Remote monitoring system

Abstract

 The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system for monitoring elderly people, children, domestic animals, livestock, groups of people, property or the like in a home-like facility such as home, holiday home, nursing home or other similar facility. The invention aims at solving the problem how an object to be monitored can be monitored unnoticed in a home-like facility without violating the monitored object's privacy, how to collect information on the monitored object's condition and health, and how any changes demanding action in the monitored object's state can be detected early enough. The remote monitoring system according to the present invention comprises data collecting means placed in the monitored facility and a data processing arrangement operationally connected to the data collecting means to aggregate the data produced by the data collecting means. The remote monitoring system is adapted to process the data collected by the data collecting means, to store other information external to the monitored object, to identify the monitored object's routines in the processed data and to learn them, to detect deviations in the monitored object's routines based on the routines thus learned and/or said other information, and to give an alarm if the deviations exceed predefined thresholds.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a remote monitoring system. Especially, the invention relates to a remote monitoring system to be placed in a home, holiday home, nursing home or the like for inconspicuously monitoring elderly people, children, domestic animals, livestock, groups of people, property or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In Western societies, the number of elderly people will increase drastically over the next decades. Advanced healthcare has made it possible for the population to maintain better physical health older and older. However, because of elderly people's memory weakening, for example, their families and society need to keep an eye on how they are coping at home.

[0003] Currently, this monitoring is carried out, for example, through municipal home care services, that is, a visiting nurse visits the elderly person as needed, once or twice a day or a week or the like. Although this service is expensive and requires a lot of resource, it does not necessarily provide truthful information of the monitored person's health because a visiting nurse who visits the elderly person once a week, for example, cannot control in real time if he/she is taking his/her medicines. Besides, the information of how the elderly person is doing, e.g. how long and how well he/she sleeps, mostly is based on information received from the customer himself/herself.

[0004] It is natural that many people find it very disturbing and interfering that visiting nurses, and even relatives, visit them and ask them questions about their medicine intake, toilet visits and condition. Additionally, there is a high risk that an elderly person living alone, for example, is not diagnosed on time as suffering from memory loss and other significant health-related changes.

[0005] But it is not only elderly people but also children of school age, and domestic animals, for example, that often require monitoring when they are alone at home. Many parents of school-age children have solved this by giving their school-aged child a mobile phone but even then no information of what the child is doing at home is received unless the child uses it - and children often forget their mobile phones at home or lose them. Instead, in-home monitoring for pets is very difficult to implement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide a solution eliminating or alleviating the above-mentioned defects. Particularly, the invention aims at making it possible to monitor an object requiring monitoring unnoticed in a home-like facility, without violating the privacy of the monitored object, to collect information on the monitored object's condition and to detect changes demanding action in the monitored object's condition early enough.

[0007] The objectives of the invention are achieved by means of a remote monitoring system according to the invention, wherein the remote monitoring system comprises data collecting means placed in the monitored facility and a data processing arrangement operationally connected to said data collecting means to aggregate the data produced by the data collecting means. The remote monitoring system is adapted to process the data collected by the data collecting means, to store other information external to the monitored object, to identify the monitored object's routines in the processed data and to learn them, to determine deviations in the monitored object's routines based on the routines thus learned and/or said other information, and to give an alarm when the deviations exceed predefined thresholds.

[0008] The remote monitoring system according to the invention is characterized by what is set forth in the characterizing part of Claim 1.

[0009] The method according to the invention is characterized by what is set forth in the characterizing part of Claim 14.

[0010] The remote monitoring system comprises at least data collecting means placed in the monitored facility, including wireless or wired sensors, such as motion detectors, proximity sensors, vibration sensors, pressure sensors, door detectors, fire detectors, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, carbon dioxide and light detectors, a camera used as a detector and connected to an image recognition application, acoustic sensors and a data processing arrangement to receive the data produced by the data collecting means. According to an embodiment, the data processing arrangement comprises at least a server. According to another embodiment, a terminal is also placed in the monitored facility, which terminal aggregates the data produced by the data collecting means and forwards it to the server.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the invention, other information acquired by the remote monitoring system is aggregating information not belonging to the monitoring system of the object in question according to the present invention, which other information is not directly associated with monitoring of the said object to be monitored. The said other information may include, for example, the weather prevailing in the area of the monitored object, the time of year, a sports or some other event, a television program or series, red-letter and festival days, information and statistics on other monitored persons in the same area, of the same age group/gender/in the same phase of life, as well as changes of behavior detected previously in them. By collecting this other information obvious advantages are reached in the learning of the routines and in the identification of deviations in the routines.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the invention, the remote monitoring system is run through a learning period before the system is taken into use, and according to another embodiment, the learning of the monitored object's routines is continuous.

[0013] According to yet another embodiment, the remote monitoring system is a two-way system in that the remote monitoring system also comprises means, such as a display, printer, speaker, buzzer, light and an electrical communications means, for forwarding real-time and/or delayed information to the monitored object.

[0014] The remote monitoring system according to the present invention is useful for many reasons. The remote monitoring system according to the present invention is applicable to the monitoring of many different objects, such as elderly people in good condition, persons suffering from memory loss, persons who serve their sentence at home, school children, domestic animals and livestock, in many ways. The present monitoring system may also monitor houses, such as holiday homes. The present monitoring system can be used in many different facilities, such as homes, nursing homes or other home-like facilities, cowsheds or other similar animal houses.

[0015] The remote monitoring system is easily and quickly installable in the facility to be monitored, and when installed, the remote monitoring system is easy and simple to service and maintain. The remote monitoring system can also be installed in a facility with no fixed data connection and/or telephone line.

[0016] The remote monitoring apparatus may be unnoticeable to the monitored object, and the monitored object does not necessarily need to learn to use the monitoring system, take other measures related to the monitoring apparatus or to change his/her way of life. Neither does the monitored object have to wear or put on sensors or measuring devices since, in the present invention, all of the sensors can be placed in the monitored facility.

[0017] The present invention enables the signs of any problems with the monitored object's physical or psychic health, such as different kinds of locomotor disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, memory disorders, insomnia, sleep apnea, depression and alcohol abuse, to be detected at an early stage. Based on alarms from the remote monitoring system, it is possible to perform further examination on the monitored object, revise the current treatment plan and/or prevent possible problems already at an early stage. The information collected by the monitoring system on the monitored object's routines may be useful in these examinations.

[0018] When the remote monitoring system is used for monitoring a house it may be possible, for example, to detect dripping taps, unturned-off electrical devices, water damages, frozen pipes, failures and malfunction of the heating and ventilation system and of other devices related to the state of the house.

[0019] The present invention is useful not only for learning and monitoring the monitored object's routines but for monitoring the safety of the home-like facility.

[0020] The term "monitored object" used in this application refers to a person, such as an elderly person, out-patient, a school child who is alone at home, a person serving his/her sentence at home, or an animal, such as a pet or a domestic animal or livestock, or a house, such as a holiday home, the routines of which monitored object are observed and a deviation in the routines of monitored object can result in giving an alarm.

[0021] The term "monitored facility" used in this application refers, for example, to a home-like facility, such as home, holiday home, nursing home where, when the monitored object is a person, the person lives or stays for longer periods of time, such as several hours, at a time. If the monitored object is constituted by an animal or livestock, the home-like facility is a facility typical of this animal or livestock, such a cowshed or some other animal house.

[0022] The term "routines" used in this application may refer to normal, daily or frequent or regular, actions and tasks that the monitored person or monitored object carries out in his everyday life, whereby information on the monitored person's or monitored object's state is obtained by observing these routines. For example, when the monitored object is a house, these routines refer to routines related to the normal use and regular functions of the house.

[0023] The term "sensors" used in this application may refer to any state-of-art methods of measuring and detecting different quantities and phenomena, including, but not restricted to, motion detectors, proximity sensors, vibration sensors, pressure sensors, door detectors, fire detectors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, carbon dioxide detectors, overflow detectors, light and optical as well as acoustic sensors, cameras used as a detector and connected to an image recognition application, for example.

[0024] The dependent claims disclose preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0025] Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below by referring to the accompanying figures wherein

Figure 1 is a principle view of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an exemplary view of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The following embodiments describe the present invention as applied mainly to the monitoring of the condition and health of a person, such as an elderly person in good condition, living at home or in a home-like facility. However, the present invention can be applied more widely, for example, to the monitoring of other kinds of persons, such as school children and adolescents alone at home, out-patients and convicts, for example, or to the monitoring of pets and domestic animals, livestock, a house, such as a holiday house.

[0027] Figure 1 is a principle view of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention. The remote monitoring system according to this embodiment of the invention comprises data collecting means placed in the monitored facility, such as sensors 102, the collected data of which is forwarded to a data processing arrangement 104. The data processing arrangement 104 is also adapted to acquire information 106 external to the monitored facility. Further, the data processing arrangement 104 is adapted to process the data produced by the sensors 102 and, based on said data, to learn the monitored object's daily routines. If a deviation exceeding a predefined threshold is observed in the monitored object's routines, the data processing arrangement 104 gives an alarm 108. In addition to alarms, the monitoring body, or some other body using the remote monitoring system, may receive other real-time and/or delayed information on the monitored object. According to an alternative embodiment, it is also possible to transmit real-time and/or delayed information 110 to the monitored facility via the data processing arrangement 104.

[0028] Depending on the embodiment, the data collecting means can comprise sensors, sensor matrices, sensor modes, in which sensor modes sensors measuring a number different properties are combined, and/or sensor networks utilizing the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, for example. Moreover, the physical size of the sensors may vary depending on the purpose. The sensors used can also be micro sensors, especially when located in places where the physical size of the sensors is not critical. However, the sensors are chosen so that their presence does not disturb, or disturbs as little as possible, the monitored object's normal everyday life.

[0029] The sensors used can be either wired or wireless, or both wired and wireless sensors can be installed in the same facility. The advantages associated with the use of wireless sensors include, for example, that the remote monitoring system is easy to install. The wireless sensors comprise, of course, means, such as a transmitter, or a transceiver, to transfer data to the data processing arrangement. The data transfer from the data collecting means to the data processing arrangement can be implemented in many different ways, such as by cable solutions for wired sensors, using CAN, RS, Interbus, Ethernet, USB buses or optical cables, for example, some of which are usable for wireless data transfer as well, or using some other wired data transfer solution.

[0030] Exemplary implementations of the data transfer for wireless sensors are, for example, the use of data transfer over a network on a local area network, an intranet or the Internet, the use of a telephone or mobile communications network, such as a GSM, GPRS, EDGE or UMTS network, or the use of other radio frequency technologies and/or networks, the use of Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth, WLAN, ZigBee, UWB or Wibree technologies, or the use of other known technologies, such as data transfer over an electric network, or the IrDA standard, for the data transfer. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the above-mentioned alternatives for the data transfer are merely exemplary and that in addition to, as well as along with the above-mentioned alternatives, all suitable technologies can be used for the data transfer between the data collecting means and the data processing means.

[0031] The used sensors may also comprise a compressor, for example a micro processor, and/or memory, which memory may either be random access memory (RAM) and/or non-volatile memory. The process located in sensor can be used to direct a sensor, sensor matrix, sensor mode and/or sensor network, and additionally, functions may be stored in the sensor by which functions it is possible to handle the aggregated data already in the sensor, for example, by performing data averaging, signal processing or even the phases of data processing relating to identification and learning of routines. The above mentioned data processing may also be performed in one, several or all the sensors in the case of sensor matrix, sensor mode and/or sensor network.

[0032] The data produced by the sensors is forwarded to the data processing arrangement, which data processing arrangement with its different components and functions will be described in more detail below.

[0033] Figure 2 is an exemplary view of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention. The sensors used in the example of Figure 2 are wireless but, as mentioned above, wired sensors can also be used if appropriate for the collecting of data. A plurality of sensors are placed in the facility to be monitored, which sensors in the monitored facility can be of several kinds and suitable for several purposes, including, but not restricted to, motion detectors, proximity sensors, vibration sensors, pressure sensors, door detectors, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, carbon dioxide detectors, overflow detectors, light sensors as well as optical and acoustic sensors, which sensors can use any state-of-art measuring and sensing technologies. Moreover, a camera connected to an image recognition application, for example, and a microphone, can be used as a sensor.

[0034] The present invention is also easily applicable to safety monitoring by connecting fire detectors, smoke detectors and/or carbon monoxide detectors, water overflow detectors, and/or detectors monitoring if any appliance, such as a stove, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher or microwave oven, is overheating or left on. Besides, it is also possible, for example, to connect detectors to wall sockets and water taps to detect if any apparatus or water taps are used, as well as to monitor if the apparatus are used safely, for example, to detect if a coffee maker or an iron or a water tap is not turned off. The information collected by the above-mentioned sensors related to device safety is also usable for learning and monitoring the monitored object's routines.

[0035] As described above, the remote monitoring system according to the invention can also be for managing the monitored facility, such as for controlling and monitoring the locking of windows and/or doors, lightning, ventilation, heating and/or electrical appliances. If doors, such as a front door and/or a store room door, or a window, are opened or left open, the remote monitoring system may give an alarm, or doors and/or windows can be opened by means of the system, based on an alarm from the remote monitoring system, for example. Likewise it is possible to connect the lightning, ventilation, heating and/or electrical appliances to the remote monitoring system and to establish monitoring parameters, such as unturned-off lightning, ventilation, heating and/or electrical appliances, an excessive increase or fall in the temperature of the monitored facility, or some other alarm trigger resulting in an alarm in the remote monitoring system. Further, it is possible to adjust the above-mentioned lightning, ventilation, heating and/or electrical appliances from the remote monitoring system, either programmatically by keeping the temperature of the monitored facility at a desired level, for example, or based on an alarm from the system.

[0036] According to an additional or alternative embodiment, the remote monitoring system also has emergency service functions, such as means by which the monitored object can call help when needed. This means is, for example, an emergency button and/ microphone connected to the remote monitoring system. The remote monitoring system can also be provided with emergency service functions which can activate an alarm in some other way than by involving the user. For example, an acoustic detector may detect if the monitored person falls, or the fall may be detected based on that the monitored object lies long in an unusual place, like on the bathroom floor, without moving.

[0037] Preferably, the monitored object's routines are daily, frequent or regular activities in the monitored object's life, including, but not restricted to, eating, rest, taking medicine, general activity, going to toilet and taking outdoor exercise. General activity may refer, for example, to moving around in the monitored facility, to the monitored object's energy level, that is, how often and fast he/she moves, activities including bathing and daily chores, like cleaning the rooms, washing the dishes and doing the laundry, watching the television, reading newspapers and/or books, listen to the radio or music.

[0038] According to the present invention, the data collected on the monitored object's routines may include, among other things, the type, time of occurrence, duration and place of occurrence of the routine. According to an embodiment, only coarse basic information is collected on the monitored object, such as if the monitored object is awake/sleeping, moving/staying in place and/or indoors/outdoors. According to other embodiments, the data collected by the detectors is used for itemizing the routines of the monitored in more detail; a more accurate description of this data collected on the routines is provided below.

[0039] The example shown in Figure 2 includes a few exemplary sensors to illustrate ways of observing the daily routines of an object requiring monitoring and of monitoring the safety and security of a home-like facility. Figure 2 shows a door detector 202 at the front door, a detector 204 at the television, a motion detector 206 on the ceiling, for example, a door detector 208 at the fridge door, and a sensor, sensor matrix and/or sensor mode 210 at the bed.

[0040] The door detector 204 is adapted, for example, to detect if the door is opened/open. According to an embodiment, the door detector is provided with means to control the locking of the door so that, in case of an alarm from the system, for example, the door can be opened or locked by means of the remote monitoring system according to the present invention. According to an embodiment, the doors, especially the front door/doors of the monitored facility, are provided with means for identifying who walks in/out the door. This means may comprise, for example, a camera connected to an image recognition application, or identifying an identifier included in the front door key when the door is opened or when somebody walks in/out the door. Besides, it is possible to use other known methods to identify who walks in/out the door, provided that the monitored object, when he/or walks in/out the door, does not have do any measures departing from his/her normal routines. In some embodiments, the front door detector is provided with a burglar alarm to detect any attempts to enter/exit the monitored facility without permission and to give an alarm.

[0041] In some embodiments, door detectors are installed at the inside doors of the monitored facility to collect information, for example, on the monitored object's movements in the different parts of the apartment, thus getting information on his/her general activity and/or routines; at the door of his/her medicine cabinet or box to collect information on his/her medicine intake; and, for example, at the door of the fridge, freezer and/or cupboard to collect information on the monitored object's eating.

[0042] The monitored object's eating can be monitored more accurately not only by means of door detectors but by means of an image identifying camera at the fridge, freezer and/or cupboard, by combining information received from detectors at the stove, microwave oven, toaster, and/or coffee maker, as well as other cooking and/or heating appliances, with information received from door detectors at the fridge, freezer and/or cupboard. Besides, the monitored object's eating can be monitored, for example, by means of detectors at the kitchen chairs, armchairs and couch. Thus, the information collected on the monitored object's eating may contain both the time and duration and, for instance, the type and amount of the food, as well as any connection between the eating and other routines, such as watching television and/or reading newspapers, discovered programmatically, for example.

[0043] Besides or instead of the door detectors arranged at doors the monitored object's general activity in the monitored facilities can be monitored also by a motion detector 206 and/or by proximity sensors, by pressure and/or temperature sensors, by microphones, by cameras or by other optical and/or acoustic sensors or by other appropriate sensors detecting the movement in the monitored facilities. Depending on the sensor type and sensor technology, the above mentioned sensors can be arranged in the monitored facilities, for example, in the ceiling, in the walls, on the floor, underneath a carpet, on the furniture, such as sofas or other places from which it can be reliable to detect the movements of a monitored object in the monitored facilities.

[0044] In the example shown in Figure 2, the detector 204 at the television can collect information on the ON periods of the television and/or the programs watched on the television. Similar detectors can be connected, for example, to a radio, stereo equipment, set-up box, DVD player, computer and other similar entertainment electronics equipment providing information relevant to the monitored object's routines.

[0045] The monitored object's toilet visits can be detected by means of, for example, a detector/detectors connected to the toilet seat, a detector connected to the flush button, detectors connected to the toilet floor and/or door, and/or motion detectors placed in the toilet. Likewise, it is possible to monitor the monitored object's bathing by means of, for example, detectors connected to the bathroom floor, detectors, such as a water meter, door or motion detectors, detecting any use of a water tap.

[0046] Further, the monitored object's sleeping can be monitored, for example, by means of a sensor/sensors, sensor matrix and/or mode at the monitored object's bed. The monitored object's presence in the bed can be detected in a number of ways, by means of pressure and/or temperature sensors, a camera, microphone or the like, for example. Acoustic sensors, such as a microphone that registers the frequency and depth of the sleeper's breathing, or a sensor that senses the sleeper's movements and/or temperature, can be used for observing the sleep quality and phases as well as any sleep disorders. It is possible to collect information on the sleep, such as on the time of falling asleep, the phases and quality of the sleep as well as the number and duration of awakenings in the middle of the sleep, and also on time of waking up. Further, it is possible to detect breathing interruptions in the monitored object's sleep, their time of occurrence and duration.

[0047] The information collected by the data collecting means, such as detectors 202 to 210, is transferred to the data processing arrangement 104, which data processing arrangement is operationally connected to the data collecting means.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data processing arrangement comprises a server, which server can be placed in the monitored facility, or elsewhere as far as it is possible to transfer information between the data collecting means and the server. The server can consist of hardware or software in some other apparatus, which software is adapted to execute functions specified for the server of the remote monitoring system according to the present invention.

[0049] According to another embodiment shown in Figure 2, the data processing arrangement not only comprises a server 214 but a terminal 212, which terminal 212 is located in the monitored facility, or in connection with the monitored facility, and which terminal 212 is provided with means for transferring data between the data collecting means 202 to 210 and the terminal 212 as well as between the terminal 212 and the server 214. The data transfer between the terminal 212 and the server 214 can be implemented in many different ways depending on the embodiment, using, for example, data transfer over a network on a local area network, an intranet or the Internet, using a telephone or mobile communications network, such a GSM, GPRS, EDGE or UMTS network, using other radio frequency technologies and/or networks, or using some other existing technology for the data transfer between the terminal 212 and the server 214.Besides, the server 214 can be adapted to receive data on one or more facilities transmitted by the terminal and/or the data collecting means. Depending on the data collecting means used in the monitored facility, the data collecting means can transmit the data directly to the server or transfer the data first to the terminal arranged in connection with the monitored facility.

[0050] The server 214 and/or the terminal 212 preferably contain, to facilitate the control of the server 214 and/or terminal 212, components normally found in these apparatus, including a user interface 216 with an optional display 218 and input means 220, data transfer means 228, a processor 222 , a memory 224, which memory can be a permanent and/or random access memory (RAM), as well as software 226, which software comprises at least the instructions for the server 214 and/or terminal 212 as well as data processing functions stored in the memory of at least one of the apparatus 212, 214. Besides, means 110 for two-way data transfer with the monitored facility can be provided in connection with the server 214 and/or the terminal 212 by connecting the means 110 for forwarding information to the monitored object to the server 214 and/or terminal 212. These means include, but are not restricted to, a display, printer, speaker, microphone, buzzer, light and electrical communications means.

[0051] According to an embodiment, the terminal is provided, for power failures, with means, such as an accumulator, battery or other means, capable of ensuring the operation of the terminal even when no mains current is available. According to a yet another embodiment, even the other means directly connected to the terminal, such as the data collecting means and the optional communication means towards the monitored facility, are adapted, during a power failure, to get their supply voltage from these means provided in terminal.

[0052] According an embodiment, one of the data collecting means used, or some of the data collecting means used, may comprise means for functioning as a server and/or terminal in the monitored facility or in connection with the monitored facility.

[0053] The data processing arrangement allows the settings of the remote monitoring system to be changed, as an example, the operation of the detectors in the monitored facility can be adjusted from the server and/or terminal.

[0054] In certain embodiments, the remote monitoring system comprises means also for two-way communications. These means include, but are not restricted to, a display, printer, speaker, buzzer, light and other electrical communication means. Preferably, the means used for the communication towards the monitored facility are connected to a terminal or server in the monitored facility. These means are adapted to normally get their supply voltage from the mains current, but the operation of the two-way communications means is ensured under any circumstances by, for example, power failure safety means provided in the terminal or server in the monitored facility.

[0055] Communication towards the monitored facility can be used, for example, when the remote monitoring system gives an alarm, but also on other occasions. Real-time and/or delayed information can be transmitted to the monitored facility, including loading, for example, photos or messages, such as medicine reminders, messages about future and last visitors, on a display in the monitored facility. In an embodiment, any available means reminds the monitored object of that it is time for he/she to take his/her medicines if the remote monitoring system detects that he/she has not taken his/her the medicines yet. A reminder can also been given by assumption even if no such delay has occurred. Such a reminder can be, for example, a text on the display, a verbal or other sound-based reminder from a speaker, a signal from a buzzer and/or light, and/or a reminder from any other available means. A similar reminder can be given of meal times, for example. Besides, the communication means in the monitored facility can give outside information, such as weather information and a suggestion to take outdoor exercise, or a warning of an approaching rain, or news interesting to the monitored object.

[0056] According to an embodiment of the invention, two-way communications can be used, for example, for transmitting information to a visiting nurse or some other home service provider that is expected to arrive in the monitored facility. In this case, it is possible, for example, to provide a terminal located in the monitored facility with input means allowing the nurse or other person arrived in the monitored facility to verify his/her identity, for example, by logging in, after which information, which information may also come from the remote monitoring system, relevant to this user or user group can be provided. This information can be real-time or delayed information as needed. Similarly, the user can store information about the monitored object for a given user or user group.

[0057] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method 300 of monitoring an object to be monitored in a home-like facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to an embodiment, the remote monitoring system is run through a learning step 301 (indicated by broken lines in Figure 3) before the remote monitoring system is taken into use. The learning step can be carried out by manually entering information about the monitored object's routines into the system, and/or the system can be adjusted to collect information, without any alarm settings, by means of the data collecting means. This observation related to the learning step can be continued, for example, for approximately 1 week to 2 months, more preferably approximately 2 to 4 weeks. The learning material entered manually may consist, for example, of information received from the monitored object, or the monitored object's relatives, by interviewing them, of medical case reports and/or statistical material selected, for example, based on age, gender, place of residence, state of health and/or other similar information. Outside information, such as information collected on the routines of other monitored objects in the same area, of the same age, of the same gender and in the same phase of life, can also be used as the initialization material of the remote monitoring system, when there can assumed to be a correspondence close enough between this information and the monitored object's routines.

[0058] According to an embodiment, the learning step is carried out by using a remote monitoring system according to the present invention without alarms. This allows data to be collected on the monitored object and default thresholds, for example, to be added, when the remote monitoring system is taken into actual use, for the deviations in the routines thus learned, based on which alarms are given.

[0059] In step 302 data is collected on the monitored object by the data collecting means in the monitored facility. The data collecting means can be adapted, depending on the type of the detector and the measuring method, to collect data continuously, such as every two minutes, or the data collecting means can be activated by some other detector or by an indication related to the presence or proximity of the monitored object. The operation of the data collecting means, and the data collected by them, were described in more detail above. The data collecting means are adapted to transfer the data to another detector, a terminal and/or a server in the remote monitoring system.

[0060] In step 304 other information external to the monitored object is acquired. The outside information acquired can be real-time and/or non-real-time information. Outside information is aggregating information not belonging to the monitoring system of the object in question according to the present invention, which other information is not directly associated with monitoring of the said object to be monitored. The said other information may comprise, but is not restricted to, for example, the weather prevailing in the area of the monitored facility, a weather forecast for the area of the monitored facility, the time of year, sports or other events, information on television program or series, red-letter days, festival days, information on other monitored persons in the same area, of the same age, of the same gender and/or in the same phase of life, changes of behavior previously detected in them as well as statistics on them. The present outside information does not usually cause any direct measures for the monitored object but functions mainly as additionally information for detecting routines of the monitored object and for understanding the deviations appearing in them.

[0061] The acquisition of the outside information can be carried out, for example, over the Internet, or by entering desired information into the system, or in some other suitable way. Even web feeds and, for example, social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, can be used as a source of outside information. The outside information is stored in a memory that preferably is located in the same component of the remote monitoring system where the information on the monitored object's routines is stored, most preferably in the memory of a server. However, it is also possible to store the outside information elsewhere, such as in a server on a network, to allow all of, or suitable parts of, the outside information to be used as the outside information of other monitored objects. The acquisition of the outside information can be made continuous, meaning that weather information and news, for example, are acquired several times a day, or, alternatively, the information, such as red-letter and festival days, is stored in the system in one go.

[0062] In step 306 the data collected by the data collecting means is processed in the remote monitoring system. As noted above, the processing of the data collected by the data collecting means may, depending on the embodiment, take place in many different places and/or phases. Depending on the embodiment, one, many or all of the data collecting means used may have data processing functions, and/or the data may be processed in a terminal before transmission to a server. However, the learning and identifying of the monitored object's routines is preferably performed by a server even when data processing has been performed at a previous stage.

[0063] The data processing comprises, for example, identifying the routines, modeling the routines mathematically and learning the routines, which usually comprises updating a database on the monitoring object. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the data processing additionally may comprise other operations, or, alternatively, some of the above-mentioned operations may be omitted.

[0064] The monitored object's routines are identified based on the data produced by the data collecting means. Preferably, the routines are usually identified in one or more components of the data processing arrangement, as described above. Initialization data, a default profile and/or outside information which has been entered into the remote monitoring system and to which the data collected from the detectors is compared, can be used as an additional means for identifying the routines. Further, the routines can be identified based on data produced by a given detector or given detectors; an area in the monitored facility from which the detectors transmit data; and/or a point of time when the detector/detectors register data. For example, a routine concerning the monitored object's outdoor exercise can be identified based on data produced by a door detector connected to the front door, or, in addition, a camera and image recognition, and/or a pressure sensor placed under the front door mat, can be used. The different detectors and data collected by them has been described in more detail above. Depending on the embodiment, the data allows, for example, the following things to be identified: rest, outdoor exercise, meals, taking medicine, activity and toilet visits.

[0065] As for the routines related to rest, it is possible to identify, for example, the time of going to bed, the time of waking up, the duration and/or quality of sleep, awakenings in the middle of sleep and/or the number, duration, time and/or place of afternoon naps.

[0066] As for the routines related to outdoor exercise, it is possible to identify, for example, the weekday of an event, the time and/or duration of outdoor exercise.

[0067] As for the routines related to eating, it is possible to identify, for example, how many meals the monitored object eats and/or when and where he/she eats them. In addition, it is possible to identify, for example, the type and quality of the food, making it possible to keep an eye on the monitored object's eating habits and, for example, to find out if he/she skips one or more meals.

[0068] As for the routines related to taking medicine, it is possible to identify, for example, the time of taking medicine as well as the type and amount of the medicines taken, using image recognition, for example.

[0069] As for the routines related to toilet visits, it is possible to identify, for example, the number of actions in a certain period of time, the time and duration.

[0070] As for the routines related to general activity, it is possible to identify, for example, the movements of the object; in which parts of the apartment, how often and how fast the monitored object moves. The movement speed can be monitored, for example, on a given route in the apartment, for example, from the kitchen to the living room, which the monitored object preferably uses several times a day. Besides, other action can be identified as general activity, such as the place, time and/or duration of action related to bathing, household chores, such as washing the dishes, doing the laundry and cleaning the rooms, as well as entertainment, such as watching the television, reading newspapers or books and/or listening to the radio or music.

[0071] The monitored object's activity routines can also be identified based on the use of electrical appliances, for example. Information on the monitored object's activity can be obtained by monitoring the power-on time of the television and coffee maker.

[0072] By combining two or more routines, new routines can be created to be monitored as a separate routine in the system. Preferably, such combined routines are closely related events including eating at the time of taking medicine, for example.

[0073] It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the identifiable routines are not restricted to the above-mentioned routines, but it is also possible to identify and monitor the monitored object's other activities displaying regularity.

[0074] The information of the routines of the monitored object can be stored on a memory of a component/components of remote monitoring system, most preferably on a memory located in the server and/or to an external memory system. Most preferably, a database is collected from the routines of a monitored object which database can be updated.

[0075] After identifying the routines, the routines can be mathematically modeled, which mathematical modeling may include, but is not restricted to, methods like averaging, a hidden Markov model (HMM) and Dynamic Time Warp (DTW).

[0076] The routines thus identified allow averages to be calculated for a week, month and/or year, for example. Averaging can be performed by weighting some data in a different way than other data, meaning that a higher weight can be assigned to the data from the preceding previous week or the preceding previous month than to the older or the newest data. Depending on embodiment, it is also possible to assign a higher or lower weight to a deviation in the monitored object's routines that has caused an alarm than to the other data when calculating week/month/year averages, or a deviation that has caused an alarm can be totally ignored in the calculation of the above-mentioned averages.

[0077] The learning of the monitored object's routines consists of monitoring and identifying the regularity of the routines. The learning of the routines usually takes place based on mathematical modeling. A database on the monitored object is updated based on a week, month and/or year average calculated for the routines. As set forth above, when averaging, a different weight can be assigned to a given period than to the other ones. The learning of the routines can also be based on material collected during some other period, such as on material collected since the system was taken into use, whereby the older data is extended by the newest data. The learning can also be continuous, or the database on the monitored object's routines is not updated after the initial learning step. The learning can also be such that, when a given number of false alarms occur in a routine, possibly even within a given period of time, the database is updated, for this routine, to correspond to the current situation.

[0078] A remote monitoring system with continuous routine learning can be adapted to update the routine database, for example, by replacing older data with newer data, or by adding newer data to older data. In embodiments wherein continuous learning is used and older data is replaced with newer data, it must be ensured that the remote monitoring system is still able to detect long-term slow changes in the monitored object's condition and health. Such long-term changes can be detected by regularly comparing the monitored object's routines to the situation six months, one year or two years ago, for example, and by determining if any changes have occurred in the routines during this period. Additionally or alternatively, the monitored object's routines can be regularly compared not only to the his/her own previous data but to outside information, such as statistical data and/or the routines of other monitored objects in the same area, of the same age, of the same gender and/or in the same phase of life.

[0079] The learning may additionally comprise identifying routines related to each other, including, for example, that the monitored object goes to bed later on a night that he/she watches his/her favorite program, or that the monitored object eats while watching the television, or use of outside information. If outside information, such as the above-mentioned going to bed combined with a favorite television program, is included in the learning, changes can be made to the routines based on it, if the broadcasting time of this program is changed, for example.

[0080] In step 308, deviations in the routines are identified based on the monitored object's routines that have been learned and/or said other information. A deviation may consist, for example, of a skipped routine, such as taking medicine or eating, a routine taken place in a different way than usual, such as a bad night, a routine taken place at a different time than usual, such as a nap at an unusual time, or an unusual/dangerous event that may demand immediate attention, such as an unturned-off electrical appliance. If new routines have been created from combinations of different routines, the deviation can be that part of the routine which has not taken place or which takes place at an unusual time.

[0081] A few practical examples of the deviations in the routines are given below.

[0082] The deviations in the routines related to rest include, for example, going to bed and/or waking up later/earlier, changes in the total resting time, restless sleep, awakenings in the middle of sleep, interruptions in breathing, changes in the number, duration, time and/or place of naps.

[0083] The deviations in the routines related to eating include, for example, eating later/earlier or a skipped/extra meal. Changes in the quality and/or amount of food, if the monitored object has a cup of coffee and a sandwich instead of a warm meal, for example.

[0084] The deviations in the routines related to taking medicine include, for example, taking medicine later/earlier or a skipped/extra dose of medicine, taking additional medicines and/or taking too small a dose or taking the wrong medicines.

[0085] The deviations in the routines related to toilet visits include, for example, going to the toilet too often or too seldom.

[0086] The deviations in the routines related to taking outdoor exercise include, for example, taking outdoor exercise at an unusual time or on an unusual day, an unusual duration of outdoor exercise, a skipped outdoor exercise or an increased outdoor exercise frequency.

[0087] The deviations in the routines related to general activity include, but are not restricted to, for example, an unusual time and/or speed of movement, deviations in the routines related to general hygiene, such as not bathing or an increased bathing frequency or skipped bathing, not doing the household chores or doing them at an unusual time, deviations in the routines related to entertainment, i.e. watching television, reading newspapers or books and listening to radio or music, such as an increase or decrease in the number or duration of entertainment events, and/or enjoying entertainment at an unusual time.

[0088] In step 310, it is determined if the deviation exceeds predefined thresholds. For each routine type to be monitored has been defined a specific time of occurrence, a specific frequency and/or a specific duration based on the initialization material or the learning. In addition, each routine can have a threshold for the time of occurrence, frequency and/or duration of the routine. An alarm is given for a deviation in a routine if a change is observed in the time of occurrence, frequency and/or duration of the routine and if the change in the time of occurrence, frequency and/or duration exceeds the threshold defined for the routine. When the above-mentioned alarm is a critical alarm, a so-called red alarm, in another embodiment a second threshold can be defined for the deviation in the routine, usually having a narrower range around the specific value of the routine than the first threshold and causing a less critical alarm, i.e. a so-called yellow alarm.

[0089] Outside information can be used to explain deviations in the routines, and, depending on the embodiment, an alarm, especially a yellow alarm, can be cancelled based on the outside information, or the outside information can be attached to the alarm as an explanation. In some embodiments and in some cases, a red alarm can be changed into a yellow one, or vice versa, based on the outside information.

[0090] Besides, a plurality of security and safety related deviations always causing a red alarm can be included in the remote monitoring system according to the present invention, without using any thresholds for these deviations. These security and safety related deviations may include, but are not restricted to, for example, alarm signals from burglar, fire, carbon monoxide, overflow and overheat detectors and/or alarms. Depending on the embodiment, even these signals may involve routine identification.

[0091] A few exemplary routine deviation thresholds and alarm types given based on them are described below. It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that these examples are merely illustrative, not restrictive, of the present invention, and the thresholds and alarms show more or less variation depending on the embodiment or the monitored object.

[0092] The thresholds for rest-related deviations can de defined such that a variation of preferably about 0,5 to 2 h, more preferably 1 h to 1,5 h, from the specific time of occurrence in the time of going to bed or waking up results in a yellow alarm. If the variation from the specific time of occurrence exceeds about 3 h to 3,5 h, for example, a red alarm can be given. Thus, a sleepless night causes a red alarm, which can be detected programmatically. If a delay exceeding the above-mentioned thresholds occurs in the time of going to bed, an explanation for the delay in the time of going to bed can be looked for in the outside information before an alarm for the deviation is given. The delay in the time of going to bed may be due to a time of year of very much daylight, a festival day, such as the New Year, when people tend to stay up late, stormy weather that may have kept the monitored object awake or woken him/her up during the night. The monitored object may also have been so excited about a sports and other event, such the Presidential Independence Day reception, that he/she has stayed up later than usual. Besides, many sports events, such the Olympic Games or the Football World Championships, are broadcast at such a time of day that deviations in the monitored object's sleep are detected during a longer period than usual.

[0093] The reason for an exceptionally early time of going to bed may be found in the previous information of the monitored object, as an example, the monitored object may have had one or more bad nights or skipped a nap or taken outdoor exercise longer than usual. The monitored object may also have been ill, which may also be seen as skipped outdoor exercise, lack of appetite and/or reduced activity.

[0094] The outside information, such as a festival day, weather or the like, may also explain an exceptionally early time of waking up. One reason for waking up late, instead, can be a bad night, which may also be seen in the total amount of rest or, for example, in the monitored object's state of health.

[0095] An exceptionally late/early time of going to bed, or an exceptionally late time of waking up do not necessarily necessitate a red alarm, but a yellow one may be sufficient. In these cases it is more preferable to monitor the total amount of rest than changes in the individual events. However, if the delay in the monitored object's time of waking up exceeds a predefined threshold, it is preferable to give a red alarm in order to check up on the monitored object's state of health.

[0096] The total time of rest may vary, for example, approximately 0,5 h to 2 h, preferably 1 h to 1,5 h, from the specific time of rest without causing an alarm. The total time of rest during one night can be compared, for example, to a week average, month average, year and/or season average. If the change in the total time of rest is more than 1,5 h to 2h, a yellow alarm may be given, and if the change in the total time of rest is more than 2,5 to 3 h, a red alarm may be given. In any case, it is more preferable to monitor a longer-term average than a one-night deviation. For example, it is possible to compare a week average to a month, year and/or season average and to give an alarm based on this. The outside information may explain deviations in the total time of rest for one night, but the differences should level out quite quickly, for example, the week average of the total time of rest should already correspond to the specific time of rest, which specific time of rest may be, depending on the embodiment, a month average, a total time of rest defined in the learning step or obtained from statistical data, and/or be the average total time of rest of other monitored objects in the same area, of the same age, of the same gender and/or in the same phase of life.

[0097] If the quality of sleep, that is, restless sleep, nocturnal awakenings, breathing interruptions during sleep, for example, are also monitored, thresholds can be defined for them as well, as an example, breathing interruptions during sleep may always cause a red alarm if the monitored object is not known to suffer from them. Restless sleep may cause a yellow alarm if, for example, about 20 to 50 % of the total time of sleep is interpreted to be restless, and a red alarm, if, for example, more than 50 % of the total time of sleep is restless sleep. Nocturnal awakenings may cause a yellow alarm if, for example, the number of awakenings is approximately 3 to 5, and a red alarm if, for example, more than 5 awakenings are detected per night. It should be noted that normal minor awakenings during sleep is not counted as nocturnal awakenings, but their portion is excluded either programmatically or based on the detectors. Besides, the restless sleep alarm can be set such that a red alarm is given if, for example, 20 % to 30 % of the sleep is restless every second or third night.

[0098] Besides, if the number of naps changes, increases to 2 or 3 times per day, for example, a yellow alarm may be given. In any case it is preferable to check in the monitored object's history if he/she recently has had bad nights, for example, or in the outside information if there is any other explanation to the deviation, such as a time of year of little daylight and/or bad weather. If the duration of naps increases by 20 % to 40 %, for example, a yellow alarm may be given, or, if the duration of naps increases by more than 40 %, for example, a red alarm may be given. Besides, if the time of occurrence changes by preferably more than 0,5 h to 2 h, more preferably more than 1 h to 1,5 h, a yellow alarm may be given.

[0099] Eating-related deviations may cause an alarm if the time of eating changes by more than about 1,5 h to 2 h, for example. This alarm may be a yellow alarm. If the time of eating changes by more than about 2,5 h to 3 h, for example, a red alarm may be given. A first skipped meal and a second skipped meal may cause a yellow alarm and a red alarm, respectively. If desired, extra meals may cause a yellow alarm, for example.

[0100] In embodiments involving monitoring the quality of food, a yellow alarm may be given if the monitored object eats a snack instead of a warm meal, for example, or if he/she replaces, for example, two successive meals with a snack.

[0101] When eating-related deviations exceed the thresholds defined for an alarm, the outside information may also be examined. The outside information may reveal that it is a red-letter or festival day which may be the cause to the deviation. Since such deviations caused by festival days are usually of very short duration, the deviations occurred during them may be set not to cause an alarm, or at least an explanation may be attached to the alarm. It is also preferable eating-related deviations take into account that the monitored object may have guests and that they may have an effect on the monitored object's eating. According to an embodiment, the remote monitoring system can be turned off, entirely or partly, for the acts of eating and going to toilet, for example, when the monitored object has guests, so as to avoid any errors or unnecessary deviations in the data collected by the data collecting means. Being ill, for example, also has a clear effect on the monitored object's appetite, which can be taken into account in the monitoring if it only has been updated in the monitored object's data.

[0102] As for deviations related to taking medicine, it is preferable to always give a red alarm if the time of taking medicine is about 0,5 h to 1h earlier or later than the specific time of occurrence. This also makes it possible to reveal a missed dose of medicine which causes an alarm merely for being late. If the monitored object takes too big or too small a dose of medicines and/or if he/she does not take the right medicines. An alarm may be given both for regular medication and medication taken when necessary, such as commonly used painkillers and nitro pills, for example, using a yellow alarm, for example, in order to also collect information on these medicines used by the monitored object.

[0103] As for deviations related to going to toilet, an alarm may be given if the number of events changes by more than 3 to 5 events from the specific number of events. This may cause a yellow alarm because going to the toilet too frequently or too seldom not only can refer to health problems but to problems with the medication. If the monitored object is not observed to go to toilet at all during a day, a red alarm may be given because this may refer to a severe health problem.

[0104] As for deviations related to taking outdoor exercise, an alarm may be given if the number of events changes by more than 3 to 5 events from the specific number of events. Similarly, an alarm may be given if an outdoor exercise event is totally missed. An outdoor exercise event taken place at an unusual time may cause an alarm if the time of outdoor exercise changes by more than about 1,5 h to 2 h, for example. An alarm may also be given if the duration of outdoor exercise changes by about 1,5 h to 2 h, for example. The above-mentioned deviations related to taking outdoor exercise may cause a yellow alarm and involve use of the outside information to explain the outdoor exercise deviation since the amount of outdoor exercise is very strongly dependent on the time of year and weather, and, consequently, it is recommended that any deviations in the amount of outdoor exercise are compared to the weather and time of year, because a cold weather after rain, for example, may make the streets so slippery that is not safe for the monitored object to go out. Festival days, television programs, news or sports events may also cause changes in the monitored object's outdoor exercise routines.

[0105] If the monitored object comes home, for example, 1 h to 1,5 h later than what the normal time of return indicates, it is preferable that a red alarm is given in order to check the monitored object's position and condition. However, if the specific total duration of outdoor exercise has not been reached, after a delayed start, for example, it is possible to give a yellow alarm and to wait for the specific total duration to reached before giving a red alarm.

[0106] As for deviations in routines related to entertainment events, such as watching television, reading, listening to music and so on, an alarm may be given if the duration of the event changes by more than about 1 h to 1,5 h, for example. However, these entertainment events preferably cause yellow alarms and may have an explanation in the outside information.

[0107] According to an embodiment, deviations in routines related to entertainment events do not involve alarms, but deviations in other routines may be explained by examining these entertainment event routines.

[0108] As for deviations in the monitored object's activity, such as moving around in the apartment or speed of movement, an alarm may be given if a significant change in the time of movement is detected. A change of approximately 2 h to 4 h, for example, and of 4 h to 6 h, in the time of general activity may cause a yellow alarm and a red alarm, respectively. If the total duration of activity changes significantly, by about 1 h to 2h, for example, a yellow alarm may be given, while a change of 2 h to 3 h in the total duration of activity may cause a red alarm. Further, a significant decrease of 20 % to 40 %, for example, and of over 30 % to 40 %, for example, in the monitored object's speed of movement, may cause a yellow alarm and a red alarm, respectively. It is preferable to give an alarm if the monitored object clearly does his/her normal chores more slowly than usual because this may refer to that he/she possibly needs household help, or to health problems, such as hip or heart problems.

[0109] If the monitored object stays in his/her place without moving for a long time, about 1h to 1,5 h, for example, and is not having his night's sleep or taking a nap, for example, it is preferable to give a red alarm in order to check up on the monitored object's health.

[0110] A decrease in general activity, such as becoming passive or not moving, may also refer to depression or general deterioration in health. An increase in activity, such as restlessness, can be a sign of mental problems, for example, but, when interpreting an increase in activity, it is recommended to take into account the outside information including, for example, festival days, such as the Christmas before which it is common to clean and be more active than usual, which shows as an increase in activity. A decrease in normal activity may also be compared to the information on other persons of the same age, in the same state of health, of the same gender, and other comparison material, when assessing the deviation.

[0111] As for deviations in other routines related to activity, such as household chores and bathing, an alarm may be given if the number of events changes, for example, by about 3 to 5 events during one week, for example. This alarm may be a yellow alarm, for example. Not bathing or leaving the household chores undone may refer, for example, to general deterioration in the monitored object's state of health, memory loss, sleeplessness and depression.

[0112] Alarms may also be given if a deviation is detected in, for example, two or more given routines, which deviations as such do not exceed the yellow or red alarm threshold defined for them. As an example, if a meal is not eaten within, for example, about 0,5 h to 1 h, from taking medicine, a red alarm may be given. Besides, if a weather warning, for example, is received based on the outside information, an alarm may be given regarding the monitored object's outdoor exercise if the monitored object is out at that moment.

[0113] More than one, for example, about 2 to 4 yellow alarms within a given period, such as a day or week, may also cause a red alarm. Sleeping difficulties, for example, may be reflected in the monitored object's general activity, eating and amount of outdoor exercise, for example. It is possible to determine from the material collected on the monitored object's routines if there is a change requiring action in the monitored object's condition or state of health.

[0114] Besides, a yellow alarm repeated within a given period for a routine may cause a red alarm. As an example, 2 to 3 three bad nights may result in a red alarm.

[0115] According to an embodiment, the thresholds for deviations in the monitored object's routines may be based on the monitored object's known history, such as medical record, mental problems and other information including, for example, known behavioral changes related, for example, to depression, bipolar disorder, alcoholism or the like. As an example, it may appear from the medical history that the monitored object, when depressed, sleeps and eats more than usual, or that a person suffering from bipolar disorder, when the disorder begins with a manic episode, tends to eat and sleep abnormally little and have an elevated energy level. Preferably, the thresholds can be adjusted if the monitored object's situation changes, if, for example, he/she has difficulty walking after a hip operation, or if the monitored object, typically, is more tired than usual after any other operation, so that the remote monitoring system is up-to-date with the monitored object's situation. The remote monitoring system can be also be adjusted through continuous learning wherein there first are alarms after an operation, for example, but the system learns the monitored object's new routines later.

[0116] In step 312, an alarm is given if the deviation in the routine exceeds a predefined threshold, as set forth above. The alarms of the remote monitoring system can have different levels depending on how severe the deviation is; in a mild form, the alarm can be a message informing that there is a deviation in the monitored object's routines (a yellow alarm), whereas, in a serious form (a red alarm), the alarm preferably demands immediate action, for example, that the monitored object's condition or state of health is checked on. Moreover, it is possible to use other types of alarms not specifically described herein.

[0117] The alarms can be, for instance, text messages, email messages, instant messages, phone calls, buzzer sounds, remote alarm triggerings, outputs on a monitoring list and/or display. Different ways of giving an alarm can be used for different types of alarms, and more than one way of giving an alarm can be used for one or more alarm types.

[0118] When necessary, an alarm can be directed to one or more selected groups constituted by, for example, relatives, a home nursing provider, an outside monitoring body or the like. It is also possible to assign different types of alarms to different groups. It is preferable to provide an alarm with a message informing which deviation or deviations in the routine have caused the alarm. Depending on the embodiment, an alarm can also be provided with outside information that may explain the deviation, as set forth above.

[0119] Depending on the embodiment, the monitored object may receive information about different types of alarms through a two-way communications system. This information may, for example, remind of a missed dose of medicine or notify that monitored object will soon be contacted to check up on his/her condition.

[0120] If no alarm is given, the remote monitoring system continues the execution of the program from step 302. If an alarm is given, in an embodiment, the remote monitoring system according to the present invention stores the alarm in its memory and continues the execution of the program from step 302 in spite of the alarm or if the alarm is a yellow one. In this case, the alarm may be forwarded to some other system where it can be acknowledged, for example. According to another embodiment, the program waits for an acknowledgement from the monitoring body, for example, before the execution of the program is resumed for this routine from step 302.

[0121] A practical example of the operation of the remote monitoring system is given below. The example given below is intended only to explain the use of the invention, not to restrict the application of the present invention.

[0122] In the initialization step, a default profile is created for each client. The profile is created through a network service in co-operation with the relatives, for example, by asking simple questions like "Does the elderly person take outdoor exercise regularly?" or "The elderly person typically wakes up at ?". From this initial information, a default profile is assembled to be stored in the database of the remote monitoring system according to the invention, an example of which is shown below:

Rest	Outdoor exercise	Eating	Activity	Toilet
Normal time of rest: from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. A nap from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.	Normal time of outdoor exercise: from 8 a.m. to 8: 10 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on some weekdays and from 9:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Sundays	Normal eating: 4 times per day, at 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m.	Normal time of watching TV, of making coffee and so on. Coffee daily at 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Television daily at 8:30 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Sundays	Normal toilet visits: how may times and at what time usually
Calculate averages for a year month week, and the total time of rest	Calculate averages and special cases for a year month week	Calculate averages for a year month week	Calculate averages and special cases	Calculate averages for a year month week

[0123] When using the remote monitoring system according to the present invention, the information collected during the monitoring object's time of rest, for example, is compared to the following default rest profile:

Rest
Time of rest
Wk. AVG: 11,5 h
Mo. AVG: 11 h
Yr. AVG: 10,5 h

Periods
Wk.: from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. + from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Mo.: from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. + from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Yr.: from 9:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. + 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Variation in rest
Rhythm: +/- 0,5 h
Duration: +/- 1 h

[0124] In the remote monitoring system, the information collected on the variation in rest can be used as a rest routine deviation alarm threshold as such, or the margin of error of said variation in rest can be increased by +/- 0,5 h, for example.

[0125] In the exemplary case, the events detected by the detectors can be, for example, of the following kind:

To bed at 9:18 p.m.
Movement in hall at 1:17 a.m.
Movement in bathroom at 1:17 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 1:18 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 1:19 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in hall at 1:19 a.m.
To bed at 1:19 a.m.
Movement in hall at 6:38 a.m.
Movement in bathroom at 6:38 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 6:39 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 6:40 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in hall at 6:41 a.m.
Movement in kitchen at 6:42 a.m.
Fridge open at 6:48 a.m.	→ FOOD timestamp
Coffee maker on at 7:01 a.m.	→ FOOD timestamp

[0126] It is preferable to interpret the toilet events within the short period of time as the same event. The same applies to the other events, such as the food events later.

[0127] Based on the above-described events, the remote monitoring system may perform data processing of the following kind, for example:

Revisions to the normal time of waking up

(week rhythm + range of variation = 7:00 a.m.)

Is the monitored object awake?

If OK, WWW view change "awake"

(this change also if leaves the bed for more than 15 min.)

If not OK, WWW view change "asleep, yellow", wait no more than the month deviation in the time of waking up -> if OK, WWW view change "awake", otherwise an alarm

An alarm in a desired form (sms, email)

WWW view change "asleep, red". It is also possible to delay the alarm/to add probable causes to the message:

Broken sleep

Went to bed late = not full amount of sleep, wait until reached A lot of activity/exercise earlier.

External factors:

Special day

Weather

Behavior of other persons of the same group at the same time.

[0128] Here are some examples of before-noon events detected by the detectors.

Coffee maker on at 7:01 a.m.
Movement in kitchen at 7:04 a.m.
Movement in hall at 7:13 a.m.
Front door open at 7:18 a.m.	→ OUT timestamp
Front door open at 7:21 a.m.	→ OUT timestamp
Movement in living room at 7:24 a.m.
Movement in bathroom at 8:18 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 8:19 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 8:20 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Coffee maker on at 9:16 a.m.
Movement in hall at 9:16 a.m.
Front door open at 9:22 a.m.	→ OUT timestamp
Front door open at 11:00 a.m.	→ OUT timestamp
Movement in hall at 11:02 a.m.
Movement in bathroom at 11:10 a.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in kitchen at 11:15 a.m.
Fridge open at 11:15 a.m.	→ FOOD timestamp
Movement in hall at 11:48 a.m.
To bed at 11:54 a.m.

[0129] As above, the events detected within the short period of time are interpreted as one event.

[0130] Based on the above-described events detected before noon, the remote monitoring system may process the data as follows:

Notes made on day routines/before noon

Breakfast + lunch presumably eaten + time

The time and duration of the outdoor exercise - comparison with the immediate past

If any change, comparison with others in the same area.

The possible influence of external factors (rain, very low temperature, special day and so on).

No alarm unless desired separately.

Home-return check!

A graphic presentation to the week report.

"Bathroom activity" to the general condition check-up and week report.

A notice of the coffee maker to the info board.

A note on the time of rest.

[0131] A similar example of events detected on the monitored object after noon is given below.

Movement in hall at 1:17 p.m.
Movement in bathroom at 1:18 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 1:19 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in living room at 1:24 p.m.
Movement in living room at 2:04 p.m.
Movement in hall at 2:59 p.m.
Movement in bathroom at 3:18 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 3:19 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
...
Movement in kitchen at 5:15 p.m.
Fridge open at 5:17 p.m.
Movement in living room at 6:49 p.m.
Television on at 7:00 p.m.
Movement in kitchen at 8:19 p.m.
Fridge open at 8:22 p.m.	→ FOOD timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 9:18 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
Movement in bathroom at 9:22 p.m.	→ TOILET timestamp
To bed at 9:38 p.m.

[0132] Correspondingly, the entries made on the afternoon routines can be as follows:

Notes made on day routines/afternoon

Afternoon rest + time

"Bathroom activity" to the general condition check-up and week report.

Dinner + evening meal eaten + time

The frequency of use of electrical appliances, a reminder of dangerous appliances if desired.

[0133] As an example, data processing of the following kind can be performed based on the above example:

Wakes up in the morning/after a nap, sleeping time and average rhythm.

An alarm if does not wake up

General activity; movements in the different parts of the apartment.

If any change, a note to the week/day report.

The use of the bathroom compared to the average.

If any change, a note to the week/day report.

An alarm if does not exit the bathroom within a defined period.

A calculation on outdoor exercise.

If any change, a note to the week/day report.

An assessment of external factors also for days including changes.

Any changes in eating are entered on the week/day report.

An alarm if no events inside during "active hours" within a defined period.

[0134] Although the above mainly describes the use of the remote monitoring system with respect to a person, such as an elderly person, living at home or in a home-like facility, the remote monitoring system according to the present invention also is applicable, for instance, to the monitoring of school children alone at home or livestock in livestock houses. Further, the remote monitoring system is also applicable to the monitoring of houses, such as holiday houses.

[0135] When used to monitor a school child at home, the remote monitoring system may monitor when the child leaves for school, and, optionally, two-way communications can be used to remind him/her of leaving for school, either by default or only if his/her leaving is delayed. It is also preferable to monitor what time he/she comes home from school for which default data can be entered into the system by retrieving it from his/her timetable, for example, or from external information, such as an electrical communication system provided by his/her school or educational institution. Besides, it is possible to monitor if, for example, the school child eats his/her breakfast and/or afternoon snack, as described above. Outside information, such as weather, can be taken into account when monitoring his/her times of arrival home from school. As an example, when it is good weather, the child may come home from school later than when it is bad weather because it is more pleasant to stay outside in good weather. According to an embodiment, it is possible to monitor and/or control not only the child's use of his/her computer and/or the Internet but his/her television viewing and game playing. In some embodiments, it is also possible to monitor the volume of sound and to trigger an alarm if the volume of sound exceeds a given threshold. Thus, in a family living an apartment building, it is possible to monitor that the children do not, for example, listen to music too loud when the parents are not at home. Further, according to an embodiment, it is possible to monitor the number and identity of visitors when the parents are not at home.

[0136] When used to monitor pets and domestic animals in a home-like facility, such as in a home, cowshed or animal house, the remote monitoring system may collect information, for instance, on the animal's/animals' sleeping, eating and activity during a day as well as on a dog's barking when alone at home. By monitoring an animal's activity it becomes possible to detect if the animal behaves in a disturbing way, is depressed or becomes ill. The initialization material of the system may include, for example, information on the animal or breed. Besides, according to an embodiment, the remote monitoring system may control the animal's movement in the monitored facility, for instance, in order to let it into a given room for a meal, or it may let the animal/animals out of the house at a given time of day, if this only can be arranged in the monitored facility.

[0137] When used to monitor a house, the remote monitoring system may collect information and learn routines related to the use and functions of the house. As an example, it is common that holiday houses are used mainly during the summer months and on festival days. Thus, outside information, such as calendar and weather information, can be used in the learning of the routines. The remote monitoring system can be adapted to monitor the temperature of the house, the operation of the electrical appliances, such as the ventilation system and fridge, the condition of the pipes. The weather information can be also used, for instance, to prevent frozen pipes and possible water damage caused by them. A two-way communications system allows guests arriving at the holiday house to be provided with instructions and information related to it.

[0138] The present invention is also useful for security monitoring, such as for detecting trespassing in the monitored facility, in all of its embodiments.

[0139] The above only describes some embodiments of the solution according to the invention. The scope of the invention is defined in the accompanying Claims. However, it is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the details of the different features of the invention may vary within the inventive idea and that characteristics disclosed in the different embodiments of the invention can be combined with other embodiments.

Claims

1. A remote monitoring system for monitoring an object to be monitored in a home-like facility, characterized in that the remote monitoring system comprises at least

- one or more data collecting means placed in the monitored facility to collect data on the monitored object,

- a data processing arrangement operationally connected to said data collecting means to aggregate the data collected by the data collecting means,

wherein said remote monitoring system is adapted to

- process the data collected by the data collecting means,

- store other information external to the monitored object

- identify the monitored object's routines in the processed data and to learn them,

- to detect deviations in the monitored object's routines based on the routines thus learned and/or said other information, and

- to give an alarm if the deviations exceed predefined thresholds.

2. A remote monitoring system as defined in Claim 1, wherein said data collecting means are wireless and/or wired detectors and wherein said detectors are selected from a group comprising at least: motion detectors, proximity sensors, vibration sensors, pressure sensors, door detectors, fire detectors, smoke detectors, humidity sensors, temperature sensors, carbon dioxide detectors, overflow detectors, light and optical sensors as well as cameras and microphones used as a detector.

3. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said data processing arrangement comprises a terminal, which said terminal is operationally connected to the data collecting means and which terminal is adapted to acquire data from said data collecting means.

4. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said data processing arrangement comprises a server and, optionally, a terminal, wherein the server is connected to data collecting means and/or the terminal, and which said server is adapted to receive data from one or more terminals and/or data collecting means.

5. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said other information comprises information acquired from outside the monitored object, such as the weather prevailing in the area of the monitored object, the time of year, sports or other events, information on television programs or series, red-letter days, festival days, information on other monitored persons in the same area, of the same age group/gender/in the same phase of life, changes of behavior detected previously on them, statistics on them.

6. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein the learning of monitored object's routines in said remote monitoring system is continuous.

7. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said remote monitoring system, before it is taken into use, is run through a learning period to learn monitored object's routines.

8. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein the learning of routines and/or the use of other information in said remote monitoring system is based on one or more mathematical methods, which mathematical method is selected from a group comprising: averaging, a hidden Markov model (HMM), Dynamic Time Warp (DTW).

9. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein at least some of the collected data is processed in the data collecting means and/or in the terminal.

10. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said alarm caused by a predefined deviation is one or more functions selected from a group comprising: text message, email message, instant message, telephone call, buzzer, remote alarm.

11. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said remote monitoring system is adapted to serve as a burglar alarm as well.

12. A remote monitoring system as defined in any of the preceding Claims, wherein said remote monitoring system is bi-directional comprising means for forwarding information to the monitored object, which one or more information means are selected from a group comprising: a display, printer, speaker, buzzer, light and an electrical communication device.

13. A remote monitoring system as defined in Claim 12, by means of which remote monitoring system it is possible to control the monitored facility, such as the locking of windows and/or doors, lightning, ventilation, heating and/or electrical appliances.

14. A method of using a remote monitoring system as defined in any of Claims 1 to 13 for monitoring an object to be monitored in a home-like facility, characterized in that the method comprises at least the following steps:

- data on the monitored object is collected by data collecting means placed in the monitored facility,

- other information external to the monitored object is stored in the system,

- the data collected by the data collecting means is processed in the remote monitoring system,

- deviations in the monitored object's routines are identified in the processed data,

- it is determined if the deviation in the routine exceeds a predefined threshold,

- an alarm is given if the deviation exceeds the predefined threshold.

15. A method as defined in Claim 14, which method also comprises, before it is taken into use, a learning step where the remote monitoring system is initialized with information related to the monitored object.

Drawing