Abstract:
Contact centers often have a significant pool of troubleshooting information related to devices that a customer may own or have access to. Connecting the device to a resource of the contact center presents challenges as customers and device manufacturers are reluctant to provide direct connectivity from the device to a public network, such as the Internet. A customer communication device, such as a smart phone, with an application allows a user to broker a communication between a resource of a contact center and a device. As a benefit, the customer can see and control the types of communication occurring and approve or deny according to their comfort level. When the resource-device session is concluded, the link is terminated and cannot be resumed without again obtaining approval.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 61/952,641, filed on Mar. 13, 2014, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The present disclosure is generally directed toward communications between a device and a contact center. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The number and types of devices that are becoming “connected devices” continue to increase. Connected devices are able to communicate with the owner, user, or other party utilizing a communication medium, such as a message exchange service, to communicate with the device and provide additional services. For example, a household appliance may send a message to indicate a component&#39;s erratic behavior before the component fails. The user may then call a service center with the error code. The service center may then dispatch a service technician to replace the failed or failing component. 
         [0004]    Having the ability to access and control these connected devices has many advantages, and some potentially serious disadvantages. Connected devices, like all devices having access to public networks (e.g., the Internet) are always at risk for malware or other attacks. Device manufacturers and customers may be reluctant to make or use connectivity features if the risk is perceived as too great for the benefit provided. For example, a customer may not purchase a connected refrigerator, disable, or not enable the connectivity feature, if the real or apparent threat of a hacker is outweighed by the advantage of prompt notification of a failure that may not occur for many years. This is especially true if the security features require updating. The pool of customers willing to apply periodic updates to their refrigerator&#39;s anti-virus software is likely to be limited. The consequences for not applying the updates may be an exploitable vulnerability that may be substantial in light of the potential benefits. 
         [0005]    Customers who feel the advantages do not outweigh the risk and be more likely to continue to purchase non-connected devices or disable the connectivity of connected devices. If an issue arises they will, as before, call a service center. The service center may ask customers to perform certain operations so that the issue may be isolated or verified. However, many customers may find the requested operations difficult or undesirable. A service technician may have little information prior to beginning service and if a replacement part is needed, the device may be disabled for additional time as a replacement part is retrieved. 
         [0006]    Continuing the example, a problematic refrigerator may be connectable to the Internet to allow a service center to access the information. However, if a refrigerator full of food is starting to spoil, a customer is unlikely to want to spend time configuring their router to allow a service center to have access to the device. Even if access to the public network were to be granted to a service center, customers may still feel uneasy and suspect they left a “back door” open to their network, whether or not they actually did. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    It is with respect to the above issues and other problems that the embodiments presented herein were contemplated. 
         [0008]    In one embodiment, a mechanism is disclosed wherein a mobile message application with multi-modal communication capabilities works as a proxy/broker for a contact center, enterprise, or related to access to a customer&#39;s “internet of things” connected devices. One advantage provided herein is a central control point providing improved privacy and security. On the other end of the communication is a contact center that is provided with a means to access more information from more devices, in part, due to customer acceptance to grant such access afforded by the increased connectivity control offered to the customer. A personal context layer, is also provided, such as when brokering connections to publicly deployed “internet of things.” 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, a detection-communication module is provided. The module may be operated within or by a user&#39;s mobile device, such as a component of an installed application. The detection-communication module searches for “internet of things” within proximity of the user. Detection of any “internet of things” device may be through any enabled communication or detection method available on a mobile device (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, infrared, or any other communication medium between devices). The types of “things” that may qualify as devices within the “internet of things” realm include, but are not limited to, personally owned devices (e.g., television, refrigerator, garage door opener, automobile, etc.); authorized things (e.g., work printer, work laptop, rental car, etc.), and public things (e.g., parking meter, check-in kiosk, etc.). The scanning for devices may be continuous, automatic (e.g., upon receiving a signal from another sensor, such as GPS, etc.) or manually activated, such as when a user is, or is about to, communicate with a contact center or seeks to connect to a device. 
         [0010]    A communication-initiating event occurs between a user and the contact center which utilizes a social mobile real time application, which may incorporate and/or access connected device communication application. The event could be initiated by the user contacting the company via a company contact center, the contact center contacting the user, or the user contacting a proximate “thing” (e.g., accessible device). 
         [0011]    In the course of user-company conversation, interaction, support activity, or service acquisition it may becomes advantageous for the company to interact with the proximate “thing.” Accordingly, access is then initiated. 
         [0012]    Access to the “thing” is not allowed directly. Instead the contact center must be authorized by the user and the flow of information is managed by user&#39;s mobile device, utilizing the social mobile real time application for data communication. For example, the user may provide or be provided status checks, log files, upgrades selection, service purchase options, etc. Once complete, the company&#39;s connection with the “thing” is revoked and any subsequent request for access must go through a reauthorization process. 
         [0013]    In one example, a user has a refrigerator with a Bluetooth enabled connection. The refrigerator has been having, what appears to be, random outages with the freezer. The user contacts customer support and texts the basic problem to the agent. The agent has the user use an application on their smart phone to authorize a temporary service connection. The agent then has access, through the social mobile real time application, to begin accessing on refrigerator data. The user is able to see the inquiries and results as the agent gathers the model information and downloads logs for the past few weeks. The conversation then continues with the user who answers some of the agent&#39;s questions. The customer support agent determines that a freezer component is failing. The agent gets the part number and creates an order for a replacement part. The customer is then able to deauthorize the connection and the agent schedules a service call incorporating the information gathered from the interaction and the user&#39;s location. The interaction was simple and the agent/support center was not provided with access to the user&#39;s private network and without a complex setup process otherwise required to connect the refrigerator to the public network. 
         [0014]    In another example, a user loses the keys to their rental car. The user contacts the rental car company who then brings in an expert from the auto manufacturer. They utilize the social mobile real time application to address the current problem. The application has authentication built in as well as other channels for extended validation (e.g., voice, video). The user is authenticated as the renter of the automobile. The auto manufacturer requests access to the auto through the user&#39;s mobile device. The user accepts and the auto agent activities are displayed to all parties on the conversation. The auto manufacturer connects and is able to unlock/start the vehicle. All groups have a record of the transaction. The rental agent then sends location/directions to get the user to the nearest location for a vehicle exchange. The interaction with the auto was managed by the user&#39;s mobile device operating as a proxy device and providing an acceptable level of security for all parties. A direct connection between the agent and manufacturer to the auto was not required, but instead a managed connection was established through the user and user&#39;s mobile device. 
         [0015]    As used herein, the “thing” refers to accessible device. The term “accessible device” as used herein, means a device comprising logic and a communication interface to enable the accessible device to be placed in communication with another distinct electronic device, such as a mobile communication device (e.g., smart phone, laptop, tablet computer, etc.). 
         [0016]    In one embodiment, a mobile communication device is disclosed, comprising: a first communication interface; a second communication interface; a third communication interface; a user interface; and a control module; and wherein the first communication interface is operable to connect the mobile communication device to a resource of a contact center; wherein the second communication interface is operable to connect the mobile communication device to a first accessible device; and wherein the third communication interface comprises at least a portion of the first and second communication interfaces and is operable to broker a communication between the resource to the first accessible device, and wherein the communication is gated by the control module. 
         [0017]    In another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions thereon is disclosed that when read by a computer cause the computer to perform: establishing a first communication with a resource of a contact center; establishing a second communication with a first accessible device, wherein the second communication comprises a wireless communication; brokering a third communication, comprising a first number of communication types, between the resource and the first accessible device; and gating the first number of communication types. 
         [0018]    In yet another embodiment, an electronic communication system is disclosed, comprising: a contact center comprising a resource and operable to place the resource and a customer in communication with each other over an electronic network and wherein the customer communicates with the agent using a customer communication device; the resource, being configured to communicate with an accessible device via the customer communication device; and wherein the communication between the resource and the accessible device is gated by a control module of the customer communication device. 
         [0019]    The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
         [0020]    The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
         [0021]    The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material.” 
         [0022]    The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any tangible storage that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. 
         [0023]    The terms “determine,” “calculate,” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
         [0024]    The term “module” as used herein refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element. Also, while the disclosure is described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that other aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0025]    The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appended figures: 
           [0026]      FIG. 1  depicts a first view of communication system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  depicts a second view of a communication system in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  depicts a third view of a communication system in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  depicts a mobile communication device in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0030]      FIG. 5A-5D  depict a sequence presented on display of a mobile communication device in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
           [0031]      FIG. 6  depicts components of a mobile communication device in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
           [0032]      FIG. 7  depicts a process in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    The ensuing description provides embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the embodiments. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
         [0034]    The identification in the description of element numbers without a subelement identifier, when a subelement identifiers exist in the figures, when used in the plural, is intended to reference any two or more elements with a like element number. A similar usage in the singular, is intended to reference any one of the elements with the like element number. Any explicit usage to the contrary or further qualification shall take precedence. 
         [0035]    The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure will also be described in relation to analysis software, modules, and associated analysis hardware. However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the following description omits well-known structures, components and devices that may be shown in block diagram form, and are well known, or are otherwise summarized. 
         [0036]    For purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated, however, that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety of ways beyond the specific details set forth herein. 
         [0037]    With reference now to  FIG. 1 , communication system  100  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication system  100  may be a distributed system and, in some embodiments, comprises a communication network  104  connecting one or more communication devices  108  to a work assignment mechanism  116 , which may be owned and operated by an enterprise administering a contact center in which a plurality of resources  112  are distributed to handle incoming work items (in the form of contacts) from customer communication devices  108 . Additionally, social media website  130  and/or other external data sources  134  may be utilized to provide one means for a resource  112  to receive and/or retrieve contacts and connect to a customer of a contact center. Other external data sources  134  may include data sources such as service bureaus, third-party data providers (e.g., credit agencies, public and/or private records, etc.). Customers may utilize their respective customer communication device  108  to send/receive communications utilizing social media website  130 . 
         [0038]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication network  104  may comprise any type of known communication medium or collection of communication media and may use any type of protocols to transport messages between endpoints. The communication network  104  may include wired and/or wireless communication technologies. The Internet is an example of the communication network  104  that constitutes and Internet Protocol (IP) network consisting of many computers, computing networks, and other communication devices located all over the world, which are connected through many telephone systems and other means. Other examples of the communication network  104  include, without limitation, a standard Plain Old Telephone System (POTS), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) network, a Voice over IP (VoIP) network, a cellular network, and any other type of packet-switched or circuit-switched network known in the art. In addition, it can be appreciated that the communication network  104  need not be limited to any one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number of different networks and/or network types. As one example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized to increase the efficiency of a grid-based contact center. Examples of a grid-based contact center are more fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/469,523 to Steiner, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, the communication network  104  may comprise a number of different communication media such as coaxial cable, copper cable/wire, fiber-optic cable, antennas for transmitting/receiving wireless messages, and combinations thereof. 
         [0039]    The communication devices  108  may correspond to customer communication devices. In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a customer may utilize their communication device  108  to initiate a work item, which is generally a request for a processing resource  112 . Illustrative work items include, but are not limited to, a contact directed toward and received at a contact center, a web page request directed toward and received at a server farm (e.g., collection of servers), a media request, an application request (e.g., a request for application resources location on a remote application server, such as a SIP application server), and the like. The work item may be in the form of a message or collection of messages transmitted over the communication network  104 . For example, the work item may be transmitted as a telephone call, a packet or collection of packets (e.g., IP packets transmitted over an IP network), an email message, an Instant Message, an SMS message, a fax, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the communication may not necessarily be directed at the work assignment mechanism  116 , but rather may be on some other server in the communication network  104  where it is harvested by the work assignment mechanism  116 , which generates a work item for the harvested communication, such as social media server  130 . An example of such a harvested communication includes a social media communication that is harvested by the work assignment mechanism  116  from a social media network or server. Exemplary architectures for harvesting social media communications and generating work items based thereon are described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/784,369, 12/706,942, and 12/707,277, filed Mar. 20, 1010, Feb. 17, 2010, and Feb. 17, 2010, respectively, each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
         [0040]    The format of the work item may depend upon the capabilities of the communication device  108  and the format of the communication. In particular, work items are logical representations within a contact center of work to be performed in connection with servicing a communication received at the contact center (and more specifically the work assignment mechanism  116 ). The communication may be received and maintained at the work assignment mechanism  116 , a switch or server connected to the work assignment mechanism  116 , or the like until a resource  112  is assigned to the work item representing that communication at which point the work assignment mechanism  116  passes the work item to a routing engine  132  to connect the communication device  108  which initiated the communication with the assigned resource  112 . 
         [0041]    Although the routing engine  132  is depicted as being separate from the work assignment mechanism  116 , the routing engine  132  may be incorporated into the work assignment mechanism  116  or its functionality may be executed by the work assignment engine  120 . 
         [0042]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication devices  108  may comprise any type of known communication equipment or collection of communication equipment. Examples of a suitable communication device  108  include, but are not limited to, a personal computer, laptop, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), cellular phone, smart phone, telephone, or combinations thereof. In general each communication device  108  may be adapted to support video, audio, text, and/or data communications with other communication devices  108  as well as the processing resources  112 . The type of medium used by the communication device  108  to communicate with other communication devices  108  or processing resources  112  may depend upon the communication applications available on the communication device  108 . 
         [0043]    In accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, the work item is sent toward a collection of processing resources  112  via the combined efforts of the work assignment mechanism  116  and routing engine  132 . The resources  112  can either be completely automated resources (e.g., Interactive Voice Response (IVR) units, processors, servers, or the like), human resources utilizing communication devices (e.g., human agents utilizing a computer, telephone, laptop, etc.), or any other resource known to be used in contact centers. 
         [0044]    As discussed above, the work assignment mechanism  116  and resources  112  may be owned and operated by a common entity in a contact center format. In some embodiments, the work assignment mechanism  116  may be administered by multiple enterprises, each of which has their own dedicated resources  112  connected to the work assignment mechanism  116 . 
         [0045]    In some embodiments, the work assignment mechanism  116  comprises a work assignment engine  120  which enables the work assignment mechanism  116  to make intelligent routing decisions for work items. In some embodiments, the work assignment engine  120  is configured to administer and make work assignment decisions in a queueless contact center, as is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/882,950, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. In other embodiments, the work assignment engine  120  may be configured to execute work assignment decisions in a traditional queue-based (or skill-based) contact center. 
         [0046]    The work assignment engine  120  and its various components may reside in the work assignment mechanism  116  or in a number of different servers or processing devices. In some embodiments, cloud-based computing architectures can be employed whereby one or more components of the work assignment mechanism  116  are made available in a cloud or network such that they can be shared resources among a plurality of different users. Work assignment mechanism  116  may access customer database  118 , such as to retrieve records, profiles, purchase history, previous work items, and/or other aspects of a customer known to the contact center. Customer database  118  may be updated in response to a work item and/or input from resource  112  processing the work item. 
         [0047]    In one embodiment, a message is generated by customer communication device  108  and received, via communication network  104 , at work assignment mechanism  116 . The message received by a contact center, such as at the work assignment mechanism  116 , is generally, and herein, referred to as a “contact.” Routing engine  132  routes the contact to at least one of resources  112  for processing. 
         [0048]    With reference now to  FIG. 2 , illustrative communication system  200  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Mobile communication device  202  comprises customer communication device  108  enabling communication between mobile communication device  202  and resource  112  of a contact center. In addition, mobile communication device  202  is operable to communicate with accessible device  204 . Certain components utilized in the facilitation of the communication between mobile communication device  108  and resource  112  are omitted for the avoidance of unnecessarily complicating the figure. A more complete discussion of the communication components, including those omitted from  FIG. 2 , are provided with respect to  FIG. 1  and the discussion thereof. 
         [0049]    In one embodiment, communication between resource  112  and accessible device  204  is provided via mobile communication device  202 , such as by an application running thereon. In another embodiment, mobile communication device  202  connects to accessible device  204  in a more secure manner, as compared to enabling accessible device to communicate via the Internet. Mobile communication device and accessible device may communicate via near field radio, infrared, Bluetooth, or other proximity-required communication. As an advantage of utilizing proximity-required communication, a “hacker” or other malicious agent would be unable to gain access to accessible device  204  unless physically proximate (e.g., within near field radio, Bluetooth, and/or infrared communication range). 
         [0050]    While certain advantages may be realized with the communication between mobile communication device  202  and accessible device  204  being a wireless communication, such as the ability for mobile communication device  202  to be a user&#39;s cellular telephone without requiring any additional hardware, in certain embodiments, the connection may be wired without departing from the disclosure provided herein. The communication between resource  112  and mobile communication  202  may be via private and/or public network (e.g., Intranet, Internet, public switched telephone network, cellular network, etc.) as more fully described with respect to  FIG. 1 . As a result of certain embodiments disclosed herein resource  112  may communication with accessible device  204  in a manner authorized by a user interfacing with mobile communication device  202 . 
         [0051]    With reference now to  FIG. 3 , illustrative communication system  300  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Resource  112 , such as a human and/or automated agent connects themselves, via an application interface, services or other hardware and/or software to communicate with accessible device  204 . The communication between resource  112  and accessible device  204  is brokered by communication network  104  and mobile communication device  202 . For example, resource  112  may be a human agent who selects various commands for accessible device  204  to execute with resource  112  observing the results. Resource  112  may connect an automatic diagnostic service to accessible device  204  such that an automated testing application may execute commands, retrieve information, and/or observe results. 
         [0052]    In one embodiment, mobile communication device  202  comprises control module  302 . Control module  302  is operable to broker the communication between resource  112  and accessible device  204  by observing, reporting, and/or controlling (e.g., permit, deny, throttle, etc.) a number of communication types  304 . For example, communication type 1 ( 304 A) and communication type 2 ( 304 B) are permitted by control module  302 . Communication type 3 ( 304 C) is denied by control module  302 . Control module  302  receives control signals from a user input and/or stored values (e.g., default settings, settings from a prior session, etc.). 
         [0053]    The components that comprise a communication type are variously embodied. A communication type may be directional (e.g., permit/deny read-only mode, write-only mode, or both read-write mode), action (e.g., permit/deny access to one type of device setting and allow others, permit/deny shutdown/restart), limit (e.g., permit access to modify a freezer temperature 5 degrees, deny access to modify a freezer temperature 20 degrees), and/or temporary (e.g., allow one or more changes made by resource  112  to be undone). 
         [0054]    In one embodiment, the communication between resource  112  and mobile communication device  202  is a first communication, the communication between the mobile communication device  202  and accessible device  204  is a second communication, and the communication of resource  112  and accessible device  204 , via mobile communication device  202 , is a third communication. In one embodiment, the first communication utilizes a first communication interface (e.g., Internet, cellular network, etc.), the second communication utilizes a second communication interface (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, infrared, etc.), and the third communication interface utilizes a portion of the first and second communication interfaces. 
         [0055]    With reference now to  FIG. 4 , illustrative mobile communication device  202  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, mobile communication device  202  comprises an application that, when executed, is operable to display interface  402  and perform message exchange services. Interface  402  displays a number of accessible devices  204  that are within range (i.e., communication therewith is possible). Text and/or graphical representation of accessible devices is provided, such as by text and graphics  404 . 
         [0056]    In another embodiment, a user operating mobile communication device  202  selects one of accessible device  204 , via an associated icon  404 , to establish a communication therewith. Icon  404  may be text, graphic, audio cue, video, haptic feedback and/or other indicator that may be understood by a user to be associated with a particular accessible device  204 . In another embodiment, the selected accessible device  204  may indicate that it is the device selected, such as by presenting a message, sound, and/or light. The user may have previously established the first communication and is currently engaged in a communication with resource  112  (not shown). For example, mobile communication device  202  may incorporate camera  406 , microphone  408 , speaker  410  and telephone functionality (not shown) to allow a user to call resource  112  and engage in an audio and/or video call. Additionally mobile communication device  202  may comprise a physical and/or virtual keyboard (not shown) to enable the communication between mobile communication device  202  and resource  112  to be text-based. 
         [0057]    As displayed on interface  402 , various accessible devices  204  have been detected and are available for interaction. In one embodiment, icon  404 A (e.g., a home refrigerator), icon  404 B (e.g., a home stove), icon  404 C (e.g., a work printer), and icon  404 D (e.g., public parking meters) are provided. The embodiment illustrates mobile communication device  202  within an area operable to communicate with private accessible devices (e.g., accessible devices  204  indicated by icons  404 A,  404 B), authorized accessible devices (e.g., accessible devices  204  indicated by icon  404 C), and public accessible devices (e.g., accessible devices  204  indicated by icons  404 D). In other deployments, the accessible devices  204  displayed on display  402  will be accessible devices  204  that are then proximate to mobile communication device  202 . 
         [0058]    In another embodiment, a user selects one icon  404  and mobile communication device  202  established a communication therewith. In another embodiment, two or more icon  404  are selected, such as when the associated accessible devices  204  interact. Icon  404 D is associated with a plurality of accessible devices  204  (e.g., a number of parking meters within communication proximity to mobile communication device  202 ). A user operating mobile communication device  202  may be presented with a second dialog, display, or other presentation providing the user with the opportunity to select a particular parking meter, such as in accord with a number displayed on the physical parking meter at which the user has parked their vehicle. Alternative means for selecting one of a group of accessible devices  204  includes capturing an image (e.g., QR Code) or signal (e.g., audio, visual, and/or radio signal such as may be triggered by the user physically interacting with a particular accessible device  204 ) when two or more candidate accessible devices  204  may be available. 
         [0059]    With reference now to  FIGS. 5A-5D , an illustrative sequence presented on display  402  of mobile communication device  202  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, a user operating mobile communication device  202  first established a communication with accessible device  204  before establishing a communication with resource  112 . In another embodiment, a user operating mobile communication device  202  first established a communication with resource  112  before establishing the communication with accessible device  204 . It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the text-chat illustrated with respect to  FIG. 5  may be, in whole or in part, audio, video, co-browse, or other communication modes, without departing from the disclosure provided herein. 
         [0060]    A user operating mobile communication device  202  selects icon  404 A (see  FIG. 4 ) associated with accessible device  204  (e.g., the user&#39;s household refrigerator). In one embodiment, resource  112  communicates with a user associated with mobile communication device  202  via display  402  and resource-user communications  502  are displayed on display  402 . Resource-user communication  502 A requests permission to allow the third communication (i.e., between resource  112  and accessible device  204 ). Display  402  may provide an approve all icon  504 , deny all icon  506 , and/or communication type specific icon  508 . The user has selected those communication types to authorize and indicated the selection by clicking on icon  510  as indicated by pointer  512 . Other selecting means (e.g., finger, keyboard, speech recognition, etc.) may be utilized to receive a user&#39;s decision as is known in the art of computer-human interfaces. 
         [0061]      FIG. 5B  illustrates a subsequent sequence. Resource-user communication  502 B follows and the session is initiated with control module  302  selectively allowing approved communication types (e.g., retrieval of model and serial number, log files, changing of settings and not turning off or restarting the refrigerator). Third communication between accessible device  204  and resource  112  is established and resource-device events  514  are displayed. Events  514  may be messages of a message exchange service and be general (e.g., “communicating,” “sending,” “receiving,” etc.), machine-level (e.g., “set(memory 00F3)=01”), and/or a custom message format (e.g., “setting target_temp to 34,” “clearing log file,” etc.). The detail level may be set, in part, by the manufacturer of accessible device  204  or configurable by, for example, a user setting on mobile communication device  202 , resource  112  setting, application setting, and/or accessible device  204 . A user, as indicated by pointer  512 , selects resource-device  514 C and status  516  indicates that the session has been interrupted. In one embodiment, the third communication between resource  112  and accessible device  204  is paused. In another embodiment, only the specific communication type (e.g., change settings) is interrupted. 
         [0062]      FIG. 5C  illustrates a subsequent sequence. Resource-user communication  502 C is presented, such as the resource explaining to the user the reason for the action associated with the now-paused communication type. In one embodiment, the user may be presented with a grant icon  520  and/or the revoke all privileges icon  522 , such as to terminate the resource-device communication. When all communication types are paused, the actions may be limited to resuming and/or re-selecting specific icons  508  to authorize or deny. The user selects icon  502  and resource-user communication  502 D is presented with processing continuing. 
         [0063]      FIG. 5D  illustrates a subsequent sequence. Status icon  524  confirms the session (e.g., the third communication session) has been resumed. Resource-device events  514  are displayed until resource-device event  514 D indicates the resource  112  is no longer in communication with accessible device  204 . Resource-user communication  502 D is presented, such as to inform the user of the recommended events, such as scheduling a service call. 
         [0064]    With reference now to  FIG. 6 , illustrative system  600  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, mobile communication device  202  comprise a number of logic modules which may be embodied as hardware, software, or a combination thereof. User interface  402  provides a display for resource-device monitoring  602  to enable a user of mobile communication device  202  to monitor the activities of a resource  112  when communicating with accessible device  204 . Control module  302  comprises a display portion presented on user interface  402  and sets permissions in accord with a user input for resource-device communication  602 . 
         [0065]    Resource-user communication  606  provides a communication interface between mobile communication device  202  and resource  112  of a contact center to enable a first communication. User-device communication  608  provides a communication interface between mobile communication device  202  and accessible device  204  (e.g.,  204 A) and enables a second. Resource-user communication  606  and user-device communication comprise a portion of resource-device communication  604  and enables a third communication between resource  112  and at least one accessible device  204 . 
         [0066]    Optionally, user-device second communication  610  enables a fourth communication between mobile communication device  202  and accessible device  204  (e.g.,  204 B). In another embodiment, a single user-device communication module  208  may enable the second and third communications between accessible device  204 A and  204 B, respectively. As a benefit, resource  112  may interact with a plurality of accessible devices  204 . In one example, a user is unable to get a printer (e.g., accessible device  204 A) to work correctly with a router (e.g., accessible device  204 B). The settings of the printer alone and the router alone do not reveal the configuration error. Resource  112 , in accord with embodiments provided herein, accesses printer  204 A and router  204 B to determine where the problem lies and apply the appropriate correction to one or both. 
         [0067]    With reference now to  FIG. 7 , process  700  is discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, process  700  is initiated at start  702 . Step  704  establishes a connection between a customer (e.g., via customer communication device  202 ) and accessible device  204 . In one embodiment, step  702  is a short distance communication and may comprise a link via near field radio, optical (e.g., infrared), Bluetooth, etc. Next, step  706  establishes a communication between customer (e.g., via customer communication device  202 ). In one embodiment, step  706  establishes a connection that comprises, at least in part, a PSTN, cellular, Internet, and/or other public networks. Step  706  may utilize private components in part, such as a Wi-Fi, Intranet, Bluetooth, LAN, WAN, or other non-public component such as to connect to the public portion of the connection. 
         [0068]    In another embodiment, process  700  is initiated at start  708  and steps  704  and  706  are reversed from process  700  as initiated from start  702 . For example, step  706  is performed and a customer contacts a resource to discuss an issue regarding the accessible device (e.g., using a smart phone to contact customer support to discuss an issue). Step  704  is then performed to establish the connection between the customer and the accessible device. In one embodiment, resource  112  instructs the customer how to launch and application, select an accessible device, and/or connect to the accessible device. 
         [0069]    Step  708  displays a prompt on customer communication device  202  to authorize a communication between resource  112  and accessible device  204 . Step  710  then authorizes at least one communication type of the resource-accessible device communication in accord with inputs received in response to the prompting of step  708 . Step  712  presents indicia of communication types on the user interface of customer communication device  202 . Optionally, step  712  allows the customer, via the user interface of customer communication device  202 , to interrupt one communication type or the entire communication. An interrupted communication or communication type may then be resumed or terminated in accord with the customer&#39;s inputs. 
         [0070]    Step  714  terminates the communication session between resource  112  and accessible device  202 . Optionally, a summary, log, and/or other records associated with the resource-accessible device is made available to the customer and/or resource  112 . 
         [0071]    In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methods were described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that in alternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different order than that described. It should also be appreciated that the methods described above may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purpose processor (GPU or CPU) or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the methods (FPGA). These machine-executable instructions may be stored on one or more machine readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type of optical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, the methods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. 
         [0072]    Specific details were given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments. 
         [0073]    Also, it is noted that the embodiments were described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed, but could have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function. 
         [0074]    Furthermore, embodiments may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium. A processor(s) may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc. 
         [0075]    While illustrative embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed, and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations, except as limited by the prior art.