unit to a first device or application of a plurality of devices or applications, the plurality of devices or applications being external to the portable sensor device, and transmitting, if the portable sensor device is located at a second location in the space different from the first location, the second sensor data indicative of the second environmental information via the communication unit to a second device or application of the plurality of devices or applications, wherein the first or second sensor data is transmitted and/or the first or second sensor is activated only if the portable sensor device has been located at the location for the predetermined period of time.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises: if the first sensor data has been transmitted to the first device or application, controlling the first device or application based on the sensor data, or if the second sensor data has been transmitted to the second device or application, rendering information indicative of the second sensor data on an information rendering device.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first device or application is a lighting device or application and the second device or application is a device or application different from a lighting device or application.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein, if the portable sensor device is located at the first location, the first sensor is activated and the second sensor is deactivated, and/or wherein, if the portable sensor device is located at the second location, the second sensor is activated and the first sensor is deactivated.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the portable sensor device comprises a battery, and wherein the method further comprises: determining a charge level of the battery, if the portable sensor device is located at the first location, deactivating the second sensor if the charge level exceeds a first threshold, and if the portable sensor device is located at the second location, deactivating the first sensor if the charge level exceeds a second threshold.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first device or application is a central control device or application configured to control the second device or application, and wherein the second device or application is configured to receive control signals from the central control device or application.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the location of the portable sensor device is determined based on a detection of a beacon by a detector comprised in the portable sensor device.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the location of the portable sensor device is determined based on signal characteristics of radio frequency signals transmitted or received by the portable sensor device.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: associating the first sensor or the first sensor data with the first location and the first device or application, associating the second sensor or the second sensor data with the second location and the second device or application, and store the associations in a memory.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the associations are based on user input received via a user interface.
11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the first sensor data is transmitted to the first device and wherein the second sensor data is transmitted to the second device, the method further comprising: obtaining information indicative of a first location of the first device and a second location of the second device, determining the associations based on the first location of the first device and the second location of the second device.
12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: identifying a user present in the space, and determining the associations based on an identity of the identified user.
13 . A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer program code to perform the method of claim 1 when run on at least one processor.
14 . A system for monitoring a space, the system comprising: a portable sensor device for monitoring the space, comprising a first sensor of a first sensor type for providing first sensor data indicative of first environmental information in the space, a second sensor of a second sensor type different from the first sensor type for providing second sensor data indicative of second environmental information in the space, a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of devices or applications, the plurality of devices or applications being external to the portable sensor device, a processor configured to: obtain information indicative of a location of the portable sensor device in the space, determine if the portable sensor device has been located at the location for a predetermined period of time, transmit, if the portable sensor device is located at a first location in the space, the first sensor data indicative of the first environmental information via the communication unit to a first device or application of the plurality of devices or applications, and transmit, if the portable sensor device is located at a second location in the space different from the first location, the second sensor data indicative of the second environmental information via the communication unit to a second device or application of the plurality of devices or applications, wherein the first or second sensor data is transmitted and/or the first or second sensor is activated only if the portable sensor device has been located at the location for the predetermined period of time.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS This application is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/057886, filed on Mar. 26, 2021, which claims the benefit of European Patent Application No. 20166559.3, filed on Mar. 30, 2020. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a method for monitoring a space and a computer program product for executing the method. The invention further relates to a system for monitoring the space. BACKGROUND More and more sensor devices are being used as part of smart home systems, as they enable automatic control of devices, such as for example lighting devices, to a desired setting based on a detected sensor input. Sensor devices are getting more advanced, often combining multiple sensor modalities. For example, the Philips Hue Motion Sensor comprises an integrated light sensor, a temperature sensor and a PIR sensor. A sensor device that combines multiple modalities is also disclosed in US 2016/0345406 A1. The path light control device disclosed in the patent application can include a processor, light source and any combination of ambient light sensors, passive infrared sensors, accelerometers and compass sensors. In one embodiment, the orientation of the sensor is determined, a degree of sensor function in such orientation is determined and sensor operation is disabled when the detected orientation indicates the data of the sensor is not applicable for proper device control. WO1999056262A1 discloses an automatic control system for actuators and security devices in building automation. A wrist-held sensor and transmitter unit transmits repeatedly, in the form of short telegrams, messages indicating the physiological condition of user to a receiver and control apparatus. The receiver and control apparatus uses the physiological condition of a user as a basis to conduct control selections and to control automatically the actuators and security devices in accordance with the physiological condition of a person who carries the transmitter unit. The control selections can be influenced also by a piece of information indicating the location of a user Sensor devices are not only used as part of lighting systems, but also for other applications, e.g. security. Each application typically uses its own sensor devices. This results in many sensor devices being installed in homes and offices, which increases power consumption and decreases the buildings' aesthetics. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a portable sensor device which can be used to reduce the number of portable sensor devices that is needed for a certain set of applications. According to a first aspect of the present invention, the object is achieved by a method of monitoring a space by a portable sensor device, the portable sensor device comprising a first sensor of a first sensor type for providing first sensor data indicative of first environmental information in the space, and a second sensor of a second sensor type different from the first sensor type for providing second sensor data indicative of second environmental information in the space, the method comprising: determining a location of the portable sensor device in the space,transmitting, if the portable sensor device is located at a first location in the space, the first sensor data indicative of the first environmental information via the communication unit to a first device or application of a plurality of devices or applications, the plurality of devices or applications being external to the portable sensor device, andtransmitting, if the portable sensor device is located at a second location in the space different from the first location, the second sensor data indicative of the second environmental information via the communication unit to a second device or application of the plurality of devices or applications. The inventors have recognized that it is beneficial to allow a single portable sensor device comprising multiple types of sensors to be used for multiple applications and that repositioning the portable sensor device is a very intuitive way of switching between applications. The different applications may run on a single device or on a plurality of devices external to the portable sensor device. The sensor data is transmitted to one of the plurality of devices or applications in dependence on the location of the portable sensor device. The location of the portable sensor device may be determined by an (indoor) positioning system, or the location may be predefined or defined by a user. The method may comprise: if the first sensor data has been transmitted to the first device or application, controlling the first device or application based on the first sensor data, or if the second sensor data has been transmitted to the second device or application, rendering information indicative of the se