Abstract:
An alert network is described. The alert network has a plurality of individual monitoring systems, a plurality of user terminals respectively associated with the individual monitoring systems, alert transmitters in the monitoring systems, for transmitting primary alerts to selected user terminals and/or to other monitoring systems in accordance with parameterized transmission rules, alert receivers in said terminals, and alert propagators in the terminals, capable of selectively propagating received primary alerts to other terminals and or to other monitoring systems as secondary alerts, in accordance with parameterized propagation rules. A method for transmitting and propagating alerts according to corresponding parameters in such a network is also described.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to monitoring systems and more particularly to remote monitoring and to systems for the safety of property and people. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Private individuals are more and more often equipped with computer facilities comprising intrusion or fire sensors to trigger a siren or to cause a call to a telephone exchange in case of an alert. 
         [0003]    Advanced solutions have recently been developed:
       the D-Link® system proposes a camera coupled to the internet allowing to the user to watch remotely what happens at home thanks to a cell phone like an iPhone®, an iPad® or an Android® terminal equipped with a browser. Furthermore, the camera comprises:
           an infrared lighting system allowing night vision,   a motion detector coupled to an email manager to send an email in case of an alert,   a local storage system for the video recordings.   
           The commercial Dropcam® system additionally allows:
           sharing the video streams captured by the camera with his camera with his networks of friends,   switching on or off the remote monitoring system or automatically depending on the geolocation of the user&#39;s terminal,   archiving and consulting with time delay the video recordings recorded by the monitoring system.   
           The commercial Belkin Netcam® additionally allows associating the link of a video recorded by the monitoring system with an alert email automatically sent in case of motion detection.       
 
         [0013]    However, these solutions are vulnerable: if the monitoring system of a user comprises blind spots or is neutralized by the offender, its recordings will be unusable to track him down. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0014]    It has been observed that, in a residential area, many people are equipped with monitoring systems. However, each system is individual. Therefore, an offender or intruder may very well neutralize a given monitoring system and be in the vicinity of many other systems that, if they are inactive, will bring no help in identifying the offender. 
         [0015]    It appears that these other monitoring systems could usefully be activated to record traces of a passage of an intruder and the owners of these other systems could themselves usefully be alerted as potential witnesses of an intrusion or of an assault at a neighbor&#39;s. 
         [0016]    The present disclosure relates to a monitoring network composed of individual monitoring systems and of user terminals of persons who can be potential witnesses or can potentially be helpful, as well as a method for propagation of an alert in this monitoring network. 
         [0017]    More particularly, according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an alert network is provided, the alert system comprising: a plurality of individual monitoring systems, a plurality of user terminals respectively associated with the individual monitoring systems, alert transmitters in said monitoring systems, for transmitting primary alerts to selected user terminals and/or to other monitoring systems in accordance with parameterized transmission rules, alert receivers in said terminals, and alert propagators in said terminals, capable of selectively propagating received primary alerts to other terminals and or to other monitoring systems as secondary alerts, in accordance with parameterized propagation rules. 
         [0018]    Certain preferred but non-limiting aspects of this network are the following:
       the network further comprises a common monitoring server capable of storing alert information transmitted by said monitoring systems.   said monitoring server comprises an alert network manager adapted to handle the transmission and propagation parameters.   said alert propagators are further capable of selectively propagating to other monitoring systems activation and/or recording instructions for one or several components of said other monitoring systems.   said alert propagators are further capable of selectively propagating to other monitoring systems warning signal triggering instructions for one or several components of said other monitoring systems.   said user terminals further comprise data input units for inputting alert-related information.   the plurality of user terminals include a group of user terminals connected via a social network.       
 
         [0025]    According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for handling alerts in an alert network is provided, the method comprising a plurality of individual monitoring systems, a plurality of user terminals respectively associated with the individual monitoring systems and an monitoring server, said monitoring systems and said user terminals being selectively connectable to each other within said alert network, the method comprising the following steps:
       when an abnormal condition in a given monitoring system is detected, transmitting a corresponding alert as a primary alert to a given set of user terminals in accordance with user-defined primary alert transmission parameters accessible by said monitoring system,   at each user terminal receiving such primary alert, in accordance with propagation parameters accessible by the user terminals, propagating said primary alert as a secondary alert to another set of user terminals in accordance with user-defined primary alert propagation parameters accessible by said user terminals.       
 
         [0028]    Certain preferred but non-limiting aspects of this method are the following:
       said user-defined primary alert transmission parameters include at least one among alert types, connection modes with primary alert recipient user terminals, recipient user terminal identifiers, recipient user categories, alert message contents, time-related conditions, location-related conditions, authorizations for access by recipient user terminals to alert data.   said primary alert transmission step comprises also transmitting the alert to another monitoring system.   a primary alert transmitted to another monitoring system includes activation and/or recording instructions for one or several components of said another monitoring system.   said primary alerts are received in accordance with user-defined primary alert reception parameters set by recipient user terminals.   said user-defined primary alert reception parameters include at least one among alert reception enablement, alert reception requests, transmission mode conversion, time-dependent connection mode conversion, action triggering.   said user-defined alert propagation parameters include at least one among alert types, connection modes with secondary alert recipient user terminals, recipient user terminal identifiers, recipient user categories, alert message content or content modification, time-related conditions, location-related conditions, authorizations for access by second alert recipient user terminals to alert data.   the method further comprises the following step:
           at each user terminal receiving a secondary alert, in accordance with user-defined re-propagation parameters accessible by the user terminals, re-propagating said secondary alert to another set of user terminals in accordance with secondary alert re-propagation parameters accessible by said user terminals.   
           at least part of said parameters are stored in the user terminals.   at least part of said parameters are stored in the monitoring server.       
 
         [0039]    Thanks to this network and method according to the present invention, normally separated systems can form a monitoring array substantially improving the number of recorded traces of the passage of intruders/offenders, and to multiply the number warnings such as sirens and alarm messages of potentially many user terminals. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0040]    The present disclosure will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting examples and made with reference to the appended drawings, in which: 
           [0041]      FIG. 1  diagrammatically shows a system comprising a set of user terminals connected via Internet and a monitoring server to a set of individual alarm monitoring systems; 
           [0042]      FIG. 2  diagrammatically shows a monitoring network formed by individual alarm monitoring systems and by users within which an alert according to the method of the invention propagates; 
           [0043]      FIG. 3  diagrammatically shows the human-machine interface of a terminal, allowing to parameterize and to use the system of the invention; and 
           [0044]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating the propagation process of an alert in the monitoring network. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     1) System 
       [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a group of users  110  includes a plurality of user terminals  111  to  116  connected via a network  120  such as the Internet to a monitoring server  130  and to a group  140  of monitoring systems  141  to  146 . To a given monitoring system  141  is associated at least one owner terminal  111 , according to an association link  1416 . Social networks  150  such as the applications Facebook®, Whatsapp®, Twitter® applications, electronic mail, SMS or telephone message services are accessible by the user terminals, the monitoring server and the monitoring systems. 
         [0046]    A terminal  111  comprises a smartphone such as an iPhone® or an Android® mobile, equipped with an operating system  1111  such as iOS® operating a geolocation module  111 , a module for social network management  1113  consisting of a local application or a browser for connecting to one or more of the social networks  150  and with a network manager  132  contained in the monitoring server, a module  1114  for parameterizing primary alerts, a module  1115  for parameterizing secondary alerts and a module  1116  for managing the human-machine interface of terminal  111 . 
         [0047]    The terminal  112  is similar to terminal  111  and is provided with equivalent modules  1121 - 1122 - 1123 - 1124 - 1125 - 1126 . The same applies to terminals  113 - 114 - 115 - 116 . 
         [0048]    In the following description, the references  111 - 112 - 113 - 114 - 115 - 116  shall designate for convenience the users/owners or their respective terminals. 
       2) Module for Primary Alerts Parameterization 
       [0049]    The module  1114  for parameterizing primary alerts allows user  111  to define the transmission parameters  210  (as described in detail below with reference to  FIG. 2 ) of a primary alert transmitted by his own monitoring system  141  by means of a link  1416 . To this purpose, this module  1114  may cooperate with the social network management module  1113 . For instance, user  111  can parameterize his monitoring system  141  so that he is informed by the system via SMS (alert  201 ), as well as his neighbor  112  (alert  202 ), in case of an intrusion during the weekend. 
         [0050]    A recipient  112  can then parameterize reception parameters  220  of a primary alert  202  thanks to a similar parameterization module  1124 , as described in detail below. For instance, user  112  can filter the alerts so as to receive a primary alert  202  only via email during the night. 
       3) Module for Secondary Alert Parameterization 
       [0051]    The module  1115  for parameterizing secondary alerts also allows user  111  to define propagation parameters  230 , described in detail below, of a primary alert  201  generated by his own monitoring system  141 . By contrast with the generation of a primary alert  201 , this propagation is carried out only after action on the terminal of the owner  111  or of a recipient  112 . This action is a propagation triggering  238  as described in detail below. 
         [0052]    When a primary alert  201  is propagated according to the propagation parameters  230 , it becomes a secondary alert  205 - 206 . 
         [0053]    User  113  defines reception parameters  240  and re-propagation parameters  250  for a secondary alert  205  thanks to a module  1135  (not shown) for parameterizing secondary alerts, as described in detail below. To this end, module  1135  cooperates with the social network management module  1133  (not shown) of terminal  113 . 
       4) Monitoring Server 
       [0054]    The monitoring server  130  is a Web server equipped with an operating system  131 , a network manager  132  and a database  133 . 
         [0055]    The network manager  132  manages the monitoring network  200  formed by the cooperation of terminals  110 , monitoring systems  140  and the social networks  150 . This network manager  132  can be parameterized by modules  1114 - 1124 - 1134  for parameterizing primary alerts and by modules  1115 - 1125 - 1135  for parameterizing secondary alerts, that define the parameters  210 ,  220 ,  230 ,  240  and  250  as described in detail below. 
         [0056]    The database  133  stores information relating to the organization and to the parameterization of monitoring system  200 , and in particular:
       the files generated by the monitoring systems  240 , such as pictures  321  or video files  322 ,   the alert notes  341  and additional information  342 - 343  as described in detail below.       
 
       5) Monitoring System 
       [0059]    A monitoring system  141  comprises a set of sensors  1412  connected to a data processing system  1411  that can generate alerts  201 - 202  and transmit them to server  130 . This system preferably comprises:
       a home WiFi home network connected to the Internet constructed, for example based on a Freebox® system;   a camera connected to the WiFi home network, such as a D-Link DCS 242L® camera; this camera is motor-driven and can be remotely controlled;   infrared LEDs for night vision and/or microphones allowing to record intruders conversations, as mounted on the D-Link DCS 242L® camera;   other sensors or detectors specialized in home automation or damage detection: closed/open doors, shutters or taps, heaters, temperature, smoke, heat, flood;   other sensors specialized in motion detection of intruders, animals (including monitoring the passage of wild animals);   a microphone equipped with a band pass filter, specialized in the detection of an alarm siren;   a system for recognition of sound image/sound pattern, capable of detecting an alarm siren;   a system for recognition of video images that can interpret the suspicious behavior of an intruder or the distress behavior of an elderly person, filmed by the camera;   a geolocation system.       
 
         [0069]    This system can generate an alert  201 - 202 - 203  and an accompanying message  215 , and transmit them to a recipient  111 - 112 - 142  via network  120  in the following way:
       an alert  201  is generated by the computer system  1411  in response to the detection of motion, smoke, distress behavior, etc. by the sensors  1412  and the associated recognition systems;   to this alert  201  is associated a first message  215  containing a photo  321  taken by the camera; which is first transmitted in HTTP mode to server  130 . Since the server  130  can transfer this message to the monitoring network  200  without any delay, the recipients  111 - 112  can take notice of alert  201  and instantaneously visualize the photo  321 ; and   a second message  215  containing the video  322  recorded by the monitoring system is then transmitted to the server  130  in FTP mode. The recipients  111 - 112  can then access the video files  322  recorded by monitoring system  141 .       
 
       6) Monitoring Network 
     a) Primary Alert Transmission Parameters 
       [0073]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , the monitoring network  200  is handled by the network manager  132 . This network comprises the set of user terminals  111 - 112 - 113  and the set of monitoring systems  141 - 142 . A monitoring system  141  can transmit a primary alert  201 - 202 - 203  according to parameters  210  defined by its owner  111  thanks to module  1114 . 
         [0074]    The transmission parameters  210  of a primary alert are in particular the following:
       categories  211  of primary alerts  201 - 202 - 203 ; for instance, a fire alert can be classified into a different category than an intrusion alert or an assistance request alert transmitted by an elderly person;   support applications  212  for the primary alerts  201 , by category  211 ; for instance, a fire alert can cause the transmission of a SMS, while an intrusion alert will cause the transmission of an email and of a Whatsapp® message;   the list  213  of recipients  111 - 112 - 142  of a primary alert  201 - 202 - 203 , per category  211  and per support application  212 ; for instance, the owner  111  of a monitoring system  141  can define, in the list of his friends identified by the social network management module  1113 , a first list of recipients for a fire alert and a second list of recipients for an intrusion alert; more generally, the owner can define a relationship between the category  211  of an alert (fire, flood, intrusion, . . . ), the support application  212  (SMS, email, Facebook, a dedicated/personalized alert system, . . . ), and lists  213  of recipients (personal contacts, neighbors, certain friends, all my friends, the whole network, . . . );   the categories  214  of recipients  111 - 112 - 142 , and in particular:
           a recipient  111  can be the owner of the monitoring system  141 ,   a recipient  112  can be a neighbor, a friend or a person registered in the monitoring social network,   a recipient  142  can be another monitoring system; for instance, an intrusion alert  203  coming from a monitoring system  141  can cause the switching to the record mode of another monitoring system  142  situated nearby. An intruder can thus be caught in an array of cameras storing traces of his passage.   
           category-specific messages  215  associated with primary alerts  201 - 202 - 203 , per category  211 - 214 , for instance:
           a SMS message such as “Fire alert at Duponts&#39;, 5, rue du Rocher”,   a vocal message transmitted by an automatic messaging system to the phone of the recipient,   a computer-generated message transmitted to another monitoring system  142  in order to trigger an alarm siren or a video recording,   a predefined message depending on the triggered sensors, e.g.: “intrusion alert—the garage door has been opened”;   a message computed and generated by an image recognition system, e.g. “Mrs. Dupont is asleep at an unusual time”; “the alert seems to have been triggered by a cat—checking required”; “the plate number of the suspicious car is CAW 3456”,   
           transmission conditions  216  depending on time schedules or geolocation, and also depending on categories  211 - 214 ; for instance, a prospective recipient  112  can be informed on a fire alert  202  provided that his terminal be located in an area  219  situated less than one kilometer from this alert;   access authorizations  217  depending on categories  211 - 214 ; the owner  111  can thus authorize a recipient  112  to:
           visualize the video  322  and sound recordings coming from his monitoring system  141  in case of an alert, or in time delayed manner from database  133 ;   steer the drive motor of a remote controlled camera;   trigger an alarm siren;   
           automatic actions  218  of the monitoring system  141 , depending on categories  211 - 214 , and for instance:
           record a video and continuously stream it to server  130 ;   trigger an alarm siren.   
               
 
         [0096]    These parameters  210 , like the following ones, are defined by default by the social network management module  1113  and parameterize the monitoring network manager  132 . 
       b) Reception Parameters of a Primary Alert 
       [0097]    The reception parameters  220  of a primary alert  202  are defined by the recipient  112  of this alert. If the recipient of this alert  203  is a monitoring system  142 , these parameters are defined by his owner. 
         [0098]    These reception parameters  220  are in particular the following:
       a reception authorization  221 : the recipient  112  can for instance accept or refuse the primary alerts  202  coming from the monitoring system  141 , the user  111  of which is the owner and has proposed to recipient  112  to accept these alerts;   a reception request  222 : the recipient  112  can request to be the recipient of primary alerts transmitted by any monitoring system included in a given area  229 ; preferably, the respective owners of the monitoring systems located in this area  229  will be able to then accept or refuse such request;   the reception conditions  223 , which can depend, for example, on the geolocation or on time schedules; for instance, the reception of a primary intrusion alert can be reception-filtered at night;   the reception mode  224 : the recipient  112  can for instance modify the accompanying message of a primary alert  201 , or the support application  212 ; for instance, an alert parameterized by the user  111  as a SMS can be re-parameterized by user  112  as an automatic phone call.   the triggering of an action  225 : recipient  112  can thus decide that all the monitoring systems of which he is the owner will broadcast their videos on server  130  in case of reception of an intrusion alert  202 .       
 
         [0104]    By combining parameters  221 - 222 - 223 - 224 , each recipient  112  can filter the primary alerts  201  received in order to re-dispatch them again in additional or replacement reception modes (SMS, email, Facebook®, . . . ). 
         [0105]    Thus, an alert  201  received by SMS on a mobile terminal can cause the generation of a Facebook® message, depending on a planning that determines the preferred alert mode depending on determined time ranges. 
       c) Propagation Parameters of a Secondary Alert 
       [0106]    A recipient  111  of a primary alert  201  defines the propagation parameters  230  of this alert. When propagated, a primary alert  201  becomes a secondary alert  205 - 206 . Similarly to the transmission parameters  210  of a primary alert, the propagation parameters  230  define in particular:
       categories  231  of secondary alerts;   support applications  232  for secondary alerts;   the list  233  of recipients  113 - 143  of the propagated secondary alert, per category  231 ,   the categories  234  of secondary recipients,   messages  235  accompanying the secondary alerts; thus a recipient  111  can complete a message  215 , for example:
           by adding a comment to the received photo: “I do not know the person who appears on this photo”;   by adding links towards additional information stored in database  133 ;   
           transmission conditions  236 ,   access authorizations  237 .       
 
       d) Triggering the Propagation of a Secondary Alert 
       [0116]    The propagation triggering  238 , which can also be parameterized, is necessary for the propagation of a primary alert, i.e. its dispatching towards other terminals  113  or monitoring systems  143 . It is caused for instance by the actuation by user  111  of a propagation enabling button  351  comprised in the human-machine interface of his terminal. Other propagation triggering modes  238  are explained in detail below. 
       e) Reception Parameters of a Secondary Alert 
       [0117]    Similarly to the primary alert reception parameters  220 , the reception parameters  240  of a secondary alert  205  allow to define:
       the reception authorization,   the reception conditions,   the reception mode.       
 
       f) Re-Propagation Parameters of a Secondary Alert 
       [0121]    Similarly to the propagation parameters  230  of a primary alert, the re-propagation parameters  250  of a secondary alert  205  define:
       categories of secondary alerts,   applications receiving secondary alerts,   the list of re-propagation recipients,   accompanying messages,   triggering conditions for the re-propagation.       
 
       7) Human-Machine Interface 
       [0127]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , user terminal  111  receives a primary alert  201  together with an accompanying message  215  from a monitoring system  141  via the monitoring server  130  and Internet network  120 . 
         [0128]    Thanks to the human-machine interface management module  1116 , an alert message  311  is displayed according to the content of message  215 . For instance, if a sensor of monitoring system  141  has detected the opening of the garage door, the alert message  311  will be “intrusion alert—the garage door has been opened”. 
         [0129]    A pictogram  313  indicates the location of the monitoring system  141  on a map  312 . Pictograms  314 - 315 - 316  designate the other monitoring systems  142 - 143  and neighboring terminals  112 - 113 - 114  with color codes enabling to differentiate them according to different criteria, in particular:
       their accessibility: “already authorized” for the user  111  (according to an authorization reciprocal to authorization  217 ), “authorization pending”, or “suggested” by the social network management module  1113 ; thus user  111  can for instance see the cameras the archives of which he can visualize in database  133 , or those to which he could quickly have access;   their activity: when a monitoring system  142  in the neighborhood recently generated an alert, it is highlighted in red to draw the attention of user  111 ;   their relational proximity within the meaning of social networks  150 .       
 
         [0133]    By activating a pictogram  314 , user  111  accesses associated information (e.g. address, contact details of the owner . . . ) and actions (e.g. contact the owner, add to the list of propagation recipients . . . ). 
         [0134]    Thanks to the view menu  320 , user  111  can get more information on the alert by visualizing:
       a photo  321  taken by the monitoring system  141  and transmitted to server  130  in HTTP mode,   a video  322  taken by the monitoring system  141 , transmitted to server  130  in FTP mode,   other photos and videos  323  stored in database  133 , coming from other monitoring systems  142 - 143  accessible by user  111 , in particular those who are location-wise and time-wise close to alert  201 ,   the state  324  of the other sensors  1412  of the monitoring system  141  or of other monitoring systems  142 - 143  accessible by the user  111 , or their archive stored in database  133 .       
 
         [0139]    Thanks to the parameterization menu  330 , user  111  can access the modules  1114 - 1115  for primary and secondary alerts parameterization. He can thus define or modify:
       the transmission parameters  210  of a primary alert  201 - 202 - 203 , by means of menu  331 ,   the reception parameters  220  of a primary alert  201 - 202 - 203 , by means of menu  332 ,   the propagation parameters  230  of a secondary alert  205 - 206 , by means of menu  333 ,   the reception and re-propagation parameters  240 ,  250  of a secondary alert  205 , by means of menu  334 .       
 
         [0144]    Thanks to the data input menu  340 , the user  111  can input information concerning the primary alert  201 :
       by filling an alert information note  341 , as known by the skilled person; for instance, the Spotcrime® service proposes a website that stores and archives a crime database; a crime act is described by:
           a date, for example “Apr. 17, 2014 10:36 AM”,   a type, for example “shooting/stabbing”,   a comment, for example “PD units o/s rptg a male shot in the chest—Crime scene established”,   a geolocation, for example “4XX Central Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.”;   
           by establishing a selection  342  of photos, of videos, or of sensor status information, thus allowing to better explain the causes of the alert,   by establishing links  343  between this selection  342  and the alert accompanying message  235 .       
 
         [0152]    Thanks to the propagation menu  350 , user  111  can define or modify the propagation triggering parameters  238 :
       by actuating the propagation enabling button  351 ; for instance, user  111  may take time to view a recorded video, to write a message, or to add secondary recipients before actuating the propagation enabling button  351 ;   by actuating the propagation forcing button  352 ;   by actuating the alert acknowledgment button  353 , which inhibits its propagation and transmits a message to the other recipients  112  of the primary alert,   by setting  354  a time-delay  355  at the end of which the propagation is triggered if the acknowledgment  353  has not been actuated by any of the recipients of the primary alert on their respective terminals.       
 
         [0157]    When the propagation triggering  238  is active, user terminal  111  transmits the secondary alerts  205  and  206 . 
       8) Process 
       [0158]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the process  400  defines the propagation steps of an alert in a monitoring system  200  according to this invention. 
         [0159]    In step  410 , the users  110  of the monitoring network  200  define the parameters thereof and in particular:
       user  111  defines the transmission parameters  210  for the primary alerts  201 - 202 - 203  of his own monitoring system  141  according to link  1416 ; he uses for this purpose the menu  331  of the human-machine interface  1116  of his terminal, that cooperates with the primary alert parameterization module  1114 ;   user  112  (respectively  111 ) defines the reception parameters  220  of a primary alert  202  (respectively  201 ) of which he is the recipient; he uses for this purpose the menu  332  of the human-machine interface  1126  (resp.  1116 ) of his terminal, that cooperates with the primary alert parameterization module  1124  (resp.  1114 );   user  111  defines the propagation parameters  230  of a secondary alert  205 - 206 ; he uses for this purpose the menu  333  of the human-machine interface  1116  of his terminal, that cooperates with the secondary alert parameterization module  1115 ;   user  113  defines the reception parameters  240  and the re-propagation parameters  250  of a secondary alert  205 ; he uses for this purpose the menu  334  of the human-machine interface  1136  of his terminal, that cooperates with the secondary alert parameterization module  1135 .       
 
         [0164]    In step  420 , the monitoring system  141 , in cooperation with server  130 , transmits a primary alert  201  in accordance with of the transmission parameters  210  stored in network manager  132 . 
         [0165]    In step  430 , user terminal  111  receives the primary alert  201  in application of the reception parameters  220 . The user can:
       inform himself more fully about the alert thanks to the view menu  320 ;   modify the propagation parameters  230  of the secondary alerts by means of the parameterization menu  330 ;   input alert information thanks to the data input menu  340 ;   modify the propagation triggering parameters  238  by means of the the propagation menu  350 .       
 
         [0170]    In step  440 , user terminal  111  triggers the propagation  238  in accordance of the commands of the propagation menu  350  and transmits a secondary alert  205  in application of the propagation parameters  230 . 
         [0171]    In step  450 , user terminal  113  receives and re-propagates the secondary alert  205  in application of the reception and re-propagation parameters  240 ,  250 . 
       9) Variants 
       [0172]    The skilled person will be able to derive from the above description many variants. In particular:
       a user terminal such as  111  can be a tablet such as an iPad®, a microcomputer, an intelligent watch such as a Smartwatch®, a Google Glass® system or any other type of personal device;   the user of terminal  111  can be a security agent working for a shop, a company, a warehouse, an industrial area, a township, a town or any other local structure equipped with a remote monitoring system;   a monitoring system  141 - 142 - 143  can be equipped with other types of sensors such as infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors, microwave sensors, photoelectric-barrier sensors, glass-breakage sensors, carbon content sensors, vibration detection sensors, passive magnetic field sensors, micro-sound sensors; the monitoring system can further detect a power failure and be equipped with a power generator, and server  130  can detect monitoring system defect, failure or tampering when the latter ceases to transmit the expected signals;   a monitoring system  141 - 142 - 143  can be one among:   a remote assistance wrist bracelet for elderly people, equipped with an alert button,   a smartphone equipped with an application that can transmit a geolocated alerts, such as the one commercially provided by Arkea Assistance®;   a satellite-connected dog collar such as the commercially-available Garmin Astro 320® collar;   a marine or Argos® beacon;   a connected camera, such as camera equipped with an integrated communication system connectable to a 3G/4G network;   a smoke detector connected to the commercially available SigFox® network;   or any other connected object capable of generating a geolocated alert.       
 
         [0184]    The parameterizing or propagation functionalities can be limited depending on a subscription level of each user to the monitoring network  200 . 
         [0185]    A number of embodiments of the disclosure have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.