Trusted monitoring system and method

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for monitoring remotely located objects with a system including at least one master data collection unit, remote sensor units, and a central data collection server are described. The master unit is configured to monitor any object, mobile or stationary, including monitoring multiple remote sensor units associated with the monitored objects. The master unit may be in a fixed location or attached to a mobile object. The master unit is configured for monitoring objects that enter and leave an area. The master unit may act as a parent controller for one or more child devices including remote sensors or monitors of measurable conditions including environmental conditions, substance identification, product identification, and/or biometric identification. The master unit may discover remote sensor units as they enter or leave the area where the master unit is located. The master unit can be remotely reprogrammed such as with authenticated instructions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A remote monitoring system for a vehicle, the system comprising:
 an electronic device configured to receive environmental and spatial data from a plurality of sensors positioned on the vehicle, the electronic device further configured to receive diagnostic test instructions from a remote device remotely located from the vehicle, to conduct one or more self-diagnostic tests on the electronic device, one or more of the plurality of sensors, and the data received from one or more of the plurality of sensors based on the received diagnostic test instructions, and to transmit (a) information obtained based on the received environmental and spatial data and (b) results of the one or more diagnostic tests to the remote device.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to receive instructions from at least one of the remote device or local controls to process the received environmental and spatial data. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the instructions are contained in a script message, the script message comprising a header containing one or more identification fields and a body containing one or more tasks to be performed. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to authenticate the remote device prior to using the diagnostic test instructions or any other instructions received from the remote device. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to:
 compare the received environmental and spatial data to a range of acceptable values,   determine an alarm condition based upon the received environmental and spatial data, and   conduct a self-diagnosis prior to transmitting the alarm condition to the remote device.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to:
 determine an alarm condition based upon the received environmental and spatial data,   determine a state of reliability of the plurality of sensors that the data is received from, and   conduct a self-diagnosis based on the state of reliability prior to transmitting the alarm condition to the remote device.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the received diagnostic test instructions comprise encrypted information and the electronic device is further configured to decrypt the encrypted information. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to compare at least a portion of the received environmental and spatial data to a range of acceptable values such that the obtained information comprises a comparison result, and to transmit the obtained information to the remote device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to recognize an additional sensor dynamically added to the plurality of sensors. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an electronic master device authorized to communicate in the system and configured to transmit a task authorization message to the plurality of sensors, wherein the task authorization message comprises information identifying at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors from which the electronic master devices expects to receive sensed information, and
 wherein the at least one sensor is configured to encode a digital signature and encrypt the sensed information prior to transmitting the sensed information to the electronic master device.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the vehicle comprises an automobile, a watercraft, or an aircraft. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve security of communications with the remote device 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve error handling related to the received environmental and spatial data. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve energy savings when processing and communicating the received environmental and spatial data. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is further confirmed to authenticate one or more of the plurality of sensors and the remote device before communicating. 
     
     
         16 . A method of remotely monitoring a vehicle, the method comprising:
 receiving, at an electronic device, environmental and spatial data from a plurality of sensors positioned on the vehicle;   receiving diagnostic test instructions from a remote device remotely located from the vehicle, the diagnostic test instructions configured to conduct one or more diagnostic tests on the electronic device, one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors, and the data received from one or more of the plurality of sensors;   conducting the one or more diagnostic tests on the electronic device, the one or more sensors of the plurality of sensors, and the data received from one or more of the plurality of sensors; and   transmitting (a) information obtained based on the received environmental and spatial data and (b) results of the one or more diagnostic tests from the electronic device to the remote device.   
     
     
         17 . A remote monitoring system for a vehicle, the system comprising:
 a plurality of sensors disposed on the vehicle and configured to provide environmental and spatial data relating to the vehicle; and   an electronic device in data communication with the plurality of sensors and configured to:
 receive the environmental and spatial data from the plurality of sensors, 
 receive monitoring instructions from at least one of a remote device or local controls, the monitoring instructions including at least one identifier for at least one of the plurality of sensors, 
 process the received environmental and spatial data based on the received monitoring instructions, 
 identify processed environmental and spatial data associated with each of the at least one identifier, and 
 transmit the identified processed environmental and spatial data to the remote device with the at least one identifier. 
   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the received monitoring instructions comprise encrypted information and the electronic device is further configured to decrypt the encrypted information and encrypt the identified processed environmental and spatial data for transmission to the remote device. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the encrypted monitoring instructions comprise a tolerance range for at least one of the plurality of sensors and wherein the electronic device is configured to compare the received environmental and spatial data from the at least one of the plurality of sensors to the corresponding received tolerance range. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to authenticate the remote device prior to processing the received environmental and spatial data based on the received monitoring instructions. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to compare at least a portion of the received environmental and spatial data to a range of acceptable values. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to conduct a self-diagnosis or a diagnosis of the at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors having the at least one identifier prior to transmitting the identified processed environmental and spatial data to the remote device. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to determine an alarm condition based upon the received environmental and spatial data, and wherein the electronic device is further configured to compare the received data to a range of acceptable values and conduct the self-diagnosis or diagnosis prior to transmitting the alarm condition to the remote device. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to:
 determine an alarm condition based upon the received environmental and spatial data,   determine a state of reliability of the plurality of sensors that the environmental and spatial data is received from, and   conduct a self-diagnosis based on the determined state of reliability prior to transmitting the alarm condition to a remote device.   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 an electronic master device authorized to communicate in the system and configured to transmit a task authorization message to the sensors, wherein the task authorization message comprises information identifying at least one of the plurality of sensors from which to receive sensed information, and   wherein the at least one sensor is configured to encode a digital signature and encrypt the sensed information prior to transmitting the sensed information to the electronic master device.   
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the electronic device is in data communication with the plurality of sensors via one or more of a wired communication network, a wireless communication network, a cellular communication connection, and a satellite communication connection. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of sensors comprise one or more of electromagnetic sensors, air quality sensors, ultrasonic sensors, chemical sensors, radiological sensors, radar sensors, altitude sensors, location sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, audio sensors, radiation sensors, pressure sensors, and global positioning system sensors. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the received environmental and spatial data comprises one or more of temperature data, air content information, location information, humidity information, radiation information, pressure information, tamper information, and audio information. 
     
     
         29 . A vehicle comprising:
 a plurality of sensors configured to provide environmental and spatial data relating to the vehicle; and   an electronic device in data communication with the plurality of sensors and configured to:
 receive diagnostic test instructions from a remote device remotely located from the vehicle, 
 conduct one or more self-diagnostic tests on the electronic device and the data received from the sensors based on the received diagnostic test instructions, and 
 transmit (a) information obtained based on the received environmental and spatial data and (b) results of the one or more diagnostic tests to the remote device. 
   
     
     
         30 . The vehicle of  claim 29 , wherein the plurality of sensors and the electronic device are incorporated into a data collection unit disposed within or an exterior surface of the vehicle. 
     
     
         31 . The vehicle of  claim 30 , wherein the data collection unit is attached to a surface of the vehicle via a mounting base. 
     
     
         32 . The vehicle of  claim 29 , wherein the vehicle comprises an automobile, a ship or an airplane. 
     
     
         33 . A remote device for monitoring a vehicle, comprising:
 a communication circuit configured to:
 transmit diagnostic test instructions to an electronic device that receives environmental and spatial data from a plurality of sensors positioned on the vehicle, the diagnostic test instructions causing the remote device to conduct one or more self-diagnostic tests on the electronic device and the data received from the sensors, and 
 receive, from the electronic device, (a) information obtained based on the received environmental and spatial data and (b) results of the one or more diagnostic tests. 
   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the received environmental and spatial data comprises one or more of temperature data, air content information, location information, humidity information, radiation information, pressure information, tamper information, and audio information. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the received environmental and spatial data comprises one or more of temperature data, air content information, location information, humidity information, radiation information, pressure information, tamper information, and audio information. 
     
     
         36 . The vehicle of  claim 29 , wherein the received environmental and spatial data comprises one or more of temperature data, air content information, location information, humidity information, radiation information, pressure information, tamper information, and audio information. 
     
     
         37 . The device of  claim 33 , wherein the received environmental and spatial data comprises one or more of temperature data, air content information, location information, humidity information, radiation information, pressure information, tamper information, and audio information. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve security of communications with the remote device by utilizing encryption key exchanges between the electronic device and the remote device for one or more communications between the electronic device and the remote device. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve error handling related to the received environmental and spatial data by incorporating a packet checksum in communications between the electronic device, the remote device, and any other device and using the checksum to determine integrity of communicated packets. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the electronic device is further configured to improve energy savings when processing and communicating the environmental and spatial data by utilizing one or more compression algorithms to remove redundancy in communications between the electronic device and the remote device and any other device.