Wireless sensor alerts

Abstract

Techniques are provided for wireless sensor alerts. In certain implementations, wireless sensor alerts may be facilitated by a process at a wireless device. The process may include detecting a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device, comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable rules at the wireless device, and, if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules, generating a communication for transmission to a wireless network based on the satisfied rule.

1 . A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: 
 detecting a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device;    comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of user-programmable rules at the wireless device; and    if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules, generating, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 detecting the environmental state; and    generating the signal representing the environmental state.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the signal represents sound level.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying the environmental state represented by the signal.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein identifying the environmental state represented by the signal comprises: 
 determining an environmental condition associated with the state; and    determining a level of the environmental condition.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication comprises a Short Message Service message.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental condition must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 detecting a request to modify the user-programmable rules;    determining whether parameters for a rule have been received; and    if the parameters have been received, modifying the rules.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the request is from a second wireless device.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein modifying the rules comprises adding a new rule based on the received parameters.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 detecting a request to open a voice channel in response to the communication; and    establishing the voice channel using the wireless device.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the rules specifies multiple communications for an environmental state.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.  
   
   
       16 . A wireless device comprising: 
 a sensor operable to detect an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device and to generate a signal representing the environmental state;    a processor coupled to the sensor, the processor operable to: 
 detect the signal representing the environmental state,  
 compare the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of user-programmable rules, and  
 if the environmental condition satisfies at least one of the rules, generate, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network; and  
   a transceiver coupled to the processor, the transceiver operable to wirelessly send the communication.    
   
   
       17 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 an audio input device coupled to the processor, the audio input device operable to detect a user's voice and to generate a signal representative thereof;    an audio output device coupled to the processor, the audio output device operable to receive a signal representative of sound and to generate sound representative thereof;    a visual output device coupled to the processor, the visual output device operable to receive a signal representative of visual information and to generate visual information representative thereof; and    a user-manipulable input device coupled to the processor, the user-manipulable input device operable to detect user manipulation thereof and to generate a signal representative thereof.    
   
   
       18 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further operable to identify the environmental state represented by the signal.  
   
   
       19 . The wireless device of  claim 18 , wherein the processor is operable to determine an environmental condition associated with the environmental state and to determine a level of the environmental condition to identify the environmental state represented by the signal.  
   
   
       20 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further operable to: 
 detect a request to modify the user-programmable rules;    determine whether parameters for a rule have been received; and    if the parameters have been received, modify the rules.    
   
   
       21 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental condition must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.  
   
   
       22 . (canceled)  
   
   
       23 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.  
   
   
       24 . (canceled)  
   
   
       25 . The wireless device of  claim 16 , wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.  
   
   
       26 . An article comprising a machine-readable medium storing instructions operable to cause a wireless device to perform operations comprising: 
 determining whether a signal representing an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device has been detected at the wireless device;    comparing the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of user-programmable rules at the wireless device; and    if the environmental state satisfies at least one of the rules, generating, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network.    
   
   
       27 . The article of  claim 26 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the wireless device to perform operations comprising identifying the environmental state represented by the signal.  
   
   
       28 . The article of  claim 27 , wherein identifying the environmental state represented by the signal comprises: 
 determining an environmental condition associated with the state; and    determining a level of the environmental condition.    
   
   
       29 . The article of  claim 26 , wherein at least one of the rules comprises multiple conditions that must be satisfied.  
   
   
       30 . (canceled)  
   
   
       31 . The article of  claim 26 , wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental condition must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.  
   
   
       32 . The article of  claim 26 , wherein the instructions are further operable to cause the wireless device to perform operations comprising: 
 detecting a request to modify the rules;    determining whether parameters for a rule have been received; and    if the parameters have been received, modifying the rules.    
   
   
       33 . (canceled)  
   
   
       34 . A framework for wireless sensor alerts, the framework comprising: 
 a rule set comprising user-programmable rules that specify conditions under which communications are to be sent based on an environmental state in the vicinity of a wireless device and the communications to be sent;    a rule editor operable to modify the rules in the rule set based on received rule parameters;    a rule engine operable to: 
 receive a proposition for a rule, the proposition representing an environmental state in the vicinity of a wireless device,  
 compare the proposition against the rules, and  
 if the proposition satisfies a condition of at least one of the rules, determine, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network.  
   
   
   
       35 . The framework of  claim 34 , wherein the environmental state comprises an environmental condition and a level of the environmental condition.  
   
   
       36 . The framework of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the rules has multiple conditions that must be satisfied.  
   
   
       37 . The framework of  claim 34 , wherein the communication is destined for a second wireless device.  
   
   
       38 . The framework of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of the rules specifies a level that an environmental condition must exceed for the rule to be satisfied.  
   
   
       39 . The framework of  claim 34 , wherein the rule editor is operable to: 
 detect a request to modify the user-programmable rules;    determine whether parameters for a rule have been received; and    if the parameters have been received, modify the rules.    
   
   
       40 . A system for wireless sensor alerts, the system comprising: 
 a wireless network operable to receive communications from and send communications to wireless telephones;    a first wireless telephone operable to wirelessly send communications to and receive communications from the wireless network, the wireless telephone comprising: 
 a sensor operable to detect an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless telephone and to generate a signal representative thereof,  
 a microprocessor coupled to the sensor, the microprocessor operable to: 
 detect the signal;  
 generate a rule proposition based on the signal, the proposition specifying an environmental condition and level associated with the state;  
 compare the rule proposition to rules in a user-programmable rule database to determine whether the proposition satisfies a condition of a rule;  
 if the proposition satisfies a condition of a rule, determine, based on the satisfied rule, a message for communication to a second wireless telephone;  
 determine whether a communication regarding opening a voice channel in response to the message has been received from the second wireless telephone;  
 if the communication has been received, open a voice channel to the second wireless telephone;  
 detect a request to modify the user-programmable rules;  
 determine whether parameters for a rule have been received; and  
 if the parameters have been received, modify the rules, and  
 
 a transceiver coupled to the processor, the transceiver operable to send the message to the wireless network; and  
   the second wireless telephone, the second wireless telephone operable to wirelessly send communications to and receive communications from the wireless network, the wireless telephone operable to: 
 receive the message from the first wireless telephone,  
 visually present the message,  
 determine whether a user desires to open a voice channel to the first wireless telephone in response to the message,  
 if a user desires to open a voice channel in response to the message, send the communication regarding opening a voice channel to the wireless network for communication to the first wireless telephone,  
 visually present a user interface for modifying the rules,  
 detect user commands indicating parameters for a rule, and  
 send a communication containing the parameters to the wireless network for conveyance to the first wireless telephone.  
   
   
   
       41 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rules are remotely programmable.  
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the environmental condition comprises a continuum of levels.  
   
   
       43 . A wireless device comprising: 
 a sensor operable to detect an environmental state in the vicinity of the wireless device and to generate a signal representing the environmental state;    a processor coupled to the sensor, the processor operable to: 
 detect the signal representing the environmental state,  
 compare the environmental state represented by the signal against a set of remotely programmable user-programmable rules, and  
 if the environmental condition satisfies at least one of the rules, generate, based on the satisfied rule, a communication for transmission to a wireless network;  
   a transceiver coupled to the processor, the transceiver operable to wirelessly send the communication;    an audio input device coupled to the processor, the audio input device operable to detect a user's voice and to generate a signal representative thereof;    an audio output device coupled to the processor, the audio output device operable to receive a signal representative of sound and to generate sound representative thereof;    a visual output device coupled to the processor, the visual output device operable to receive a signal representative of visual information and to generate visual information representative thereof; and    a user-manipulable input device coupled to the processor, the user-manipulable input device operable to detect user manipulation thereof and to generate a signal representative thereof.