DI STEFANO, Luigi (Via Bellinzona 34, Bologna, I-40135, IT)
COSTANZO, Alessandra (Viale Risorgimento 2, Bologna, I-40136, IT)
BARTOLINI, Sara (Via Forese 16, Savigno, I-40060, IT)
ROFFIA, Luca (Via Ristori 15, Bologna, I-40127, IT)
FARELLA, Elisabetta (Viale Risorgimento 2, Bologna, I-40136, IT)
ZAPPI, Pietro (Via Dossetti 23, Castel Maggiore, I-40013, IT)
MONTANARI, Emanuele (Via Mulino 784, Castello di Serravalle, I-40050, IT)
ZAMAGNI, Guido (Via Perseo 12, Bellaria/Igea Marina, I-47814, IT)
SPADINI, Francesco, Luca (Via Galliera 41, Bologna, I-40121, IT)
VERGARI, Fabio (Via Roseto 12, Riccione, I-47838, IT)
FRANCHI, Alessandro (Case Nuove di Ceciliano 9, Arezzo, I-52100, IT)
D'ELIA, Alfredo (Via F. Cilea 27, Catanzaro, I-88100, IT)
MANZAROLI, Daniele (Via delle Fonti 45, Monte Colombo, I-47854, IT)
SALMON CINOTTI, Tullio (Via Castiglione, 142, Bologna, I-40126, IT)
DI STEFANO, Luigi (Via Bellinzona 34, Bologna, I-40135, IT)
COSTANZO, Alessandra (Viale Risorgimento 2, Bologna, I-40136, IT)
BARTOLINI, Sara (Via Forese 16, Savigno, I-40060, IT)
ROFFIA, Luca (Via Ristori 15, Bologna, I-40127, IT)
FARELLA, Elisabetta (Viale Risorgimento 2, Bologna, I-40136, IT)
ZAPPI, Pietro (Via Dossetti 23, Castel Maggiore, I-40013, IT)
MONTANARI, Emanuele (Via Mulino 784, Castello di Serravalle, I-40050, IT)
ZAMAGNI, Guido (Via Perseo 12, Bellaria/Igea Marina, I-47814, IT)
SPADINI, Francesco, Luca (Via Galliera 41, Bologna, I-40121, IT)
VERGARI, Fabio (Via Roseto 12, Riccione, I-47838, IT)
FRANCHI, Alessandro (Case Nuove di Ceciliano 9, Arezzo, I-52100, IT)
D'ELIA, Alfredo (Via F. Cilea 27, Catanzaro, I-88100, IT)
MANZAROLI, Daniele (Via delle Fonti 45, Monte Colombo, I-47854, IT)
| CLAIMS 1) Procedure for creating a smart environment, characterized by the fact that a physical environment can be reconstructed automatically digitally and stored on an electronic storage. 2) Procedure, according to claim 1 , in which, in the smart environment, are present: static objects, which state is represented by their presence or absence in the environment; dynamic objects which state is represented by their presence or absence in the environment and also by the position in the environment; objects that depending on environmental conditions, change their state, and objects that change their state according to their operation. 3) Procedure, according to claim 1 , in which the position detection of objects takes place through the aid of a portable device that identifies their presence and location in three dimensional space. 4) Procedure, according to claim 3, in which the portable device associates to the object state also its typology, and transmits data to the computer system on which the smart environment is rebuilt. 5) Procedure, according to claim 1 , in which through the aid of a portable device it is possible to control the objects within the smart environment and their state. 6) Procedure, according to claim 1 , where it is possible to directly interact with the electronically reconstructed environment, to control and change the state of the objects it contains. 7) Procedure, according to claim 1 , in which the construction of the smart space takes place automatically through the aid of non-specific hardware or software devices, modified to function as creators of smart environment. 8) Procedure, according to claim 7, in which the construction of the smart space takes place not in real time, but later utilizing standard support for the data (USB pen drive, hard disk, memory card ...). |
DESCRIPTION:
The invention here described is applicable to those complex structures that require a continuous monitoring of the components they contain. An example of this type of structure can be an hospital, consisting of a large number of outpatient's departments, offices, laboratories and rooms used for services. Each room contains items such as appliances, furniture, plant components and each room can be transformed into a smart environment.. These objects, for security, maintenance or tracking reasons, require continuous and recurring monitoring (both from the point of view of their location and their operating conditions).
Another example of a structure can be a museum. Again, you can turn museums into smart environments, whose members also include the exhibits.
The creation of a smart space, intended as the location of the objects contained therein, selection thereof and change of their state, is currently done manually. This creation consists first of the process of manual cataloguing all objects existing in a physical environment, and in a second stage, the manual transcription of the relevant data to a paper file or, in semi-automatic way, to an electronic archive. In this scenario, the search and selection of an object must also occur in a semi-automatic way according to positioning information not provided by the physical environment. The definition of an environment, that is the automatic, digital and real-time collection of the information that is contained therein and that is considered useful to the user, minimizes the human error in such a collection and makes access to such information easier, so that it can be considered smart. The functionalities that a smart environment must enable are: automatic collection of information about the objects in the environment, selection of a particular object and search for a specific object. Therefore it is of great importance to have a tool that supports these functionalities.
The intelligent environment is called "Smart Environment" and the tool is called "Magic Smartifier". Such a tool is able to identify its location.
The relevant information about the environment and the objects therein contained is stored in digital format in a shared digital space called the "Smart Space".
The creation of a smart environment and the subsequent creation of the "Smart Space" occurs according to the flowchart depicted in Fig 1.
In the detail in Figure 1 -1 , the environment (i.e. the place) to be "smartified" is identified; in the detail in Figure 1 -2, the process of assigning an identifier to the physical object is started by affixing a unique identifier to the object and reading its value; in the detail in Figure 1 -3, the "Magic Smartifier" is directed towards the object; the object identifier is detected and read, and it is associated to the place identifier and to additional features/attributes of the identified object (e.g. type and a more precise position within its environment); in the detail of Figure 1-4, the data collected by the "Magic Smartifier" are transmitted to the "Smart Space" by the "Magic Smartifier" itself. The described process is called by the inventors "Environment Smartification".
The thus created Smart environment can be used by interested users, interacting with the Smart Space, which contains the data collected through the "Environment Smartification" process. Interaction with the "Smart Space" can occur through the "Magic Smartifier" or through other devices programmed ad hoc. By interaction it is meant the ability to control the objects catalogued in the "Smart Space", the option of acting on their digital representation by modifying their properties and state, the ability to search one or more objects, and also the option of adding or removing objects in the "Smart Space" created.
The creation of the intelligent environment allows for automatically operating on the objects of the "Smart Space".
Two of the possible operations that can be easily performed through the use of a "Magic Smartifier" interconnected to the "Smart Space" are: "Monitoring objects status" and "Modifying objects status". Figure 2 summarizes these abilities of the "Magic Smartifier". In the detail of Figure 2-1 the object whose status is searched is identified by pointing the "Magic Smartifier" to the object; in the detail of Fig 2-2, the pointed object status is made available to the "Magic Smartifier" by its access to the related data in the "Smart Space"; in the detail of Fig. 2-3, it is possible to decide which action is to be performed on the identified object, sending for example a signal to the "Smart Space" or to third parties.
Another operation which is easily accomplished is the detection of an object with specified properties (i.e. a specified status). For example the object status may have been assigned by a user through the "Magic Smartifier", as in Figure 2.
Another user may be interested in using the "Magic Smartifier" in order to find an object that has a particular status. This action requires a scanning period of all objects and a signaling period during which the objects report their status to "the Magic Smartifier".
Afterwards procedures are performed to drive (the user) to that or those objects that exhibits the required status. Figure 3 summarizes this operating mode. The detail of Figure 3-1 , shows the identification process of all objects in an ambient, by scanning it through the "Magic Smartifier"; in the detail of Figure 3-2, those objects available in the environment send their data (identifier and status) to the "Magic Smartifier"; in the detail of Figure 3-3, the "Magic Smartifier" selects the objects with the desired characteristics; in the detail of Fig 3-4 the "Magic Smartifier" directs the user to the objects having the desired characteristics, through specific methods not covered by this patent.
Practical uses of the "Smart Space" for setting up and managing Smart Environments are described in the following examples.
A first example consists of the management of "passive" physical objects such as paintings and furniture, which may be made available to the "Smart Space" through "Smartification". The "Smartification" process carried out by the " Magic Smartifier" specifies to the " Smart Space" the existence and location of each object, as well as other object properties (e.g. the type or the status of the object itself).
A second example consists of the management of "active" technological objects, such as sensors, capable of generating information themselves In this case, the "Smartification" process carried out by the "Magic Smartifier" notifies the "Smart Space" with data about the "active" objects which are useful to contextualize the information generated by the "active" objects themselves. For example, if one of these active objects indicates a change of temperature, humidity, or of an alarm state, it is necessary to find out the context (e.g. the location) of that change. The proposed "Smartification" allows to retrieve that context from the "Smart Space".
The creation of the "Smart Space" and the consequently enabled control of the Smart Environment can be exploited in complex structures, such as museums and hospitals, for various other purposes. For example, the "Smart Space" can also be deployed to support security services as follows: an operator equipped with the "Magic Smartifier" may be alerted whenever the "Magic Smartifier" detects the absence of an object notified as "present" by the "Smart Space".