WO2016110844A1

WO2016110844A1 - Improved method and system for detection of changes in a defined area

Info

Publication number: WO2016110844A1
Application number: PCT/IL2016/050011
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rami Avraham LAZAR
Original assignee: Trekeye Systems Ltd.
Priority date: 2015-01-07
Filing date: 2016-01-06
Publication date: 2016-07-14

Abstract

A system for detecting motion in a monitored area and comprising a controller operative to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which the temporary drops occur; transmitting wireless device/s configured to wirelessly transmit a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area; and multi-purpose wireless device/s configured to intercept the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide the sequence of power level measurements, time- stamped, to the controller, thereby to allow the controller to identify time/s at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which the temporary drop occurred.

Description

IMPROVED METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTION

OF CHANGES IN A DEFINED AREA REFERENCE TO CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed from US provisional application No. 62/100,553 entitled "A Method And System For Detection Of Changes In A Defined Surveyed Area" and filed 07/01/2015. FIELD OF THIS DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to the field of monitoring systems. More particularly, the invention relates to intercepting wireless signals.

BACKGROUND FOR THIS DISCLOSURE

Motion detection, occupancy detection and similar schemes are used in variety of daily applications such as intrusion detection (alarm systems), smart home (activation of subsystems or appliances), counting systems and more.

Indoor positioning systems, in which a smartphone's software approximately finds its location relative to an iBeacon, are known.

Using beacons for notification is known. When smartphone users are indoors, cell signals may be blocked such that localizing devices via GPS may be impractical.

Beacons powered e.g. by Bluetooth low energy are an alternative to Wi-Fi or GPS for powering notifications indoors. It has been suggested, e.g. at the following www link: businessinsider.com/beacons-and-ibeacons-create-a-new-market-2013-12, that beacons might be deployed as part of home automation systems.

Meshed networks are known and are used e.g. to transfer data messages from network node A to B via a plurality of nodes.

Cambridge Silicon Radio has launched CSR Mesh whose protocol reportedly uses Bluetooth Smart to communicate with other Bluetooth Smart devices in the network. Each device can pass the information forward to other Bluetooth Smart devices creating a "mesh" effect. For example, switching off an entire building of lights from a single smartphone. iOS devices capable of functioning either as an iBeacon receiver or as a transmitter are known.

Patent document US 20050055568 to Agrawala et al discloses an access point network of Wi-Fi infrastructure operative to measure RSSI values of signals transmitted by the transmitters and to supply the RSSI values to a security system server which determines whether these RSSI values deviate from RSSI values when no unwanted object was present.

Some wireless devices, e.g. Bluetooth Smart, have two modes of communicating: advertisement mode, where a wireless e.g. BLE peripheral device broadcasts packets to all device around it, and connection mode, where wireless devices (sometimes called the "peripheral" and "central") send packets back and forth to one another. When a wireless device receives an "advertisement packet", that receiving wireless device may use its internal logic to decide whether or not to connect to the device that sent the "advertisement packet". Typically, the wireless device uses plural channels in the frequency spectrum and certain of those channels are reserved for advertisement mode whereas others are reserved for connection mode.

The disclosures of all publications and patent documents mentioned in the specification, and of the publications and patent documents cited therein directly or indirectly, are hereby incorporated by reference. Materiality of such publications and patent documents to patentability is not conceded.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to provide a method and system of identifying deviation from steady-state conditions by observing changes in parameters of intercepted wireless signals caused by changes in presence of objects (in particular human beings) in a surveyed area, or changes in the location of a sensing device or a transmitting device, etc.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system and method for motion detection, occupancy detection or detection of other changes in a defined area using inexpensive, compact sensors that monitor changes in intercepted parameters of wireless signals. Certain embodiments seek to provide a system which is capable of detecting behavior associated with identifying the presence, or changes in presence, of objects (in particular human beings) in a surveyed area.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system in which information regarding intercepted RSSIs is propagated through a partially or fully meshed network of nodes. Nodes cooperate in the distribution of power measurement data in the network, where the power measurement data defines a power level e.g. RSSI, at which each node receives transmissions from other nodes. RSSI level dips indicate "events", e.g. that a person or object absorbing transmitted energy has crossed a line between nodes. RSSI is one possible indication of the power level at which data transmission are being intercepted at a given location within a wireless network environment.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system which enhances the spatial resolution with which events (energy absorbing person/object crossing between nodes), are identified, given n hardware elements to be used for event identification, since as many as n*(n-l) lines extend between n nodes each of which both transmit and receive.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system in which each node receives, transmits, and measures energy level (e.g. RSSI) on some or all intercepted signals.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system for detecting motion in a monitored area, the system comprising a controller operative to detect temporary drops in a sequence of received measurements; at least one transmitting wireless device configured to wirelessly transmit via the monitored area along at least a first axis; and at least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area along at least the first axis, to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmission as intercepted, and to wirelessly transmit the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, appended to data originally received with intercepted transmissions , for interception by at least the controller.

Certain embodiments seek to provide a system including wireless network nodes operative for transmitting time stamped intercepted power levels e.g. RSSI, appended to the data so intercepted which may comprise data (e.g. time stamped intercepted power levels e.g. RSSI, appended to data so intercepted) transmitted by other wireless network nodes. Example embodiments include:

I. A method for detection of changes in a defined surveyed area, comprising:

a) intercepting parameters of wireless signals from at least one source that generates wireless signals and accordingly generating interception parameter values at steady-state conditions;

b) continuously comparing the intercepted parameters versus the steady-state conditions, to detect abrupt changes which may indicate a change in the surveyed area; and

c) once a qualified situation is determined, generating an event response.

II. A method according to embodiment I, wherein the steady-state conditions include evaluation of interception parameter values of wireless signals at steady-state (uninterrupted, idle state) conditions, based on accumulation of parameters at initial start-up interval (following "arming" of the system), wherein such values may be subsequently updated if changes occur which are not determined to be event situations. III. A method according to embodiment I, further comprising applying a training session by deliberately introducing changes, resulting in deviations in the interception parameters that will be useful in identifying specific event situation, such that the characteristics measured in the training session may become part of the steady-state conditions, enabling more specific alert information and dynamic steady-state conditions.

IV. A method according to embodiment III, wherein steady-state conditions may be dynamically updated by the system based on changes in intercepted parameters that are determined to be legitimate changes in the monitored area that do not constitute an event.

There is also provided, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention, at least the following embodiments:

Embodiment 1. A system for detecting motion in a monitored area, the system comprising:

a controller operative to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which the temporary drops occur; at least one transmitting wireless device configured to wirelessly transmit a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area; and

At least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to the controller, thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which the temporary drop occurred.

Embodiment 2. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the multi-purpose wireless device has a reception range, the controller is deployed within the reception range, and the controller intercepts directly from the multi-purpose wireless device.

Embodiment 3. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the multi-purpose wireless device transmits to the controller via at least one additional multi-purpose wireless device rather than directly.

Embodiment 4. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a fully meshed network of multi-purpose wireless devices.

Embodiment 5. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein at least one multi-purpose wireless device is also operative to transmit a unique identifier of a wireless device which intercepted each power level measurement.

Embodiment 6. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the controller is configured for generating an alert indicative of presence of an energy-absorbing object in the area, during a time interval including time-stamps of power level measurements, within a sequence of power level measurements received from the at least one multi-purpose wireless device, which are lower, to a predetermined extent, than at least one of preceding and successive power level measurements in the received sequence. Embodiment 7. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the wireless devices are battery operated and deployed in an open space lacking access to a power outlet and the controller is plugged to a power outlet.

Embodiment 8. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the transmitting wireless device comprises a multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmission as intercepted, and to transmit the sequence of power level measurements.

Embodiment 9. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the controller is outside of the monitored area but within the reception range of at least one multi-purpose wireless device.

Embodiment 10. A system according to any of the preceding

embodiments wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a BLE device.

Embodiment 11. A system according to any of the preceding

embodiments wherein the controller is configured for generating the alert indicative of presence of an energy-absorbing object in the area, during a time interval including time-stamps of power level measurements, within a sequence of power level measurements received from the at least one multi-purpose wireless device, which are lower, to a predetermined extent, than both preceding and successive power level measurements in the received sequence.

Embodiment 12. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the power level measurements comprise RSSI measurements.

Embodiment 13. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a fully meshed network of multi-purpose wireless devices.

Embodiment 14. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the multi-purpose wireless devices are each configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area, to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmission as intercepted, and to transmit the sequence of power level measurements. Embodiment 15. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein at least one of the wireless devices transmits omni-directionally.

Embodiment 16. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the multi-purpose wireless device transmits and receives intermittently, according to a schedule known to the controller.

Embodiment 17. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein each device defines a wireless reception range and wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device, configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area along a first axis, comprises a sequence of N > = 2 wireless devices and wherein N is selected to be large enough to enable the controller to monitor the first axis irrespective of the first axis's distance from the controller, by ensuring that each multi-purpose device k is deployed within the reception range of multi-purpose device k + 1 for all k from 1 to N - 1.

Embodiment 18. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein each device defines a wireless reception range and wherein the at least one multipurpose wireless device comprises N > = 2 wireless devices respectively deployed within each other's reception ranges, thereby to enhance the controller's effective spatial resolution by monitoring multiple axes extending between the wireless devices respectively deployed within each other's reception ranges .

Embodiment 19. A system according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein the controller is configured to use the power level measurements to count how many energy absorbing entities have passed between the at least one transmitting wireless device and the at least one multi-purpose wireless device.

Embodiment 20. A system according to any of the preceding

embodiments wherein the multi-purpose wireless device provides the power level measurements to the controller by wirelessly transmitting the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, for interception by at least the controller.

Embodiment 21. A method for detecting motion in a monitored area and including:

Using a controller to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which the temporary drops occur; from at least one transmitting wireless device, wirelessly transmitting a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area; and

intercepting the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area at at least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to the controller,

thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which the temporary drop occurred.

Embodiment 22. A method according to any of the preceding embodiments and also comprising providing the multi-purpose wireless device by:

a. providing a legacy beacon, the legacy beacon including:

software; and

a chip with wireless transmission functionality, wireless reception functionality, and interception power level measurement functionality,

and wherein the legacy beacon's software supports less than all of the wireless transmission functionality, wireless reception functionality, and interception power level measurement functionality, and

b. Replacing at least a portion of the legacy beacon's software with software which supports the wireless transmission functionality, wireless reception functionality, and interception power level measurement functionality.

Embodiment 23. A method according to any of the preceding embodiments wherein using the controller comprises using the controller to:

identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and

to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which the temporary drop occurred.

Embodiment 24. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for detecting motion in a monitored area, the method comprising:

Using a controller to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which the temporary drops occur;

from at least one transmitting wireless device, wirelessly transmitting a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area; and

Also provided, excluding signals, is a computer program comprising computer program code means for performing any of the methods shown and described herein when the program is run on at least one computer; and a computer program product, comprising a typically non-transitory computer-usable or -readable medium e.g. non- transitory computer -usable or -readable storage medium, typically tangible, having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement any or all of the methods shown and described herein. The operations in accordance with the teachings herein may be performed by at least one computer specially constructed for the desired purposes or general purpose computer specially configured for the desired purpose by at least one computer program stored in a typically non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The term "non-transitory" is used herein to exclude transitory, propagating signals or waves, but to otherwise include any volatile or non- volatile computer memory technology suitable to the application.

Any suitable processor/s, display and input means may be used to process, display e.g. on a computer screen or other computer output device, store, and accept information such as information used by or generated by any of the methods and apparatus shown and described herein; the above processor/s, display and input means including computer programs, in accordance with some or all of the embodiments of the present invention. Any or all functionalities of the invention shown and described herein, such as but not limited to operations within flowcharts, may be performed by any one or more of: at least one conventional personal computer processor, workstation or other programmable device or computer or electronic computing device or processor, either general-purpose or specifically constructed, used for processing; a computer display screen and/or printer and/or speaker for displaying; machine -readable memory such as optical disks, CDROMs, DVDs, BluRays, magnetic-optical discs or other discs; RAMs, ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical or other cards, for storing, and keyboard or mouse for accepting. Modules shown and described herein may include any one or combination or plurality of: a server, a data processor, a memory/computer storage, a communication interface, a computer program stored in memory/computer storage.

The term "process" as used above is intended to include any type of computation or manipulation or transformation of data represented as physical, e.g. electronic, phenomena which may occur or reside e.g. within registers and /or memories of at least one computer or processor. The term processor includes a single processing unit or a plurality of distributed or remote such units.

The above devices may communicate via any conventional wired or wireless digital communication means, e.g. via a wired or cellular telephone network or a computer network such as the Internet.

The apparatus of the present invention may include, according to certain embodiments of the invention, machine readable memory containing or otherwise storing a program of instructions which, when executed by the machine, implements some or all of the apparatus, methods, features and functionalities of the invention shown and described herein. Alternatively or in addition, the apparatus of the present invention may include, according to certain embodiments of the invention, a program as above which may be written in any conventional programming language, and optionally a machine for executing the program such as but not limited to a general purpose computer which may optionally be configured or activated in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. Any of the teachings incorporated herein may, wherever suitable, operate on signals representative of physical objects or substances.

The embodiments referred to above, and other embodiments, are described in detail in the next section.

Any trademark occurring in the text or drawings is the property of its owner and occurs herein merely to explain or illustrate one example of how an embodiment of the invention may be implemented.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions, utilizing terms such as, "processing", "computing", "estimating", "selecting", "ranking", "grading", "calculating", "determining", "generating", "reassessing", "classifying", "generating", "producing", "stereo- matching", "registering", "detecting", "associating", "superimposing", "obtaining" or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of at least one computer/s or computing system/s, or processor/s or similar electronic computing device/s, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories, into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. The term "computer" should be broadly construed to cover any kind of electronic device with data processing capabilities, including, by way of non-limiting example, personal computers, servers, computing system, communication devices, processors (e.g. digital signal processor (DSP), microcontrollers, field programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.) and other electronic computing devices.

The present invention may be described, merely for clarity, in terms of terminology specific to particular programming languages, operating systems, browsers, system versions, individual products, and the like. It will be appreciated that this terminology is intended to convey general principles of operation clearly and briefly, by way of example, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to any particular programming language, operating system, browser, system version, or individual product. Elements separately listed herein need not be distinct components and alternatively may be the same structure. A statement that an element or feature may exist is intended to include (a) embodiments in which the element or feature exists; (b) embodiments in which the element or feature does not exist; and (c) embodiments in which the element or feature exist selectably e.g. a user may configure or select whether the element or feature does or does not exist.

Any suitable input device, such as but not limited to a sensor, may be used to generate or otherwise provide information received by the apparatus and methods shown and described herein. Any suitable output device or display may be used to display or output information generated by the apparatus and methods shown and described herein. Any suitable processor/s may be employed to compute or generate information as described herein e.g. by providing one or more modules in the processor/s to perform functionalities described herein. Any suitable computerized data storage e.g. computer memory may be used to store information received by or generated by the systems shown and described herein. Functionalities shown and described herein may be divided between a server computer and a plurality of client computers. These or any other computerized components shown and described herein may communicate between themselves via a suitable computer network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the following drawings:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a system comprising a smartphone and single beacon.

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a multiple-transmitter architecture comprising a controller/sensor and multiple beacons.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a multiple-transmitter architecture comprising a controller/sensor and multiple beacons with cloud-based processing element. Fig. 5 schematically illustrates a meshed-multiple beacon system.

Fig. 6 schematically illustrates added monitoring capabilities achieved with meshed beacons. Fig. 7 schematically illustrates an "extended range" embodiment in which an extended coverage range is achieved using multiple meshed beacons.

Fig. 8 is a simplified flowchart illustration of counter data generation operative in accordance with certain embodiments, typically in conjunction with the counter apparatus of Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 is a simplified diagram of counter apparatus constructed and operative in accordance with certain embodiments.

Fig. 10 is a simplified flowchart illustration of counter data processing, e.g. of data collected according to the method of Fig. 7, and also operative in accordance with certain embodiments.

Fig. 11 is a diagram of a smart home, characterized in that doorways equipped with low cost sensing equipment are monitored by a single controller as opposed to architectures requiring multiple and/or more sophisticated processing elements .

Methods and systems included in the scope of the present invention may include some (e.g. any suitable subset) or all of the functional blocks shown in the specifically illustrated implementations by way of example, in any suitable order e.g. as shown.

Computational components described and illustrated herein can be implemented in various forms, for example, as hardware circuits such as but not limited to custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays or programmable hardware devices such as but not limited to FPGAs, or as software program code stored on at least one tangible or intangible computer readable medium and executable by at least one processor, or any suitable combination thereof. A specific functional component may be formed by one particular sequence of software code, or by a plurality of such, which collectively act or behave or act as described herein with reference to the functional component in question. For example, the component may be distributed over several code sequences such as but not limited to objects, procedures, functions, routines and programs and may originate from several computer files which typically operate synergistically.

Any method described herein is intended to include within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention also any software or computer program performing some or all of the method's operations, including a mobile application, platform or operating system e.g. as stored in a medium, as well as combining the computer program with a hardware device to perform some or all of the operations of the method.

Data can be stored on one or more tangible or intangible computer readable media stored at one or more different locations, different network nodes or different storage devices at a single node or location.

It is appreciated that any computer data storage technology, including any type of storage or memory and any type of computer components and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for an interval of time, and any type of information retention technology, may be used to store the various data provided and employed herein. Suitable computer data storage or information retention apparatus may include apparatus which is primary, secondary, tertiary or off-line; which is of any type or level or amount or category of volatility, differentiation, mutability, accessibility, addressability, capacity, performance and energy use; and which is based on any suitable technologies such as semiconductor, magnetic, optical, paper and others.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The following terms may be construed either in accordance with any definition thereof appearing in the prior art literature or in accordance with the specification, or as follows:

RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator

BLE - Bluetooth low energy

"Sensor" is intended to include an element which can intercept and evaluate parameters of relevant types of wireless signals. For example - a device that intercepts signals transmitted per the BLE standard and evaluates the received RSSI level .

"Controller" is intended to include processor/s configured to analyze data obtained from one or more "sensors", generate various types of alert information, and optionally communicate with other elements, typically in accordance with a protocol known to a population of devices between which communication is desired.

"Transmitter" is intended to include an element which can generate wireless signals, that are intercepted and evaluated by the sensor element.

While "Transmitter", "Controller" and "Sensor" may be implemented as separate entities, they may alternatively be part of the same hardware element. For example, devices which implement controller/sensor functionality include computers or smartphones with dedicated software application or dedicated gadgets or devices embedded with wireless technology such as Bluetooth.

Devices which implement transmitter /sensor functionality include BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) circuitry and a processing element.

Meshed network: network in which at least one node is connected to more than one other node in the network, each via a point-to-point (direct) link.

partially connected mesh topology: network topology in which some but not all nodes of the network are connected to more than one other node in the network, each via a point-to-point (direct) link.

full mesh topology: network topology in which there is a direct link between all possible pairs of the n nodes in the network; total: n(n-l)/2 direct links.

Interception parameters: may comprise some or all of: the ID of the source of the wireless transmission (transmitting beacon), Amplitude, Phase, time of arrival, and frequency (Doppler shift) of one or more intercepted Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZIGBEE or other wireless transmissions, at one or more sensors.

transmission parameters aka transmission profile are intended to include setup parameters of a beacon e.g. data (e.g. a commercial beacon's ID or according to embodiments described herein data characterizing an intercepted signal), power level to transmit, repetition rate of transmission.

"Beacon" e.g. "iBeacon" is intended to include any hardware characterized by all or any subset of the following characteristics: uses low power (low energy) communications protocol known by other devices (such as, for example, BLE - Bluetooth low energy, or Bluetooth 4.0 and higher versions of this standard which permits devices to implement Bluetooth LE and/or Bluetooth Classic); and/or transmits data e.g. according to a transmission profile, set by a control element typically implemented as part of the controller, which may comprise power level and repetition rate at which to transmit. Examples of conventional Bluetooth profiles are described at Wikipedia's "List of Bluetooth profiles" entry. Generally, Bluetooth SIG defines several Low energy application profiles— specifications for how a device works in a particular application — for low energy devices. Manufacturers implement specifications (implementations of 1 or more profiles) for their device to ensure compatibility. Profiles may be based on GATT, a general specification ("generic attribute profile") for sending and receiving short pieces of data ("attributes") over a low energy link.

A "Beacon" or "iBeacon may for example comprise a commercially available unit (such as beacons offered by Estimote, Swirl, and GPShopper for example). However, "Beacon" is intended to include any hardware device, typically low-cost, typically small enough to be portable within the home or office, that uses low-energy connections e.g. Bluetooth LE to transmit to a mobile communication device such as a smartphone or tablet, playstation, iPad, TV, remote desktop computer, game console, tablet, laptop or other mobile computer terminal, embedded remote unit.

Some beacons, e.g. Apple's iBeacon, are built into Apple devices and iOS7 mobile operating systems rather than being a separate device. Generally, compatible iPads may be configured as an iBeacon transmitter and iOS devices with Bluetooth LE can be a receiver. Specifically, every iOS device with suitable hardware and running iOS 7 (e.g. iPhones from iPhone 4s and iPads from iPad 3rd generation and onward), can be configured to serve either as an iBeacon receiver or as a transmitter, according to the following http link: techcrunch.com/2013/12/07/the-open-secret-of-ibeacon-apple- could-have-250m-units-in-the-wild-by-2014/. Separate beacons using Bluetooth LE protocols include Estimote or Apple stores' separate, specialized iBeacon devices.

It is appreciated that the term "beacon" is not intended to be limited to products which transmit a 31 -byte burst of fixed data. Also, beacons may have both Tx and Rx capability.

Typically each beacon transmits data at pre-defined intervals and at a predefined power level. The data, interval and power level may be programmed. The data includes information other than, or in addition to, conventional BLE data, such as some or all of: RSSI (received signal strength) of signals received from other beacons, time of reception, ID of transmitter, data received from other beacons. This data is intercepted by another beacon which is in receive mode. Thus the beacon typically spends a non- trivial portion of its time doing "reception" as opposed e.g. to sleeping or transmitting, and the data transmitted is dependent upon the characteristics of the intercepted signals e.g. includes an indication of the power level at which the intercepted signal has been received as well as data indicative of e.g. identical to data intercepted from other wireless network nodes.

According to certain embodiments, commercial, commodity beacons or BLEs may be employed, and their software may be replaced with software providing the functionalities shown and described herein.

According to Wikipedia iBeacon-compatible hardware transmitters are Bluetooth low energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets.

"Meshed-Beacon" typically comprises a beacon which can, inter alia:

a. receive data other than transmission parameter setup instructions,

b. measure energy or power level (e.g. RSSI) of signals received from other beacons or meshed-beacons; and

c. transmit "advertisement" data which may comprise ID information conventionally associated with conventional beacons as well as other data e.g. as described herein. Thus, a meshed-beacon may perform a sensor-like measurement of the power level of a signal received from other beacons, and report this level to a system controller either directly to the controller, if available, or by propagating this level through other mashed-beacons. BLE elements may use an "advertisement" transmission mode for this purpose.

"Meshed-beacon" is intended to include a Beacon also operative for one or more of:

a. exchanging data (in addition to transmission parameters setup information) with a system controller and/or, e.g. selectably, from/to other meshed-beacons. Typically, the data exchange includes both receive and send e.g. the meshed beacon has both a send mode and a receive mode

b. measure parameters of transmissions received (e.g. similar to measurements performed by a sensor),

As an example, a first meshed-beacon may receive transmission from at least one second meshed-beacon, obtain the ID of the second beacon and measure the RSSI of the received signal sent by the second beacon, and propagate this ID and RSSI data e.g. through other meshed beacons to the system controller. A Beacon or Meshed-Beacon may be operative for directional transmission and/or reception, e.g. using steerable antennas and/or a set of directional antennas, with switching to allow selectable operation of various of the antennae at various times. The transmit/receive directions may be part of a setup command (from the controller, for example), or may be a dynamic parameter determined by the meshed beacon as a function of, say, system architecture, deployment and/or operation.

Low energy: any wireless data transmission apparatus, typically battery- friendly, whose communication range is sufficient to serve devices (e.g. computers, telephones, tablets, and personal digital assistants) a few cm or meters apart, and which has a power consumption lower than classic Bluetooth such as but not limited to Bluetooth low energy (aka BLE, Bluetooth Smart, Nokia Wibree, Bluetooth Special Interest Group-SIG). This may be achieved by configuring the apparatus for operating in two modes including a low energy consumption mode (sleep mode) for most of the time, and a higher, transmission mode, wherein the apparatus is "woken up" for transmission only on occasion e.g. periodically e.g. at the pre-defined advertisement transmission intervals.

This low energy technology may be used for communication among the personal devices (intrapersonal communication), and/or for uplinking to a network e.g. Internet. It may employ any suitable wireless network technology such as but not limited to: INSTEON, IrDA, Wireless USB, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, ZigBee, Body Area Network. The technology typically uses a protocol known to the devices; e.g. mobile operating systems including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, OS X, Linux, Windows 8, all supporting Bluetooth Smart.

wireless network node: intended to include a device operative to wirelessly (using, for example, BLE technology) transmit, and/or receive including measuring a power level of transmission as intercepted, and to transmit an indication of a power level at which the data is received (and optionally the data itself) to at least one other node. At least one wireless network node may for example comprise hardware from an off-the- shelf beacon (e.g. one of the variety of Bluetooth beacon devices (e.g. BLE - Bluetooth low energy) available on ebay.com; an off-the-shelf Bluetooth beacon for indoor navigation is also available from Alibaba.com) whose software is replaced to provide multipurpose or wireless network node functionalities described herein. According to certain embodiments, a system for detecting motion in a monitored area is provided, the system comprising a controller operative to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which the temporary drops occur; at least one transmitting wireless device configured to wirelessly transmit a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area, and At least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area (e.g. along at least a first axis interconnecting the transmitting wireless device and the multi-purpose wireless device), to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of the wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to the controller, thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which the temporary drop occurred.

Typically, the multi-purpose wireless device provides the power level measurements to the controller by wirelessly transmitting the sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, for interception by at least the controller.

The controller may include one or more hardware devices e.g. chips, which may be co-located or remote from one another.

It is appreciated that the multi-purpose wireless device does not necessarily transmit time-stamped power level measurements directly to the controller. Instead, a transmission of multipurpose wireless device A, which includes a sequence of time- stamped power level measurements may be intercepted by multipurpose wireless device B, which will append to the sequence B received from A, data indicating the time and power level at which B intercepted A, and that transmission is either directly or eventually (e.g. via additional wireless devices) intercepted and processed by the controller. Thus, data is propagated between devices. The controller typically analyzes all data thereby received so as to ignore multiple occurrences of the same data (e.g. if the transmission from multipurpose wireless device A reaches the controller both via multipurpose wireless device B and via a third multipurpose wireless device C). The wireless devices typically although not necessarily, transmit omnidirectionally.

Typically, since plural multi-purpose devices may be active at any one time, reporting data, transmitted by each multi-purpose device D to report interception of data received by that multi-purpose device D, includes not only the power or energy level at which the data was intercepted by D, and a time stamp indicating the time at which the data was intercepted by D, but also a unique ID identifying at least one transmitter associated with the interception event e.g. transmitter D and/or the transmitter intercepted by transmitter D.

As data propagates between wireless devices, the report may include several

"layers". To give a 4-layer example, the data whose interception is reported by D may be regarded as having 4 layers because D's report (layer 4) intercepted, say, by the controller if the controller is within D's reception range, may in fact pertain to interception of data which is itself reporting data sent to D by C (layer 3). But the data whose interception is reported to D by C may in fact be reporting data sent to C by B (layer 2), and the data whose interception is reported by B to C may in fact be reporting data sent to B by wireless device A (layer 1).

The multi-purpose wireless device may comprise any suitable board whose circuitry is designed around any suitable chip e.g. TI's cc2541, Nordic's nRF8001, Cypress's PSoC 4, suitably programmed to perform logic shown and described herein

Fig. 1 shows a central controller/sensor device 10 which may comprise a processing device equipped with wireless interface controllers. In this embodiment, a dedicated application which resides in the sensor device 10 is adapted to monitor changes in intercepted parameters of wireless signals 16, 17, 18, 19 as received from respective wireless sources such as but not limited to BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) transmitters 11, Beacons or iBeacons 12, 802.11 (WiFi) equipped device 13, Zigbee equipped device 14 or meshed beacons 15. The sensor analyzes these signals, typically along with data 20 propagated from meshed devices, to detect abrupt changes which may indicate a change in the surveyed area, and, typically, to generate an event responsive to detecting that change. The sensor device need does not necessarily establish communications with the transmitting device, e.g. if only "external" characteristics (e.g. intercepted power level, or RSSI), needs to be evaluated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the process of motion detection, occupancy detection or detection of other changes in a defined area involves the following operations:

Initially, the intercepted parameters, as sampled by the sensor at a specific location in a surveyed area, are used to generate a Baseline state - e.g., interception parameters values of wireless signals that define steady-state (uninterrupted) conditions.

Subsequently, the intercepted parameters are continuously compared versus the Baseline state, to detect abrupt changes which may indicate a change in the surveyed area (e.g., due to a person crossing the line between a transmitter and the sensor).

Once a qualified situation (e.g., abrupt change in intercepted parameters) is determined, an event response is generated - and action will be taken by the controller/sensor.

A higher level analysis may be implemented, yielding alert response as a result of several events taking place in parallel or in sequence. For example, if a controller/sensor receives signals from a first, and then a second, beacon, the beacons being separated by a few centimeters (or more generally by a distance which could be covered within the time separating the two intercepted signals), this may be an indication of a person crossing the line between beacon #1 to the sensor and subsequently crossing the line between beacon #2 to the sensor, yielding an estimate of the direction in which the person is moving.

Changes in monitored parameters, such as changes insufficient to trigger an event) may also be used by the system to update/modify originally set baseline state, based on predetermined logic.

While this exemplary embodiment of Fig. 1 refers to a micro computer as the controller/sensor, other computer or electronic systems/devices equipped with a wireless interface controller can be used as well, such as, without limitation, a smartphone, a tablet, a smart television, a network-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA), a network game console, a networked entertainment device, a digital camera, and a home appliance. Possible architectures include, but are not limited to, the embodiments of Figs. 2 which are now described in detail:

Standalone, minimal (figure 2):

-a smartphone 30 which serves as the controller/sensor and analyzes signal 32 received from a single beacon 31. This may yield an easy to install alarm system aimed at identifying a person crossing a line between beacon and smartphone. All processing is performed by the controller/sensor, which:

a. Estimates interception parameters at baseline state;

b. Performs evaluation of interception parameters in monitor mode;

c. Determines deviation from baseline state; and/or

d. Generates alarm response or update baseline when appropriate.

Multiple-transmitters system (figure 3):

-a micro computer (say) serves as the controller/sensor 40 and analyzes signals 42 received from multiple beacons 41. This may yield a comprehensive system aimed at identifying the existence of people in a surveyed area, number of people, direction of movement of people, and more. The functions performed by the controller/sensor will typically comprise of:

e. Estimates interception parameters at baseline state based on multiple transmitters;

f. Performs evaluation of interception parameters in monitor mode based on multiple transmitters;

g. Determines deviation from baseline state based on multiple transmitters; h. Generates event response or update baseline when appropriate.

Remotely controlled Multiple-transmitters system (figure 4):

-a micro computer (say) serves as the controller/sensor 50 of multiple beacons 51 , analyzes the received signals 52 and is connected to remote server 54, local or cloud-based 53, which can perform sophisticated analysis which requires more resources than those commonly available with micro computers. The functionality of this architecture is basically similar to the functionality described above for the multiple-transmitters system.

Meshed-Multiple-transmitters system (figure 5): - Typical implementation of a meshed-multiple transmitters system may comprise a micro computer which serves as the controller/sensor 60 and analyzes signals received 62 from multiple meshed-beacons 61 , as well as other data 63 received form meshed-beacons (such as data from remote mesh-beacons).

It is appreciated that presence of dashed arrows aside solid arrows, e.g. as in Fig.

5, are not intended to imply that there need be more than one transmission Instead there is typically one transmission and the dashed lines represent data propagated via other elements which are included in that transmission.

The architecture of Fig. 5 may yield advantages over non-meshed configurations. First, as shown in figure 6, rather than detecting interfering objects (persons) crossing any one of only N lines (extending between N transmitters respectively, and the controller/sensor) by detecting temporary dips in RSSI, the same number, N, of hardware elements may be deployed, each comprising a multi-purpose transmitter/receiver, and may be used to detect interfering objects (persons) crossing any one of many more lines - up to N*(N-1) lines.

Also, as shown in figure 7, data 83 may be propagated by meshed sensors 81 and obtained by the sensor/controller 80 for areas that are not reachable with non- meshed configuration (no direct reception such as 82 controller/sensor 80).

Operation modes may include any or all of the following:

1. Baseline setting Operation mode - evaluation of interception parameters values of wireless signals at steady-state (uninterrupted, idle state) conditions, based on accumulation of parameters at initial start-up interval (following "arming" of the system). Baseline state values may be subsequently updated by the system if changes occur which are not determined to be alarm situations.

2. Training session Operation mode - rather than setting baseline values by evaluating interception parameters at an idle state, it might be advisable in some cases to deliberately introduce changes, resulting in deviations in the interception parameters that will be useful in identifying specific alarm situation. As an example, a person moving in a certain area during the training session will presumably cause changes in the interception parameters that will be similar to those caused by an intruder during monitoring mode. The characteristics measured in a training session may become part of the baseline settings, enabling more specific alarm information.

Three different training schemes are implemented. In all of these schemes measurements of values obtained by all sensors for all transmitters are stored in a database ("calibration table"), while one or more "interferers" - e.g. person or persons walking in the surveyed area and obstructing the lines between transmitters and sensors - are moving around. The location of the interferers are stored in the database along with the measured data, thus providing reference data to be used by advanced monitoring tools. The supported modes of calibration (training) are:

• Explicit calibration - in this scheme the interferers are equipped with dedicated tools (typically a smartphone with a special application). The interferer uses the application to send indications when reaching predefined points. For measurements taken in between the pre-defined points, interpolation is performed to fill the database.

• Assisted-Implicit calibration - interferers use special commercial indoor navigation tools to continuously send their positions to the system for storage in the database along with the measured parameters.

• Implicit calibration - in some modern environments, for example such as smart-home environments or other environments in which IoT (Internet of Things) technology is used, indications may be obtained when certain operations take place. A typical case might be switching of a channel on a TV. By monitoring such data, the system may deduce that a person is situated in front of the TV screen and thus use this information for training purposes.

Monitoring mode - ongoing evaluation of interception parameters, using a variety of algorithms which may include basic ones such as threshold detection, more complex ones that may include evaluation of several events taking place in parallel or in sequence, or sophisticated algorithms such as analyzing measured data vs. data obtained in training (calibration) sessions, or advanced machine- learning schemes, to determine gross deviations from baseline settings, possibly indicating an alarm situation. Some changes identified during monitoring mode may be used to update the baseline settings.

4. Event condition Operation mode - gross deviations from the baseline settings may be a cause to generate an event which may comprise a local audible and/or visual alarm, SMS, Whatsapp or other messaging over the Internet, a phone call, logging of alarm state in local or remote database, or reporting to/initiating activity of external systems. For example:

• Send a message "last person left home" to a smart-home system in order to set alarm system.

· Activation of local camera to take a snapshot or video, to (optionally) be transmitted along with alarm message.

A particular advantage of certain embodiments, is that rather than detecting presence of objects or persons by monitoring when these persons cross N lines interconnecting a single controller/sensor and N transmitters respectively, and detecting drops in RSSI levels at which data sent along these N lines is intercepted, the same number of nodes (hardware elements each with typically wireless tx and/or rx capability e.g. BLE, any version of Bluetooth other than BLE, Zigbee, any version of wifi) may be employed to monitor many more events namely each time an object e.g. person crosses any one of the N*(N-l)/2 lines interconnecting all N nodes (in a full mesh architecture; partial mesh architectures, with less than N*(N-l)/2 lines interconnecting the N nodes hence partial but not maximal redundancy, are also within the scope).

It is appreciated that the following architecture and use case, are known (e.g. US patent document 2005/0055568 to Agrawala):

Node A transmits directionally to a local (e.g. within node A's reception range) controller which intercepts transmission and measures intercepted power level (RSSI). The probable decision of the controller is that someone crossed the line between node A and the local controller at any time in which the measured levels temporarily drop.

In contrast, use cases facilitated by embodiments of the present invention include use cases a, b, c below and combinations thereof.

In all the use cases below, Node A which is within node B's reception range, transmits typically omni-directionally (e.g. using BLE standard, or another suitable wireless standard), and node B intercepts transmission and measures the intercepted power level (e.g. RSSI). The measured values are assumed to be, say: -65,-67,-64,-63,- 78,-84,-77, -65,-64,-66, at times tl to t9 respectively. The probable decision of the controller, in each case, is that someone crossed the line between node A and the local controller at any time in which the measured levels temporarily drop e.g. "decision: at time t6, someone crossed the line between A and B"— using the above numerical example.

Use Case a -

Meshed architecture used to distance controller from monitored area. This is relevant for example when it is desired to monitor interference between points A and B, but it is not possible to install the local controller at point B e.g. because, unlike the BLE devices which may be battery operated, the local controller needs to be plugged to a power outlet.

Operations, using the above numerical example, include:

al. Node B transmits directionally to controller the following message

"A received at time tl level -65;

A received at time t2 level -67;

A received at time t3 level -64;

A received at time t4 level -63;

A received at time t5 level -78;

A received at time t6 level -84;

A received at time t7 level -77;

A received at time t8 level -65;

A received at time t8 level -64;

A received at time t9 level -66"

a2. A local controller intercepts and analyzes the message transmitted by B and makes a decision. The local controller may be a low cost processing element such as Raspberry Pi equipped with Bluetooth interception capability. The local controller's results may be transmitted to a remote processor (e.g. as in fig. 4) for further processing such as statistical analysis, or for example for presenting obtained data graphically on a web page.

Use Case b -increase range (e.g. as shown in Fig. 7) Meshed architecture used to extend controller's effective range, allowing a controller to monitor a line between nodes A, B which is any distance from the controller, e.g. by chaining nodes, each being within the reception range of its predecessor, along a path connecting the controller to one of nodes A, B.

Operations, using the above numerical example, include:

bl. Node A transmits directionally to node B

b2. B intercepts transmission and measures intercepted power level (RSSI) b3. Node B transmits directionally to node C the following message

"B received a transmission, from node A, at time tl level -65;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t2 level -67;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t3 level -64; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t4 level -63; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t5 level -78; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t6 level -84; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t7 level - 77;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t8 level -65; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t8 level -64; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t9 level -66".

b4. C transmits the above message to a local controller.

b5. Local controller intercepts and analyzes the message transmitted by C (either directly, or via additional nodes D, E, F, ... Z where node C transmits to node D, node D to node E, node E to node F ... and node Z transmits to the controller) and reaches a decision.

Use Case c - increase resolution

Meshed architecture used to enhance spatial resolution. Advantage: using same two BLE devices, enhances spatial coverage is achieved - two different lines are monitored to detect crossings.

Operations, using the above numerical example, include:

cl. Node A transmits directionally to node B

c2. B intercepts transmission and measures intercepted power level (RSSI) c3. repeatedly, say at times tlO, ti l, tl2, tl3, tl4, tl5, Node B transmits the following message directionally to controller: "β received a transmission, from node A, at time tl level -65;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t2 level -67;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t3 level -64;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t4 level -63; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t5 level -78;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t6 level -84;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t7 level - 77;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t8 level -65;

B received a transmission, from node A, at time t8 level -64; B received a transmission, from node A, at time t9 level -66".

c4. Local controller intercepts and analyzes the messages transmitted by B, including measuring intercepted power level (RSSI) e.g. perhaps at tlO the interception level is -66; at ti l the intercepted level is -65; at tl2 the intercepted level is -80; at tl3 the intercepted level is -68; at tl4 the intercepted level is -67; at tl5 the intercepted level is -66.

c5. local controller generates decisions not only regarding the line between A and B but also regarding the line between nodes B and itself (and the controller i.e.).

In the above numerical example, the decision regarding line A-B might be as previously "at t6 someone crossed the line between A and B".

The decision regarding the line between node B and the controller might be: "At tl2 someone crossed the line between B and the controller".

Note that if the controller is within interception range from A, a decision regarding someone crossing the line between A and the controller is possible as well, without adding any hardware elements to the system. Thus increased spatial resolution is achieved.

According to certain embodiments, the multi-purpose devices transmit to a single-board computer e.g. a Raspberry Pi distributed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, UK, which may serve as local controller and to receive transmissions e.g. broadcasts and transfer power measurement data therefrom to a cloud, for execution of analysis algorithms, e.g. any of those described herein. According to certain embodiments, the presence-detection method shown and described herein may be used for any suitable application e.g. to count how many people entered a restricted-access area, how many people exited a restricted-access area, or to monitor how many people are present at any given time, in a restricted-access area.

For example, according to certain embodiments, an entry to a restricted-access area via an entry area may be detected, by deploying a multi-purpose device as described herein on at least one side of each of plural lines, each extending the full width of the entrance to the restricted-access area. For example, in Fig. 9, if the restricted-access area is "north" of the four illustrated devices, entry may be effected by passing between devices 3 and 4, and then between devices 1 and 2, in which case the line between devices 3 and 4 may be considered exterior to the line between devices 1 and 2 which is interior of the line between devices 3 and 4. An entering or exiting person or object's "presence" on each of the above lines is detected when the person or object causes the RSSI of the signal transmitted from one side of the "line" and received by a receiver on the other end of the "line" to first drop, then return to normal. If the drop and return to normal occurs first at the more exterior line and subsequently at the more interior line, the number of entering persons or objects is incremented, whereas if the drop and return to normal occurs first at the more interior line and subsequently at the more exterior line, the number of exiting persons or objects is incremented. To determine the number of persons present in the room at any given time, the number of exit events from the number of entry events is simply extracted.

A counter constructed and operative in accordance with certain embodiments is now described in detail with reference to Fig 8 - 10. The counter includes devices, one of which intercepts another, and eventually transmits a message, comprising both time of interception and power level e.g. RSSI, for direct or indirect interception by a local controller for analysis e.g. as per the method of Fig. 10.

The method of Fig. 8 typically comprises some or all of the following operations 1 - 5, suitably ordered e.g. as follows:

Operation 1. Four BLE devices (elements) 1 - 4 may be deployed, as shown in Fig. 9. defining first and second parallel (or non-intersecting, non-parallel; parallelism may simplify computation) lines, the first extending between BLE devices 1 and 2, the second extending between BLE devices 3 and 4. In a typical installation for identifying people crossing the two parallel lines and determining the direction in which the crossing occurs (in/out), the distance between the parallel lines may for example be approximately 30 cm.

A local processor with BLE interception capability is deployed within reception distance from the 4 BLE devices.

Operation 2. One of the BLE elements lying along the first parallel line, and one of the BLE elements lying along the second parallel line (BLE devices 1 and 3, for example) transmit short duration transmissions, at pre-determined time intervals. In the above example the transmission duration is taken to be 4 msec (since this is the TI cc2541 chip's default advertisement transmission period) and the interval between transmissions is taken to be about 75msec since this value would "catch" a person walking at normal speed past the two parallel lines, in a counter installed as an add-on for an EAS (Electronic article surveillance ) system which is one possible embodiment.

Operation 3. The BLE elements that did not transmit in operation 2 (devices 2 and 4, in this example) intercept the transmissions (e.g. device 2 intercepts transmissions from device 1 and device 4 intercepts transmissions from device 3) , measure the power level of the intercepted signals (RSSI) and append time indication to (associate a time-stamp with) each value. The intercepting BLE elements (2 and 4 e.g.) store these pairs of values (power level and time) in internal memory.

Operation 4. After a pre-determined time (e.g. about 5, 10, 20, 30 or 100 msec or any other suitable interval, e.g. taking in account possible drifts between clocks of different elements in the system), the roles of the BLE elements reverse- elements 2 and 4 now transmit, while elements 1 and 3 intercept the transmissions.

The content of the data transmitted includes the (power, time) values stored earlier in the internal memory of the now transmitting BLE devices. According to certain embodiments, no connection is established between the pairs of BLE devices - the only relevant information is the ID of the transmitter being intercepted, and the energy level at which the transmission is intercepted. The contents of the transmission, using the advertisement mode of the BLE standard, comprises the values stored while the now transmitting device was in receive mode.

Operation 5. return to operation 2, where the data transmitted by each

BLE element now comprises the data stored in internal memory in operation 3. The counter data processing method of Fig. 10 typically comprises some or all of the following operations 50 - 100, suitably ordered e.g. as follows:

Operation 50. The local processor with BLE interception capability monitors all the transmissions e.g. as described in operations 2 and 4 above and builds an internal table storing intercepted power levels sorted by monitored line (line 1-2; line 3-4; etc.) and time.

Operation 60. The local processor analyzes the accumulated data, e.g. using machine learning methodologies, e.g. estimating whether and at what time each of the imaginary lines may have been crossed.

"Quiet" periods, in which the intercepted energy level is almost constant, are interpreted as indicating that no one has crossed the first or second lines.

"Non-quiet" periods, in which the intercepted energy level temporarily drops, are interpreted as indicating that someone has crossed the first or second lines; her or his body mass has absorbed some of the transmitted energy and thus the level of intercepted energy has dropped.

In the illustrated embodiment, when a person passes between BLE elements 1, 2 and subsequently between BLE elements 3, 4 ("south" in Fig. 9), RSSI values will temporarily drop in the following order:

a. First at element 4 receiving element 3 (or vice versa, e.g. as per description for operation 4 above)

bl. Then at element 2 receiving element 1 (or vice versa, e.g. as per description for operation 4 above)

Operation 70. The results of the local processor analysis may be uploaded to a cloud based server

Operation 80. Local processor or Cloud based server performs further processing to determine probable direction of and/or orientation of movement

Operation 90. Periodically, or upon request, a local and/or cloud based server generates statistical reports.

Operation 100. statistical reports may be rendered web-accessible e.g. to end-users.

It is appreciated that a counter based on the teachings of Agrawala described herein, may include: a. a V-shaped configuration with two transmitters on one side and one sensor/controller on the other side, or

b. first and second sets of transmitter- >sensor/controller e.g. in parallel lines, and a mechanism to integrate the data from the two sets.

In contrast, according to embodiments of the present invention, 4 transmit/receive elements - for example based on commercially available beacons' hardware with new SW installed may be deployed e.g. in two parallel lines, and the sensor/controller can be remote, e.g. to any convenient place within reception distance from the transmit/receive elements.

Also, the illustrated embodiment shows a deployment of devices which monitors crossing of 2 parallel or non-intersecting lines (line segments) separating 2 areas (such as inside a store, outside a store) thereby to enable persons passing between the areas to be counted, and exits to be differentiated from entries (as opposed to conventional devices monitoring a single line separating the 2 areas which may not enable entries to be differentiated from exits). Alternatively, more than 4 devices may be employed, e.g. to monitor more than 2 lines separating (e.g. intermediate) the 2 areas. Alternatively, 2 intersecting lines (line segments) separating the 2 areas may be monitored, in which case only 3 devices may be provided e.g. one of the devices in Fig. 9 may be omitted.

RSSI values may be processed by a local processor, which determines likely line-crossing events ("tripwire events" or candidate events). These candidate events, along with their exact time, may be uploaded to a cloud-based processor which - using any suitable technique such as machine learning and/or a use-case specific rule engine verifies and/or characterizes each candidate event e.g. determines whether an event of a person crossing the counter area has occurred - and in which direction.

All embodiments described above may be performed using a local processor which may or may not communicate with a cloud-based server (e.g. as per Figs. 3 and 4). Advantages of using the distributed architecture (local controller and cloud-based server) include minimizing the on-site equipment (and thus the infrastructure as well as technical know-how required), and using equipment with more processing power as the main server (enhanced statistical analysis, better web user interface).

Fig. 11 is a diagram of a smart home constructed and operative in accordance with certain embodiments. As illustrated, a pair of typically battery operated multi- purpose devices e.g. BLEs may be installed at each doorway, on both sides of the door. A single controller may be provided which typically has wireless reception

functionality. For example, the controller may be USB-connected to a BLE dongle, typically giving the controller a 10-15 m wireless reception range. The controller is typically operative to analyze interceptions from the BLEs many or most of which are outside the reception range of the controller however due to the operation of each multipurpose device as described herein, interception power level information from all BLEs flows to the controller allowing the controller to determine that humans are present in or absent from, each of the house's rooms. For example, it may be known to the controller, that at time t = 0 all rooms are empty.

Additional multi-purpose devices e.g. BLE devices may be deployed at locations other than at doorways or room entry-points. For example, BLE devices may be installed merely to relay information to the controller from a distant doorway (i.e. a doorway whose distances from all other doorways exceed the multi-purpose devices' reception range, and whose distance from the controller exceeds the controller's reception range.

Advantages of deploying only one controller may include: (a) ease of installation - suitable locations for wire-free coin-sized multipurpose devices (e.g. BLE devices) are easily found; whereas finding suitable locations for the much larger controllers, in each room, particularly at a doorway, is more likely to be difficult or impossible, (b) cost; only one controller need to be purchased and maintained, (c) A central controller is usually required in any event, i.e. even if each room has its own controller, in order to combine data over the entire smart home, (d) The fact that the single controller may be anywhere in the house (or other site) allows a discrete, convenient, powered location (e.g. inside a cabinet) to be selected, (e) the per-room equipment (multipurpose devices) need not be powered.

According to certain variations of the system of fig. 11 , the controller is operative to identify empty rooms vs. Populated rooms, e.g. By differentiating between the following 2 chains of events:

A. person 1 walked into room then walked out, room is empty vs

B. person 1 walked into room and stayed there, then person2 joined him, hence room is populated To do this, 2 multi-purpose devices e.g. BLE's may be deployed on the external wall of the room, on both sides (left and right) of the doorway, and another 2 BLE's on the internal wall of the room, on both sides (left and right) of the doorway, totalling 4 BLE's per door.

Legacy beacons may include software which supports, say, wireless transmission, but not wireless reception or interception power level measurement. The same legacy beacons may also include a hardware circuit with a TI cc2541 (say) chip, or other chip which is built to transmit, receive, and measure RSSI e.g. in accordance with the BLE protocol. In this case, the legacy beacon's software may be replaced with or augmented by software which supports wireless transmission, wireless reception, and interception power level measurement, e.g. as shown and described herein. Commercially available beacons include minewtech.cn's programmable iBeacon android IOS system ibeacon ( Shenzhen Minew Technologies Co., Ltd.'s UUID programmable iBeacon android&IOS system ibeacon cc2541) or Shenzhen Aoxingao Technology Co., Ltd.'s Configurable UUID Major Minor Ble 4.0 iBeacon TI CC2541 Beacons marketed inter alia by axaet.en.alibaba.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, the functions described herein may be performed by executable code and instructions stored in a computer readable medium and running on one or more processor-based systems. However, state machines, and/or hardwired electronic circuits can also be utilized. Further, with respect to the example processes described herein, not all the process states need to be reached, nor do the states have to be performed in the illustrated order. Further, certain process states that are illustrated as being serially performed can be performed in parallel.

Program modules described herein may execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on an operating system on a micro computer, a server, a smartphone or dedicated hardware.

In this context, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types adapted to intercept and evaluate parameters of relevant types of wireless transmissions. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including personal computers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, home appliances and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote devices.

It is appreciated that terminology such as "mandatory", "required", "need" and "must" refer to implementation choices made within the context of a particular implementation or application described herewithin for clarity and are not intended to be limiting since, in an alternative implementation, the same elements might be defined as not mandatory and not required or might even be eliminated altogether.

It is appreciated that software components of the present invention including programs and data may, if desired, be implemented in ROM (read only memory) form including CD-ROMs, EPROMs and EEPROMs, or may be stored in any other suitable typically non-transitory computer-readable medium such as but not limited to disks of various kinds, cards of various kinds and RAMs. Components described herein as software may, alternatively, be implemented wholly or partly in hardware and/or firmware, if desired, using conventional techniques, and vice-versa. Each module or component may be centralized in a single location or distributed over several locations.

Included in the scope of the present disclosure, inter alia, are electromagnetic signals in accordance with the description herein. These may carry computer-readable instructions for performing any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order including simultaneous performance of suitable groups of operations as appropriate; machine-readable instructions for performing any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; program storage devices readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; a computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code, such as executable code, having embodied therein, and/or including computer readable program code for performing, any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; any technical effects brought about by any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, when performed in any suitable order; any suitable apparatus or device or combination of such, programmed to perform, alone or in combination, any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; electronic devices each including at least one processor and/or cooperating input device and/or output device and operative to perform e.g. in software any operations shown and described herein; information storage devices or physical records, such as disks or hard drives, causing at least one computer or other device to be configured so as to carry out any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order; at least one program pre-stored e.g. in memory or on an information network such as the Internet, before or after being downloaded, which embodies any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order, and the method of uploading or downloading such, and a system including server/s and/or client/s for using such; at least one processor configured to perform any combination of the described operations or to execute any combination of the described modules; and hardware which performs any or all of the operations of any of the methods shown and described herein, in any suitable order, either alone or in conjunction with software. Any computer-readable or machine-readable media described herein is intended to include non-transitory computer- or machine -readable media.

Any computations or other forms of analysis described herein may be performed by a suitable computerized method. Any operation or functionality described herein may be wholly or partially computer-implemented e.g. by one or more processors. The invention shown and described herein may include (a) using a computerized method to identify a solution to any of the problems or for any of the objectives described herein, the solution optionally includes at least one of a decision, an action, a product, a service or any other information described herein that impacts, in a positive manner, a problem or objectives described herein; and (b) outputting the solution.

The system may if desired be implemented as a web-based system employing software, computers, routers and telecommunications equipment as appropriate.

Any suitable deployment may be employed to provide functionalities e.g. software functionalities shown and described herein. For example, a server may store certain applications, for download to clients, which are executed at the client side, the server side serving only as a storehouse. Some or all functionalities e.g. software functionalities shown and described herein may be deployed in a cloud environment. Clients e.g. mobile communication devices such as smartphones may be operatively associated with, but external to, the cloud.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to structures and functions specifically described herein and is also intended to include devices which have the capacity to yield a structure, or perform a function, described herein, such that even though users of the device may not use the capacity, they are, if they so desire, able to modify the device to obtain the structure or function.

Features of the present invention, including operations, which are described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. For example, a system embodiment is intended to include a corresponding process embodiment and vice versa. Also, each system embodiment is intended to include a server-centered "view" or client centered "view", or "view" from any other node of the system, of the entire functionality of the system, computer-readable medium, apparatus, including only those functionalities performed at that server or client or node. Features may also be combined with features known in the art and particularly although not limited to those described in the Background section or in publications mentioned therein.

Conversely, features of the invention, including operations, which are described for brevity in the context of a single embodiment or in a certain order may be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination, including with features known in the art (particularly although not limited to those described in the Background section or in publications mentioned therein) or in a different order, "e.g." is used herein in the sense of a specific example which is not intended to be limiting. Each method may comprise some or all of the operations illustrated or described, suitably ordered e.g. as illustrated or described herein.

Certain aspects may be described in conjunction with an alarm system operative to generate an alarm intelligible by a human user. Alternatively however, these aspects may be provided in conjunction with a system which provides a control input to a cooperating computerized system such as but not limited to a Smart home system which may or may not be employed at the surveyed area. Devices, apparatus or systems shown coupled in any of the drawings may in fact be integrated into a single platform in certain embodiments or may be coupled via any appropriate wired or wireless coupling such as but not limited to optical fiber, Ethernet, Wireless LAN, HomePNA, power line communication, cell phone, PDA, Blackberry GPRS, Satellite including GPS, or other mobile delivery. It is appreciated that in the description and drawings shown and described herein, functionalities described or illustrated as systems and sub-units thereof can also be provided as methods and operations therewithin, and functionalities described or illustrated as methods and operations therewithin can also be provided as systems and sub-units thereof. The scale used to illustrate various elements in the drawings is merely exemplary and/or appropriate for clarity of presentation and is not intended to be limiting.

Claims

1. A system for detecting motion in a monitored area, the system comprising: a controller operative to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which said temporary drops occur;

at least one transmitting wireless device configured to wirelessly transmit a sequence of wireless transmissions via the monitored area; and

At least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of said wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide said sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to said controller, thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which said temporary drop occurred.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said multi-purpose wireless device has a reception range, said controller is deployed within said reception range, and said controller intercepts directly from said multi-purpose wireless device.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said multi-purpose wireless device transmits to the controller via at least one additional multi-purpose wireless device rather than directly.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a fully meshed network of multi-purpose wireless devices.

5. A system according to claim 3 wherein at least one multi-purpose wireless device is also operative to transmit a unique identifier of a wireless device which intercepted each power level measurement.

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said controller is configured for generating an alert indicative of presence of an energy-absorbing object in said area, during a time interval including time-stamps of power level measurements, within a sequence of power level measurements received from said at least one multi-purpose wireless device, which are lower, to a predetermined extent, than at least one of preceding and successive power level measurements in the received sequence.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein said wireless devices are battery operated and deployed in an open space lacking access to a power outlet and said controller is plugged to a power outlet.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein said transmitting wireless device comprises a multi-purpose wireless device configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of said wireless transmission as intercepted, and to transmit said sequence of power level measurements.

9. A system according to claim 1 or claim 7 wherein the controller is outside of the monitored area but within the reception range of at least one multi-purpose wireless device.

10. A system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a BLE device.

11. A system according to claim 6 wherein said controller is configured for generating said alert indicative of presence of an energy-absorbing object in said area, during a time interval including time-stamps of power level measurements, within a sequence of power level measurements received from said at least one multi-purpose wireless device, which are lower, to a predetermined extent, than both preceding and successive power level measurements in the received sequence.

12. A system according to claim 1 wherein said power level measurements comprise RSSI measurements.

13. A system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises a fully meshed network of multi-purpose wireless devices.

14. A system according to claim 4 wherein said multi-purpose wireless devices are each configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area, to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of said wireless transmission as intercepted, and to transmit said sequence of power level measurements.

15. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said wireless devices transmits omni-directionally.

16. A system according to claim 1 wherein said multi-purpose wireless device transmits and receives intermittently, according to a schedule known to the controller.

17. A system according to claim 1 wherein each said device defines a wireless reception range and wherein said at least one multi-purpose wireless device, configured to intercept a sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area along a first axis, comprises a sequence of N > = 2 wireless devices and wherein N is selected to be large enough to enable the controller to monitor the first axis irrespective of the first axis's distance from the controller, by ensuring that each multi-purpose device k is deployed within the reception range of multi-purpose device k + 1 for all k from 1 to N - 1.

18. A system according to claim 1 wherein each said device defines a wireless reception range and wherein said at least one multi-purpose wireless device comprises N > = 2 wireless devices respectively deployed within each other's reception ranges, thereby to enhance the controller' s effective spatial resolution by monitoring multiple axes extending between said wireless devices respectively deployed within each other's reception ranges .

19. A system according to claim 1 wherein said controller is configured to use said power level measurements to count how many energy absorbing entities have passed between said at least one transmitting wireless device and said at least one multipurpose wireless device.

20. A system according to claim 1 wherein said multi-purpose wireless device provides said power level measurements to said controller by wirelessly transmitting said sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, for interception by at least said controller.

21. A method for detecting motion in a monitored area and including:

Using a controller to identify times at which temporary drops in a sequence of time-stamped measurements occur and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating times at which said temporary drops occur;

intercepting the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area at at least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of said wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide said sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to said controller,

thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which said temporary drop occurred.

22. A method according to claim 21 and also comprising providing said multipurpose wireless device by:

a. providing a legacy beacon, the legacy beacon including: software; and

b. Replacing at least a portion of the legacy beacon's software with software which supports said wireless transmission functionality, wireless reception functionality, and interception power level measurement functionality.

23. A method according to claim 21 wherein said using the controller comprises using the controller to:

to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which said temporary drop occurred.

24. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for detecting motion in a monitored area, the method comprising:

intercepting the sequence of wireless transmissions travelling via the monitored area at at least one multi-purpose wireless device configured to generate a respective sequence of power level measurements respectively representative of said wireless transmissions' power levels upon interception, and to provide said sequence of power level measurements, time-stamped, to said controller, thereby to allow the controller to identify at least one time at which at least one corresponding temporary drop in the sequence of power level measurements occurred and to generate, accordingly, an output indicating a time at which said temporary drop occurred.