Abstract:
A configurable system that employs a processing unit, such as a computer, to which one or more responders, such as a keyboard and a mouse, through which a user interacts with the processing unit. While each of the responders is utilized by the user for its designed primary function, its activity is also used for monitoring whether the individual is interacting with the processing unit within expected bounds.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to monitoring at-home activities of individuals and, more particularly, to a system and method for monitoring an individual&#39;s well being by identifying and reporting unexpected behavior. 
         [0002]    It is not unusual nowadays for people to live independently even when they are advanced in years, infirm, and their loved ones live far away. Often, one of the loved ones assumes the burden of making sure that the living-alone person (LA individual) has his or her physical needs attended to, and that prompt action is taken when this person is in distress. In a sense, the person who had taken on the burden is a pseudo-parent (herein, SP party). 
         [0003]    Because the SP party is often far removed from the LA individual, and sometimes there is no SP party at all, there has been a need for remote monitoring of LA individuals. 
         [0004]    To satisfy this need, systems have been developed to enable an LA individual to contact medical professionals from his or her home in case of a medical emergency. In a number of such prior art systems the LA individual is equipped with an emergency call button that initiates a cal or otherwise signals an emergency call center. The concept of such a system is that if the LA individual is in distress, he or she can press the emergency call button and the call center will respond, ready to enlist the services of pre-specified emergency service providers (e.g., doctor, ambulance, police, etc.). In addition to calling upon emergency services, the emergency call center often also informs a designated person (typically, the SP party). Unfortunately, in some cases, the individual is unable to press the emergency call button, such as when an individual has fallen and cannot reach the button, or for some reason is unconscious. 
         [0005]    Somewhat more complex systems have also been designed to monitor medication compliance or check health characteristics of an individual, such as heart rate, body temperature, blood chemistry, blood pressure, respiration, and the like. In these systems the individual has to provide data periodically, such as by telephoning a monitoring center to provide health information to the center, or by logging into a web site or other data collection system. 
         [0006]    A system that is qualitatively somewhat different is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,298 where a motion detector ascertains the movement or non-movement of the LA individual and this information is reported to a central monitoring station. The difference between the 6,445,298 patent and the above-described systems is that a motion detector is an opportunistic sensor, as compared to the medical sensors that are focused on the individual, or the button which responds to a conscious, volitional, action by the individual and is, therefore, a responder. 
         [0007]    In U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,865, opportunistic sensors that are distributed around the home collect data on activity in the home. The primary contribution of the 7,091,865 patent is that data is communicated to a remote monitoring center and collated in a database according to applicable time slots (e.g., hour long). Historical activity is used to determine whether a new data point unreasonably exceeds historical activity bounds, in which case an alert message is issued indicating that the activity is unusual. 
         [0008]    Similarly, Published US Patent application 2005/0131736 monitors a sensor that is activated by an individual, the activation is recorded, and a determination is made—using histogram analysis—whether the individual&#39;s behavior as reflected by the sensor&#39;s information is routine. 
         [0009]    The above-described systems are effective, but they offer very little control to the SP party. 
         [0010]    Additionally, perhaps because the LA individual is often elderly, infirm, and lives alone, the social interactions of the typical LA individual are often limited, and that gives rise to a sense of isolation and loneliness. 
         [0011]    Clearly, a need exists for effective monitoring of the LA individual and for enhancing the quality of life by enhancing the social interactions of the LA individual. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  depicts an arrangement that includes a system ( 10 ) in accord with the principles disclosed herein; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates a display that may be visible on the monitor of system  10 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  depicts the method executed in system  10 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  shows an interaction of an embodiment in accord with the principles disclosed herein that employs a server  30  for configuring system  10 ; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  shows an interaction of an embodiment for configuring system  10  without use of server  30 . 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0017]    The above-mentioned need for effective monitoring is satisfied and an advance in the art is realized with a configurable system that is installed in the LA individual&#39;s home. This system employs one or more responders that have a designed primary function and, while each is used in its primary function, it is also used for monitoring the well being of the LA individual. In one embodiment, the system of this invention is a personal computer, with responders taken from a set that includes a keyboard and a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, a camera, and an infra-red (IR) detector. One or more of the connected responders is employed in a process that determines the well being of the LA individual. The process of determining the well being of the individual may be similar to the processes described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,865 and Published US Patent application 2005/0131736. 
         [0018]    The above-mentioned need for social interactions is satisfied by configuring the computer with one or more social interaction programming modules. Advantageously, the user interface that is installed in the computer is alterably configured to the level of expertise that the LA individual possesses with computers. 
         [0019]    Advantageously, the system is remotely configurable. In one embodiment, the system is configured (and at time reconfigured) by a central monitoring site. In such an embodiment, the configuration that is installed in the LA individual&#39;s computer may be alterable by the SP Party through an interaction with the central monitoring site. In a second embodiment, the system is configured (and at times reconfigured) by the SP Party directly, through the Internet, or locally. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]      FIG. 1  presents a diagram of an illustrative system in accord with the principles disclosed herein, which includes computer  10  at the home of the LA individual, computer. 
         [0021]    Computer  10  includes processor  40  and memory that stores data and program modules. Computer  10  may be a conventional personal computer that operates pursuant to any selected operating system  51 , and the associated drivers for responders  61  and  62  (e.g., keyboard and mouse). 
         [0022]    In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , computer  10  includes program module  52  that effectively “sits on top” of the operating system and presents to the LA individual only those capabilities that module  52  deems necessary, and presents those capabilities via a look-and-feel interface that module  52  specifies. In other words, module  52  has the ability to make computer  10  offer as many or as few capabilities as desired, and those capabilities are presented in whatever way module  52  dictates. The interface that a particular LA individual is presented by module  52 —both in terms of the applications and in terms of the look-and-feel—is dictated by data in database  53 . That data is downloaded to computer  10  by server  30  with the help of communications module  54 . (In some embodiments, a particular input string from the keyboard terminates execution of the overlay module, leaving computer  10  operating under its native operating system.) 
         [0023]      FIG. 2  depicts what a computer display monitor that is associated with the  FIG. 1  system, configured for a particular LA individual, and that individual&#39;s level of computer savvy. Illustratively, the information is presented as a collection of “buttons” which, when pointed to and clicked by a mouse responder, activates the application that is described by the button&#39;s label. Thus, for example, when the LA individual points to and clicks on the “listen to radio,” a web-based radio station of a particular genre (specified by database  53 ) is turned on. Although  FIG. 2  shows rectangular “buttons” small images (icons) may be used. 
         [0024]    It may be noted that some of the applications have no need to interact with the Internet (such as “create/edit documents,” “saved music,” and “saved pictures”), some of the applications are relatively standard applications that involve interaction with the Internet (such as “Internet,” “Facebook,” and “Weather”), and some applications are very specific to the LA individual (such as “Message to Johnny”). Of the applications that involve interactions with the Internet, there is a whole class of social networking applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc., which LA individuals often find very appealing because they involve interactions with individuals rather than with inanimate websites.  FIG. 2  also depicts a “push” capability, where the message in the center of the monitor informs the LA individual that information was downloaded to computer  10  (“Pictures of Becky are ready for viewing”). 
         [0025]    Of course, each of the applications that are shown on the monitor resides in memory  50  and, more specifically, within programs grouping  55 . 
         [0026]    Optionally, in addition to the responders that are connected to computer  10 , computer  10  includes sensors  63 ,  64  and  65 . These may be opportunistic sensors, such as motion detectors, intrusion sensors, and the like, and/or other types of sensors, such as fire, or medical condition sensors. 
         [0027]    One important objective of the  FIG. 2  system is to send an alert message when the behavior of the LA individual is out of an accepted norm. To that end a norm needs to be defined; and that norm is specific to the LA individual and to how that individual interacts with his or her home environment. This norm is defined by information that is stored in database  53 , and the determination as to whether the behavior of the LA individual is outside the norm is made by software module  56 . 
         [0028]    The information that defines behavior that is within or outside the norm is, effectively, a set of rules, and those rules are associated with the specific responders and sensors that computer  10  has. At least some of those rules are may be altered from time to time, either manually or in response to automated data analysis to correspond to the particular patterns of behavior that the LA individual has. For example, if there is a fire alarm sensor that connects to computer  10 , computer  10  would have a rule relative thereto which, illustratively, is to respond to the arrival of an alarm signal from the sensor by immediately sending an alarm message to the fire department, to SP  20 , and perhaps also to other individuals who are concerned about the LA individual. When a computer mouse that is associated with computer  10  is one of the responders, the rule for the mouse may be that an alarm message is sent out to central monitoring server  30  or to SP party  20 , or both, if the mouse is not clicked on any screen “button” within a chosen time span; for example, 20 hours. Respectively, these examples represent fixed rules that, most likely will not be altered and, perhaps, are made not alterable, and rules that are configurable. It is understood that the configurable rules includes self-learning rules, where the thresholds are based on analysis of past behavior of the LA individual. That analysis can create new rules rather than just alter thresholds. For example, if the LA individual&#39;s habit is to execute a particular program at about 10 pm and shortly thereafter the individual is detected in his/her bedroom and there is no further activity for the night, a rule can be created (by a program that seeks patterns), for example, to send an alarm if that program is executed later than 9:45 pm but the individual is not detected in his/her bedroom within 15 minutes. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the process within computer  10  that sends an alert message when appropriate. In step  101  signals from responders and sensors are received. Those signals are different for different responders and sensors. For example, for a keyboard, any all keystrokes constitute a trigger signal; in a touch-sensitive screen, any momentary touching of the screen constitutes a trigger signal; in a motion detection sensor, and movement that is detected by the signal is a trigger signal, etc. 
         [0030]    From step  101  control passes to step  102  where the signals are processed as specified by module  56  to determine whether the LA individual is likely to be OK, and control passes to step  103 . It is noted that the processing carried out by module  56  is, at least in connection with most of the responders, sensitive to passage of time. That is, the status that is developed by the processing can change whether or not a trigger signal arrives. Indeed, in most circumstances where the status changes from “ok” to “not ok” it is because of an absence of a trigger signal. Therefore, the passage of control from step  102  to  103  occurs repeatedly, and in most embodiments periodically. 
         [0031]    Step  103  determines whether the status is “ok” or not. When status is “ok” control returns to step  101 . Otherwise control passes to step  104 , which formulates an alarm message and queries database  53  for the address of a party to whom the alert message is to be sent. Database  53  may have more than one addressee, depending on the nature of the alarm message. Those addressees may be the central monitoring server, the SP party (i.e., computer  20 ) or some other party (e.g., fire department, police, kin of the LA individual, etc.). Following the sending of the alarm message, control returns to step  101 . 
         [0032]    In accordance with the  FIG. 1  embodiment, the information that resides in database  53  is fashioned and downloaded to database  53  by server  30 , but this fashioning is under direction of SP computer  20 . To elaborate, the party that owns server  30  is in the business of serving as the technical and responder agent for SP parties for the benefit of LA individuals, effectively standing in the shoes of the respective SP parties, who are not savvy enough technically to create and to download the above disclosed program modules of computer  10 , or who are not able to respond as quickly to alarm messages as they believe they should. Of course, an embodiment that dispenses with server  30  is possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Such an embodiment, for example, relies on direct communication between computers  10  and  20 ; both for configuring and for reporting alarms. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  presents a flow chart of a process that involves (primarily) computer  20  and server  30 . When the SP party wishes to review and perhaps modify the operation of computer  10  the party logs into server  30  at step  201  and indentifies computer  10 . Server  30  contains database  31  that maintains information about SP computer  20  and about the configuration of LA computer  10  (as well as about other SP and LA computers). Control then passes to step  202 , which sends the configuration information of computer  10  to computer  20 . Computer  20  stores this configuration information is storage area  21  and, when instructed by the SP party, executes emulation module  22 . Module  22  duplicates on computer  20  the experience that computer  10  offers at the home of the LA individual. The emulation enables the SP party to assess whether the environment offered to the LA individual at computer  10  is adequate. 
         [0034]    Following the emulation, at step  204 , the SP party determines whether modification of the configuration within computer  10  is desirable. If not, the SP party logs off server  30  and the process ends. Otherwise, a message is sent to server  30 , in response to which server  30  makes available to the SP party a menu of configurations (encompassing applications and look-and-feel attributes). At step  206  the SP party makes its selections and sends a request to server  30  to effect the desired changes. In response, step  207  modifies the configuration of computer  10  and sends the modified configuration to computer  20 . 
         [0035]    The above-disclosed interaction between the SP party at computer  20  and server  30  can be in the form of server  30  presenting one or more web pages to computer  20  so that the SP party can make selections. Alternatively, computer  20  hosts local software that provides the menu and allows changes to be made to its local copy of the configuration for computer  10 . Once the SP is satisfied with the modified configuration, the modified configuration is sent to server  30 , and then to computer  10 . Advantageously, server  30  offers both options to enable some SP parties to use the webpage approach, and other SP parties to use the local-software approach. 
         [0036]    Once computer  20  receives the modified configuration information, step  208  permits the SP party at computer  20  to again emulate the environment of computer  10 . Control then passes to step  209  where the SP party decides whether the emulated environment is acceptable. If not, the process step  209  sends a message to server  30  to return the process to step  205 . Otherwise, step  209  sends a message to server  30  to advance the process to step  210 . At step  210  server  30  downloads the modified configuration to computer  10  and causes computer  10  to install the downloaded changes. 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  presents the process of configuring computer  10  without use of server  30 . When the SP Party at computer  20  wishes to modify the configuration of computer  10 , the SP Party initiates the  FIG. 5  process, and in the first step the SP Party configures computer  10 . The next step is a decision block where the SP Party determines whether the configuration of computer  10  is as desired. It so, the SP Party executes a configuration termination step. 
         [0038]    In a first embodiment, the step of configuring computer  10  comprises the SP Party logging into computer  10  (remotely or locally) as an administrator, and making the desired changes. The configuration termination step consists of the SP Party logging out. In a second embodiment the step of configuring is performed with the aid of information that is stored in the computer of the SP Party, which information includes configuration data of computer  10 , and with the aid of a software module within the SP Party computer that emulates the environment of computer  10 . The configuration termination step comprises downloading at least the modified configuration data from the SP Party computer to computer  10 . 
         [0039]    It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed above are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and that other implementations and equipment may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. By way of illustration, a cell phone or a PDA serve the function of computer  10 . A touch sensitive screen can replace the keyboard of computer  10 , etc.