Methods and apparatus for exploiting interfaces smart environment device application program interfaces

Abstract

A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising instructions to obtain an estimated time of arrival for an occupant of a household; calculate a transition time to reach a desired temperature of the occupant from a current ambient temperature within the household; if, the estimated time of arrival is less than or equal to the transition time, activate a transition to the desired temperature; otherwise if the estimated time of arrival is greater than the transition time, do not activate the transition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising instructions to:
 receive one or more third party communications from a third party; and   initiate specific data processing tasks based upon the one or more third party communications;   wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise at least accessing home data, derived home data, or both; and   wherein the home data is data received from smart devices of a smart-home environment and derived home data is an extension of the home data based at least in part upon analysis of the home data.   
     
     
         2 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise controlling a thermostat based upon an estimated time of arrival to the smart-home environment. 
     
     
         3 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 2 , comprising instructions to:
 obtain the estimated time of arrival to the smart-home environment from the third party;   calculate a transition time to reach a desired temperature from a current ambient temperature within the smart-home environment;   if the estimated time of arrival is less than or equal to the transition time, activate a transition, in the thermostat, to the desired temperature; otherwise   if the estimated time of arrival is greater than the transition time, do not activate the transition.   
     
     
         4 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , comprising instructions to:
 obtain the estimated time of arrival to the smart-home environment from a third party;   calculate a transitioning window based upon a buffer used in conjunction with a transition time to reach a desired temperature from a current ambient temperature within the smart-home environment;   wherein the buffer is based upon an indication of a degree of preference between a maximum energy efficiency and a maximum comfort; and   if the estimated time of arrival is less than or equal to the transitioning window, activate a transition, in the thermostat, to the desired temperature; otherwise   if the estimated time of arrival is greater than the transitioning window, do not activate the transition.   
     
     
         5 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise controlling a smart-device, accessing data of the smart-device, communicating with the smart-device, or any combination thereof, based upon a geo-fence location. 
     
     
         6 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 5 , comprising instructions to:
 receive a location from a third party, the location representing the current location of an object of interest in geo-fence-based smart-device;   determine a geo-fence zone based upon the location; and   control the smart-device, access the data of the smart-device, communicate with the smart-device, or any combination thereof based upon the geo-fence zone.   
     
     
         7 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 5 , comprising instructions to:
 receive a location from the third party, the location representing the current location of an object of interest in geo-fence-based smart-device;   determine a geo-fence zone based upon the location;   receive an updated location from the third party;   determine an updated geo-fence zone based upon the updated location; and   control the smart-device, access the data of the smart-device, communicate with the smart-device, or any combination thereof based upon a transition from the geo-fence zone to the updated geo-fence zone.   
     
     
         8 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 7 , wherein the smart-device is controlled to enter away mode on a thermostat, prompt a user to initiate away mode on a thermostat, or both, based upon a transition from a home zone to outside the home zone. 
     
     
         9 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise controlling a smart-device, accessing data of the smart-device, communicating with the smart-device, or any combination thereof, based upon a conditional rule supplied by the third party, wherein the conditional rule is defined by a user of a graphical user interface that provides:
 condition options relating to thermostat data, smoke detector data, carbon monoxide data, utility information, or a combination thereof;   one or more conditional outputs for the conditional rule using the graphical user interface, the conditional outputs relating to thermostat data, smoke detector data, carbon monoxide data,   or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         10 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the conditional rule comprises:
 condition options relating to the thermostat data, smoke detector data, carbon monoxide data, the utility information or a combination thereof; and   conditional outputs relating to at least one smart-device other than a thermostat, smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         11 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , comprising instructions to:
 receive a notification of a time of peak energy usage;   determine whether a cycle of a washer, a dryer, or both falls within the time of peak energy usage; and   if the cycle falls within the time of peak energy usage:
 provide a notification of the cycle falling within the time of peak energy usage, modify a configuration of the cycle to reduce energy usage, or both. 
   
     
     
         12 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise controlling a temporary occupancy environment based upon utilization of the temporary occupancy environment. 
     
     
         13 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 12 , comprising instructions to:
 obtain room utilization information from a room booking third party;   generate one or more commands to control a thermostat, an alarm system, a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, or any combination thereof, based upon the room utilization information; and   provide the one or more commands to the thermostat, the alarm system, the smoke detector, the carbon monoxide detector, or any combination thereof for execution.   
     
     
         14 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise actuating a garage door opener based upon an indication that a thermostat is to enter away mode. 
     
     
         15 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 14 , comprising instructions to:
 receive an indication to place the thermostat in away mode;   upon receiving the indication, determine whether a garage door is open; and   if the garage door is open, actuate the garage door opener to close the garage door.   
     
     
         16 . A method, comprising:
 providing one or more third party communications from a third party to initiate specific data processing tasks based upon the one or more third party communications;   wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise at least accessing home data, derived home data, or both; and   wherein the home data is data received from smart devices of a smart-home environment and derived home data is an extension of the home data based at least in part upon analysis of the home data.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 providing an estimated time of arrival to a smart-home environment from the third party, to activate transition of a thermostat to a desired temperature by the estimated time of arrival.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 providing an estimated time of arrival to a smart-home environment from the third party, to activate transition of a thermostat to a desired temperature by the estimated time of arrival and a buffer, wherein the buffer is based upon an indication of a degree of preference between a maximum energy efficiency and a maximum comfort.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 providing a location from the third party, the location representing the current location of an object of interest in geo-fence-based smart-device, to facilitate control of a smart-device, access to data of the smart-device, communication with the smart-device, or any combination thereof based upon a geo-fence zone.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 providing a location from the third party, the location representing the current location of an object of interest in geo-fence-based smart-device; and   providing an updated location from the third party, to facilitate control of a smart-device, access to data of the smart-device, communication with the smart-device, or any combination thereof based upon a transition from a first geo-fence zone to an updated geo-fence zone.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 providing a request for thermostat data, smoke detector data, carbon monoxide data, utility information, or a combination thereof, for use in condition options of a conditional rule defined by the third party.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising:
 upon a condition of a rule being met: providing, from a third party, a command to facilitate control of a smart-device, access data of the smart-device, communicate with the smart-device, or any combination thereof.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising providing room utilization information of a temporary occupancy environment to facilitate control of the temporary occupancy environment based upon utilization of the temporary occupancy environment, wherein the control comprises controlling a thermostat, an alarm system, a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         24 . The machine-readable medium of  claim 1 , comprising providing an indication that a thermostat is to enter away mode and to facilitate actuation of a garage door opener, when a garage door is open. 
     
     
         25 . An electronic device, comprising a processor configured to:
 provide one or more third party communications from a third party, to initiate specific data processing tasks based upon the one or more third party communications;   wherein the specific data processing tasks comprise at least accessing home data, derived home data, or both; and   wherein the home data is data received from smart devices of a smart-home environment and derived home data is an extension of the home data based at least in part upon analysis of the home data.   
     
     
         26 . The electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the processor is configured to provide energy utilization information of a vehicle to be merged with the home data.