Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of scene monitoring, and in particular, to systems and methods for analyzing a diffusion trend of a diffusible substance.

Leakage of a diffusible substance (e.g., a harmful gas) usually poses potential hazards to life and property safety. Commonly, a monitoring system uses a single device or a set of devices with the same type to detect the diffusible substance, which can only achieve local regional diffusion monitoring and limited-dimensional diffusion monitoring. In addition, although a plurality of devices with different types can be applied in some situations, time synchronization of the plurality of devices can't be achieved, which results in that the diffusion monitoring result is inaccurate. Therefore, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for analyzing a diffusion trend of a diffusible substance accurately and efficiently, thereby determining a response plan for dealing with the diffusible substance to prevent the safety hazard caused by the diffusible substance.

<CIT> discloses a system for analysing a direction of gas occurrence of a diffusible gas. The system obtains sets of reference information about the diffusible gas from first and second gas sensors, i.e. the time points when the sensors detect the gas, as well as location information. Determining the direction of gas occurrence is based on these sets of reference information.

The present invention provides a system as defined by claim <NUM> and a non-transitory computer readable medium as defined by claim <NUM>.

The methods, systems, and/or programming described herein are further described in terms of exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are nonlimiting exemplary embodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similar structures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:.

It will be understood that the term "system," "engine," "unit," "module," and/or "block" used herein are one method to distinguish different components, elements, parts, section or assembly of different level in ascending order. However, the terms may be displaced by other expression(s) if they may achieve the same purpose.

Generally, the word "module," "unit," or "block," as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein may be implemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other storage device(s). In some embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled and linked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that software modules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution on computing devices may be provided on a computer-readable medium, such as a compact disc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any other tangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally stored in a compressed or installable format that needs installation, decompression, or decryption prior to execution). Such software code may be stored, partially or fully, on a storage device of the executing computing device, for execution by the computing device. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be further appreciated that hardware modules (or units or blocks) may be included in connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or can be included in programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules (or units or blocks) or computing device functionality described herein may be implemented as software modules (or units or blocks), but may be represented in hardware or firmware. In general, the modules (or units or blocks) described herein refer to logical modules (or units or blocks) that may be combined with other modules (or units or blocks) or divided into sub-modules (or sub-units or sub-blocks) despite their physical organization or storage.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module, or block is referred to as being "on," "connected to," or "coupled to" another unit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected or coupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, or block, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The terminology used herein is for the purposes of describing particular examples and embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. It will be further understood that the terms "include" and/or "comprise," when used in this disclosure, specify the presence of integers, devices, behaviors, stated features, steps, elements, operations, and/or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other integers, devices, behaviors, features, steps, elements, operations, components, and/or groups thereof.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary monitoring system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The monitoring system <NUM> may be applied in various scenarios, for example, fire-fighting monitoring, chemical production monitoring, etc. As shown in <FIG>, the monitoring system <NUM> includes a plurality of devices <NUM>, a server <NUM>, and one or more terminal devices <NUM>.

The plurality of devices <NUM> include a device <NUM>-<NUM>, a device <NUM>-<NUM>, a device <NUM>-<NUM>,. , and a device <NUM>-n. As used herein, "a device" is used for brevity, it should be noted that "a device" also can be considered as "a set of devices" with the same type or different types. In some embodiments, each of the plurality of devices <NUM> may include any monitoring device such as a movable device can enter a monitoring scenario individually or with a user (e.g., a fireman) or a fixedly mounted device in the monitoring scenario. Exemplary movable devices may include a portable device (PD) (e.g., a helmet, a mobile terminal), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a robot, etc. Exemplary fixedly mounted devices may include an acquisition device (e.g., an image acquisition device, a sound acquisition device, a temperature monitoring device), an alarm device (e.g., a smoke alarm device, a fire alarm device, a gas alarm device), etc..

Types of the plurality of devices <NUM> may be the same or different. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the plurality of devices <NUM> may include a first set of devices <NUM> (also referred to as "first set <NUM>-a" for brevity) with a first type and a second set of devices <NUM> (also referred to as "second set <NUM>-b" for brevity) with a second type. As another example, as shown in <FIG>, the plurality of devices <NUM> may include the first set <NUM>-a, the second set <NUM>-b, and a third set of devices <NUM> (also referred to as "third set <NUM>-c" for brevity) with a third type. In some embodiments, types of a set of devices (e.g., the first set <NUM>-a, the second set <NUM>-b, or the third set <NUM>-c) may be the same or different. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the first set <NUM>-a may include a set of robots (e.g., robot <NUM>, robot <NUM>,. , and robot n), the second set <NUM>-b may include a set of PDs (e.g., PD <NUM>, PD <NUM>,. , and PD n), and the third set <NUM>-c may include a set of UAVs (e.g., UAV <NUM>, UAV <NUM>,.

The plurality of devices <NUM> is connected to the server <NUM> via a network satisfying a predetermined time delay condition. The predetermined time delay condition may be a default setting of the monitoring system <NUM> or may be adjustable under different situations. In accordance with the invention, the plurality of devices <NUM> is connected to the server <NUM> via a network with a time delay less than a predetermined delay threshold including one of <NUM> millisecond, <NUM> milliseconds, <NUM> milliseconds, <NUM> milliseconds. The plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to a same or a substantially same time domain. The plurality of devices <NUM> is connected to the server <NUM> via a <NUM> network.

In some embodiments, a portion of the plurality of devices <NUM> may be connected to the server <NUM> via a network (e.g., a network with a time delay larger than the predetermined delay threshold) that does not satisfy the predetermined time delay condition. In this situation, the portion of the plurality of devices <NUM> may correspond to different time domains. Accordingly, a calibration needs to be performed on information acquired by the plurality of devices <NUM> to make that calibrated information corresponds to a same domain; or a calibration may be need to be performed on the plurality of devices <NUM> to make that the plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to a same or a substantially same domain. More descriptions regarding the time domain calibration may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., <FIG> and the descriptions thereof).

Each of the plurality of devices <NUM> includes one or more sensors configured to detect a set of reference information relating to a diffusible substance. Each of the plurality of devices <NUM> uploads the set of reference information to other components (e.g., the server <NUM>) of the monitoring system <NUM> according to a preset time interval (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>). Each of the plurality of devices <NUM> uploads the set of reference information to other components (e.g., the server <NUM>) of the monitoring system <NUM> in real-time or substantially real-time. As described above, the plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to a same time domain, accordingly, a plurality of sets of reference information corresponding to the plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to a same or a substantially same time domain. In some alternative embodiments, as described above, a portion of the plurality of devices <NUM> may correspond to different time domains, accordingly, the plurality of sets of reference information corresponding to the plurality of devices <NUM> may correspond to different time domains. In this situation, a calibration needs to be performed on the plurality of sets of reference information. More descriptions may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., <FIG> and the description thereof).

The plurality of devices <NUM> include sensors with the same type or different types. Sensors of the plurality of devices <NUM> include a substance sensor (e.g., a gas sensor, a powder sensor, a liquid sensor, an infrared sensor), a timer (e.g., a clock), a positioning sensor (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver), an amount sensor, a sound sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a brightness sensor, an air pressure sensor, a wind sensor, or the like, or any combination thereof. The substance sensor is configured to detect whether a diffusible substance exists. The timer is configured to record a time point when the diffusible substance is detected. The positioning sensor is configured to detect a location where the diffusible substance is detected. The timer also may be integrated into the positioning sensor. The amount sensor may be configured to determine an indicator indicating an amount of the diffusible substance at a time point when the diffusible substance is detected and a location where the diffusible substance is detected. The sound sensor is configured to determine sound information relating to the diffusible substance at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected. The temperature sensor may be configured to detect a temperature at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected. The humidity sensor may be configured to detect a humidity at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected. The brightness sensor may be configured to detect a brightness at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected. The air pressure sensor may be configured to detect an air pressure at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected. The wind sensor may be configured to detect wind information (e.g., a wind direction, a wind speed) at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected.

The server <NUM> may be a single server or a server group. The server group may be centralized or distributed (e.g., the server <NUM> may be a distributed system). In some embodiments, the server <NUM> may be local or remote. For example, the server <NUM> may access information and/or data stored in the plurality of devices <NUM> and/or the terminal device(s) <NUM> via a network. As another example, the server <NUM> may be directly connected to the plurality of devices <NUM> and/or the terminal device(s) <NUM> to access stored information and/or data. In some embodiments, the server <NUM> may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the server <NUM> may be implemented on a computing device <NUM> including one or more components illustrated in <FIG> of the present disclosure.

The server <NUM> includes a processing device <NUM>. The processing device <NUM> processes information and/or data relating to the diffusible substance to perform one or more functions described in the present disclosure. The processing device <NUM> obtains a plurality of sets of reference information relating to a diffusible substance from the plurality of devices <NUM> respectively. Then the processing device <NUM> ranks the plurality of sets of reference information based on a plurality of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information and determine a diffusion trend of the diffusible substance based on a ranking result. As an example, the processing device <NUM> may determine a response plan for dealing with the diffusible substance based on the diffusion trend. Further, the processing device <NUM> may transmit the response plan to the terminal device(s) <NUM> for display and/or further processing. In some embodiments, the processing device <NUM> may include one or more processing devices (e.g., single-core processing device(s) or multi-core processor(s)). Merely by way of example, the processing device <NUM> may include a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application-specific instruction-set processor (ASIP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a microcontroller unit, a reduced instruction-set computer (RISC), a microprocessor, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiment, the server <NUM> may be unnecessary and all or part of the functions of the server <NUM> may be implemented by other components of the monitoring system <NUM>. For example, the processing device <NUM> may be integrated into a terminal device <NUM> and the functions (e.g., analyzing the diffusion trend and/or determining the response plan) of the processing device <NUM> may be implemented by the terminal device <NUM>.

The terminal device(s) <NUM> may include a mobile device <NUM>-<NUM>, a tablet computer <NUM>-<NUM>, a laptop computer <NUM>-<NUM>, a wearable device <NUM>-<NUM>, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device <NUM>-<NUM> may include a smart home device, a smart mobile device, a virtual reality device, an augmented reality device, or the like, or any combination thereof. The smart home device may include a smart lighting device, a control device of an intelligent electrical apparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, a smart video camera, an interphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. The smart mobile device may include a smartphone, a personal digital assistance (PDA), a gaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or the like, or any combination thereof. The virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtual reality helmet, virtual reality glasses, a virtual reality patch, an augmented reality helmet, augmented reality glasses, an augmented reality patch, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include Google™ Glasses, an Oculus Rift™, a HoloLens™, a Gear VR™, etc. In some embodiments, the wearable device <NUM>-<NUM> may include a smart bracelet, a smart footgear, smart glasses, a smart helmet, a smart watch, smart clothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the terminal device(s) <NUM> may be implemented on a computing device <NUM> including one or more components illustrated in <FIG> or a mobile device <NUM> including one or more components illustrated in <FIG> in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the terminal device(s) <NUM> may be configured to facilitate communications between a user (e.g., a fireman) and the monitoring system <NUM>. For example, the user may control a movement of the plurality of devices <NUM> (e.g., an UAV, a robot) through the terminal device(s) <NUM>. As another example, the user may receive the response plan through the terminal device(s) <NUM> such that the user can deal with the diffusible substance efficiently and accurately. In some embodiments, a terminal device <NUM> may be integrated with a device <NUM> (e.g., a portable device) and functions of the terminal device <NUM> may be executed by the device <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the monitoring system <NUM> may also include a storage device (not shown) for storing data and/or instructions that the processing device <NUM> may execute or use to perform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the storage device may be a mass storage, a removable storage, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplary mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. Exemplary removable storage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memory may include a random-access memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage component <NUM> may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may be a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

It should be noted that the above description regarding the monitoring system <NUM> is merely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/or software components of an exemplary computing device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The computing device <NUM> may be used to implement any component of the monitoring system <NUM> as described herein. For example, the processing device <NUM> may be implemented on the computing device <NUM> via its hardware, software program, firmware, or a combination thereof. Although only one such computing device is shown, for convenience, the computer functions relating to the processing device <NUM> of the monitoring system <NUM> as described herein may be implemented in a distributed fashion on a number of similar platforms, to distribute the processing load.

The computing device <NUM>, for example, may include COM ports <NUM> connected to and from a network connected thereto to facilitate data communications. The COM port <NUM> may be any network port or data exchange port to facilitate data communications. The computing device <NUM> also includes a processor (e.g., the processor <NUM>), in the form of one or more processors (e.g., logic circuits), for executing program instructions. For example, the processor may include interface circuits and processing circuits therein. The interface circuits may be configured to receive electronic signals from a bus <NUM>, wherein the electronic signals encode structured data and/or instructions for the processing circuits to process. The processing circuits may conduct logic calculations, and then determine a conclusion, a result, and/or an instruction encoded as electronic signals. The processing circuits may also generate electronic signals including the conclusion or the result and a triggering code. In some embodiments, the trigger code may be in a format recognizable by an operation system (or an application installed therein) of an electronic device (e.g., the terminal device(s) <NUM>) in the monitoring system <NUM>. For example, the trigger code may be an instruction, a code, a mark, a symbol, or the like, or any combination thereof, that can activate certain functions and/or operations of a mobile phone or let the mobile phone execute a predetermined program(s). In some embodiments, the trigger code may be configured to rend the operation system (or the application) of the electronic device to generate a presentation of the conclusion or the result (e.g., a prediction result) on an interface of the electronic device. Then the interface circuits may send out the electronic signals from the processing circuits via the bus <NUM>.

The computing device <NUM> may also include program storage and data storage of different forms including, for example, a disk <NUM>, a read-only memory (ROM) <NUM>, or a random access memory (RAM) <NUM>, for storing various data files to be processed and/or transmitted by the computing device <NUM>. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic RAN (SDRAN), an enhanced synchronous dynamic RAM (ESDRAM), a synchlink dynamic RAM (SLDRAM), a Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM), a Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM'), a direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc..

The computing device <NUM> also includes program instructions stored in the ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM>, and/or other type of non-transitory storage medium to be executed by the processor <NUM>. The methods and/or processes of the present disclosure are implemented as the program instructions. The computing device <NUM> may also include operation systems stored in the ROM <NUM>, RAM <NUM>, and/or other type of non-transitory storage medium to be executed by the processor <NUM>. The program instructions may be compatible with the operation systems for executing the methods and/or processer. The computing device <NUM> also includes an I/O component <NUM>, supporting input/output between the computing device <NUM> and other components. The computing device <NUM> may also receive programming and/or data via network communications.

Merely for illustration, only one processor is illustrated in <FIG>. Multiple processors are also contemplated; thus, operations and/or method steps performed by one processor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointly or separately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if in the present disclosure the processor of the computing device <NUM> executes both step A and step B, it should be understood that step A and step B may also be performed by two different processors jointly or separately in the computing device <NUM> (e.g., the first processor executes step A and the second processor executes step B, or the first and second processors jointly execute steps A and B).

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary hardware and/or software components of an exemplary mobile device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more components (e.g., the processing device <NUM>, the terminal device <NUM>) of the monitoring system <NUM> may be implemented on the mobile device <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the mobile device <NUM> includes a communication platform <NUM>, a display <NUM>, a graphics processing unit (GPU) <NUM>, a central processing unit (CPU) <NUM>, an I/O <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a storage <NUM>. In some embodiments, any other suitable component, including but not limited to a system bus or a controller (not shown), may also be included in the mobile device <NUM>. In some embodiments, a mobile operating system <NUM> (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Phone) and one or more applications <NUM> may be loaded into the memory <NUM> from the storage <NUM> in order to be executed by the CPU <NUM>. The applications <NUM> may include a browser or any other suitable mobile apps for receiving and rendering information relating to monitoring or other information from the processing device <NUM>. User interactions with the information stream may be achieved via the I/O <NUM> and provided to the processing device <NUM> and/or other components of the monitoring system <NUM> via a network (e.g., a network as aforementioned elsewhere in the present disclosure).

To implement various modules, units, and their functionalities described in the present disclosure, computer hardware platforms may be used as the hardware platform(s) for one or more of the elements described herein. The hardware elements, operating systems and programming languages of such computers are conventional in nature, and it is presumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiar therewith to adapt those technologies to generate an image as described herein. A computer with user interface elements may be used to implement a personal computer (PC) or another type of work station or terminal device, although a computer may also act as a server if appropriately programmed. It is believed that those skilled in the art are familiar with the structure, programming and general operation of such computer equipment and as a result, the drawings should be self-explanatory.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating exemplary components of an exemplary mobile device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more components (e.g., the processing device <NUM>, the terminal device <NUM>) of the monitoring system <NUM> may be implemented on the mobile device <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the mobile device <NUM> includes a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a transmission device <NUM>, and an I/O device <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may include a microprocessor (e.g., a micro control unit, MCU), a programmable logic device (e.g., a FPGA), etc. In some embodiments, the mobile device <NUM> may include more than one processers to execute functions of the processor <NUM> jointly or separately. Details regarding the processor(s) <NUM> may be the same as or similar to that of the processor <NUM> and/or the CPU <NUM> as described elsewhere in the present disclosure.

The memory <NUM> is configured to store computer programs, for example, software programs and/or modules of applications. The memory <NUM> stores computer programs corresponding to the methods disclosed elsewhere in the present disclosure. The processor <NUM> executes the stored computer programs to perform various functions and/or data processing, thereby achieving the methods. The memory <NUM> may include high-speed random access memory, a non-volatile memory (e.g., one or more magnetic storage devices, a flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory). In some embodiments, the memory <NUM> may further include a memory that is set remotely relative to processor <NUM>. The remote memory may be connected to the mobile device <NUM> via a network. Exemplary network may include an Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, or the like, or any combination thereof. Details regarding the memory <NUM> may be the same as or similar to that of the ROM <NUM>, the RAM <NUM>, and/or the memory <NUM> disclosed elsewhere in the present disclosure.

The transmission device <NUM> is configured to achieve communication functions such as receiving or sending data over a network. Details regarding the transmission device <NUM> may be the same as or similar to that of the communication ports <NUM> and/or the communication platform <NUM> disclosed elsewhere in the present disclosure.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary processing device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the processing device <NUM> includes an obtaining module <NUM> and a diffusion trend determination module <NUM>.

The obtaining module <NUM> is configured to obtain data/information from one or more components of the firefighting system <NUM>. The obtaining module <NUM> obtains a plurality of sets of reference information relating to a diffusible substance from a plurality of devices <NUM> respectively. The plurality of sets of reference information correspond to a same time domain. The diffusible substance may include a gas, a liquid, a powder, or the like, or any combination thereof. Each of the plurality of sets of reference information includes a time point when a corresponding device <NUM> detects the diffusible substance, a location where the corresponding device <NUM> detects the diffusible substance. In some embodiments, each of a portion of the plurality of sets of reference information may include an indicator reflecting an amount of the diffusible substance at the time point and the location. In accordance with the present invention, each of a portion of the plurality of sets of reference information includes sound information relating to the diffusible substance at the time point and the location. In some embodiments, each of a portion of the plurality of sets of reference information may include environmental information at the time point and the location. More descriptions regarding the plurality of set of reference information may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., operation <NUM> and the description thereof).

The diffusion trend determination module <NUM> is configured to determine a diffusion trend of the diffusible substance. The diffusion trend may include a diffusion direction, a diffusion path, a diffusion speed, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the diffusion trend may include an amount changing trend. The diffusion trend determination module <NUM> ranks the plurality of sets of reference information based on a plurality of sets of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information and determines the diffusion trend based on a ranking result. More descriptions regarding the determination of the diffusion trend may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., operation <NUM>, <FIG> and <FIG>, and the descriptions thereof).

In some embodiments, the processing device <NUM> may also include a response plan determination module (not shown) configured to determine a response plan for dealing with the diffusible substance. The response plan may relate to a personnel evacuation, a prediction of potential danger, a dealing priority for different locations where the diffusible substance is detected, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the response plan may include a visualization of the diffusion trend. For example, the response plan may include information relating to the diffusion trend mapped on an electronic map and/or presented in a written form. More descriptions regarding the determination of the response plan may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., operation <NUM> and the description thereof).

It should be noted that the above descriptions of the processing device <NUM> are merely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, various modifications and changes in the forms and details of the application of the above method and system may occur without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, two or more of the modules may be combined into a single module, and any one of the modules may be divided into two or more units. For example, the diffusion trend determination module <NUM> and the response plan determination module may be integrated into a single module. In some embodiments, one or more additional modules may be added in the processing device <NUM>. For example, the processing device <NUM> may further include a storage module. As another example, the processing device <NUM> may further include a transmission module configured to transmit the response plan to one or more target terminals (e.g., the terminal device(s) <NUM>).

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for determining a diffusible trend of a diffusible substance according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The operations in the process <NUM> are implemented in the monitoring system <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>. The operations in the process <NUM> are stored in a storage device (e.g., the ROM <NUM>, the RAM <NUM>, the storage <NUM>, and/or the memory <NUM>) as a form of instructions, and invoked and/or executed by the processing device <NUM> (e.g., the processor <NUM>, the CPU <NUM>, the processor <NUM>, and/or one or more modules illustrated <FIG>).

In <NUM>, the processing device <NUM> (e.g., the obtaining module <NUM>) obtains a plurality of sets of reference information relating to a diffusible substance from a plurality of devices (e.g., the plurality of devices <NUM>) respectively.

As used herein, the diffusible substance refers to a substance that can diffuse directionally or non-directionally to cause a fire, an explosion, poisoning, etc. In some embodiments, the diffusible substance may include a gas (e.g., a flammable gas, a toxic gas), a liquid, a powder, or the like, or any combination thereof. The gas may include natural gas, hydrogen, carbonic oxide, sulfur dioxide, etc. The liquid may include oil, petroleum, gasoline, ethyl alcohol, etc. The powder may include flour, paper powder, wood powder, coal powder, metal powder, graphite powder, tea powder, fish powder, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the plurality of sets of reference information may correspond to a same or a substantially same time domain.

As described in connection with <FIG>, each of the plurality of devices <NUM> is connected to the processing device <NUM> via a <NUM> network, which satisfies a predetermined time delay condition (e.g., a time delay of the network is less than a predetermined delay threshold such as <NUM> millisecond, <NUM> milliseconds). In this situation, the plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to a same time domain. Accordingly, information (also referred to as "preliminary reference information") acquired by the plurality of devices <NUM> correspond to the same time domain. The processing device <NUM> obtains the plurality of sets of preliminary reference information directly from the plurality of devices <NUM> respectively via the network as the plurality of sets of reference information.

In some embodiments, a portion of the plurality of devices <NUM> may be connected to the processing device <NUM> via a network (e.g., a network with a time delay larger than the predetermined delay threshold) which does not satisfy the predetermined time delay condition. In this situation, the portion of the plurality of devices <NUM> may correspond to different time domains. Accordingly, the processing device <NUM> obtains the plurality of sets of preliminary reference information relating to the diffusible substance from the plurality of devices <NUM> respectively. Then the processing device <NUM> determines the plurality of sets of reference information relating to the diffusible substance by calibrating the plurality of sets of preliminary reference information to be corresponding to a same or a substantially same time domain. For example, each of the plurality of devices <NUM> may include a positioning sensor (which also can record time information) with a same type and same parameters. Accordingly, each of the plurality of sets of preliminary reference information may include at least a preliminary time point when a corresponding device <NUM> (e.g., the positioning sensor) detects the diffusible substance and a location when the corresponding device <NUM> (e.g., the positioning sensor) detects the diffusible substance. The processing device <NUM> calibrates a plurality of preliminary time points to a same time domain based on the type of the positioning sensor, the parameters of the positioning sensor, locations of the positioning sensors, and/or network parameter of the network.

Each of the plurality of sets of reference information includes a time point when a corresponding device detects the diffusible substance, a location where the corresponding device detects the diffusible substance.

In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of sets of reference information may also include an indicator reflecting an amount of the diffusible substance at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device and the location where the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device. For example, the diffusible substance may include a gas or a powder, accordingly, the indicator includes a concentration of the gas or the powder. As another example, the diffusible substance may include a liquid, accordingly, the indicator may include a hydraulic pressure of the liquid.

The plurality of sets of reference information also include sound information relating to the diffusible substance at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device and the location where the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device.

In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of sets of reference information may also include environmental information at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device and the location where the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device. The environmental information may include a temperature, a humidity, a brightness, an air pressure, a wind direction, a wind speed, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, types of the plurality of sets of reference information may be the same, partially different, or totally different. For instance, each of the plurality of sets of reference information includes the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected, some sets of the plurality of sets of reference information may also include the indicator reflecting the amount of the diffusible substance, and some other sets of the plurality of sets of reference information may also include environmental information.

For example, it is assumed that the plurality of devices <NUM> includes a first device and a second device. Accordingly, the plurality of sets of reference information includes a first set of reference information corresponding to the first device and a second set of reference information corresponding to the second device. Each of the first set of reference information and the second set of reference information includes a time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the first device or the second device and a location where the diffusible substance is detected by the first device or the second device. Besides, the first set of reference information also includes a temperature at a time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the first device and a location where the diffusible substance is detected by the first device; the second set of reference information also includes sound information (e.g., a sound relating to an explosion caused by the diffusible substance) at a time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the second device and a location where the diffusible substance is detected by the second device.

As another example, it is assumed that the plurality of devices <NUM> includes a first device, a second device, and a third device. Accordingly, the plurality of sets of reference information includes a first set of reference information corresponding to the first device, a second set of reference information corresponding to the second device, and a third set of reference information corresponding to the third device, each of which includes a time point when the diffusible substance is detected (e.g., by the first device, the second device, or the third device) and a location where the diffusible substance is detected (e.g., by the first device, the second device, or the third device). Besides, for the diffusible substance including a liquid, each of the first set of reference information, the second set of reference information, and the third set of reference information also includes a hydraulic pressure of the liquid at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected; for the diffusible substance including a gas or a powder, each of the first set of reference information, the second set of reference information, and the third set of reference information also includes a concentration of the gas at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected and the location where the diffusible substance is detected.

In <NUM>, the processing device <NUM> (e.g., the diffusion trend determination module <NUM>) determines a diffusion trend of the diffusible substance based on the plurality of sets reference information.

In some embodiments, the diffusion trend may include a diffusion direction, a diffusion path, a diffusion speed, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the diffusion trend may also include an amount changing trend which refers to an amount vibration of the diffusible substance in time domain and/or space domain. The processing device <NUM> ranks the plurality of sets of reference information based on a plurality of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information. Then the processing device <NUM> determines the diffusion trend of the diffusible substance based on a ranking result.

For example, the processing device <NUM> may rank a plurality of locations corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information according to a chronological order of the plurality of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information. Then processing device <NUM> may determine a diffusion path and/or a diffusion direction of the diffusible substance based on the ranked plurality of locations.

As another example, it is assumed that the diffusible substance includes a gas, the processing device <NUM> may rank a plurality of locations and a plurality of concentrations corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information according to a chronological order of the plurality of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information. Then the processing device <NUM> may determine an amount changing trend (e.g., a concentration changing trend) of the gas in space domain based on the ranked plurality of concentrations and the ranked plurality of locations. Alternatively, the processing device <NUM> may determine an amount changing trend (e.g., a concentration changing trend) of the gas in time domain based on the ranked plurality of concentrations and the plurality of time points.

As a further example, it is assumed that the diffusible substance includes a liquid, the processing device <NUM> may determine an amount changing trend (e.g., a hydraulic pressure changing trend) of the liquid in space domain and/or time domain based on a plurality of time points, a plurality of locations, and a plurality of hydraulic pressures corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information.

As a still further example, in some situations, the diffusion of the diffusible substance may cause an explosion. Each of the plurality of sets of reference information may include sound information relating to the explosion. For illustration purposes, it is assumed that the plurality of devices <NUM> include a device A, a device B, and a device C. Accordingly, other than time information and location information, the plurality of sets of reference information include first sound information relating to the explosion obtained from the device A, second sound information relating to the explosion obtained from the device B, and third sound information relating to the explosion obtained from the device C. The first sound information may correspond to a first time point when the device A detects a sound relating to the explosion and a first location where the device A detects the sound relating to the explosion. The second sound information may correspond to a second time point when the device B detects the sound relating to the explosion and a second location where the device B detects the sound relating to the explosion. The third sound information may correspond to a third time point when the device C detects a sound relating to the explosion and a third location where the device A detects the sound relating to the explosion. The processing device <NUM> may determine a location of the explosion based on the first time point, the second time point, the third time point, the first location, the second location, and the third location. Then the processing device <NUM> may determine the diffusion trend of the diffusible substance based on the location of the explosion.

As a still further example, as described in connection with above, the plurality of devices <NUM> may further include a device D. The plurality of sets of reference information may further include a temperature obtained from the device D. The temperature may correspond to a fourth time point when the device D detects the diffusible substance and a location where the device D detects the diffusible substance. The processing device <NUM> may determine the diffusible trend of the diffusible substance based on the temperature and the location of the explosion. More descriptions regarding the determination of the diffusion trend may be found elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., <FIG> and <FIG> and the descriptions thereof).

In some embodiments, the processing device <NUM> (e.g., the response plane determination module) may determine a response plan for dealing with the diffusible substance based on the diffusion trend of the diffusible substance.

In some embodiments, the response plan may relate to a personnel evacuation, a prediction of potential danger, a dealing priority for different locations where the diffusible substance is detected, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the response plan may include a visualization of the diffusion trend. For example, the response plan may include information relating to the diffusion trend mapped on an electronic map and/or presented in a written form.

Take a leakage of a powder in a factory as an example, the powder may cause a fire and/or an explosion when meeting an open flame and/or high temperature. The processing device <NUM> may determine whether the diffusion direction of the powder is directed to a location (or region) where a working electronic device is located. In response to a determination that the diffusion direction of the powder is directed to the location (or region), the processing device <NUM> may determine the location (or region) as a priority area that needs priority attention. Alternatively, the processing device <NUM> may determine whether a temperature at a location (or region) where the powder with a relatively high concentration is detected is greater than a temperature threshold. In response to a determination that the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, the processing device <NUM> may determine the location (or region) as a priority area. Further, the processing device <NUM> may generate an alert for alerting people surrounding the priority area to evacuate from the location (or region). Alternatively, the processing device <NUM> may transmit information relating to the priority area and/or the alert to a target terminal (e.g., the terminal device(s) <NUM>) associated with a fireman and/or personnel in charge safety of the factory.

Take a leakage of a toxic gas as an example, the toxic gas may diffuse along multiple directions. The processing device <NUM> may determine a plurality of diffusion directions and/or amount changing trends of the toxic gas. The processing device <NUM> may determine whether one of the plurality of diffusion directions is directed to a location (or region) where one or more persons are located. In response to a determination that the diffusion direction is directed to the location (or region), the processing device <NUM> may determine the location (or region) as a priority area. In response to a determination that the diffusion direction is not directed to the location (or region), the processing device <NUM> may determine whether a concentration of the toxic gas corresponding to the diffusion direction is greater than a concentration threshold. In response to a determination that the concentration is greater than the concentration threshold, the processing device <NUM> may determine a location (or region) where the diffusion direction is directed to as a priority area. Further, the processing device <NUM> may generate an alert for alerting people surrounding the priority area to evacuate from the location (or region). Alternatively, the processing device <NUM> may transmit information relating to the priority area and/or the alert to a target terminal (e.g., the terminal device(s) <NUM>) associated with a fireman and/or personnel in charge safety of the factory.

Take a leakage of petroleum in a tank as an example, the tank may include one or more pipes which cause the leakage of the petroleum. The petroleum may cause a fire when a temperature surrounding the petroleum is greater than a temperature threshold. It is assumed that a number count of the one or more pipes is <NUM>, the petroleum may diffuse along at least <NUM> directions along the <NUM> pipes. The processing device <NUM> may determine whether a temperature at a location along one of the <NUM> directions is greater than the temperature threshold. In response to a determination that the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, the processing device <NUM> may determine a pipe corresponding to the direction to be a priority pipe that needs priority attention. Further, the processing device <NUM> may transmit information regarding the priority pipe to a target terminal (e.g., the terminal device(s) <NUM>) associated with a personnel in charge of a valve of the priority pipe.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing device <NUM> may determine the diffusion trend and/or the response plan with multidimensional information relating to the diffusible substance taken into consideration, which can reflect a real situation of the diffusion of the diffusible substance comprehensively, thereby reducing the loss or hazard caused by the diffusion of the diffusible substance. For example, when a fire and/or an explosion happens in a region, the processing device <NUM> may obtain information relating to the fire and/or the explosion from multiple movable and/or fixedly mounted devices in and/or surrounding the region. The information relating to the fire and/or the explosion may correspond to a same or a substantially same time domain. Accordingly, according to the information corresponding to a same or a substantially same time domain, the processing device <NUM> can determine a location of the fire and/or the explosion, a diffusion trend of the fire and/or the explosion, a response plan for dealing with the fire and/or the explosion accurately and efficiently.

It should be noted that the above description regarding the process <NUM> is merely provided for the purposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, one or more additional operations may be added in the process <NUM>. For example, the process <NUM> may include an additional operation for transmitting the response plan to one or more target terminals for further dealing with the diffusible substance.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary process for determining a diffusion trend of a harmful gas according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

It is assumed that there are four devices each of which includes a sensor (e.g., a sensor <NUM>, a sensor <NUM>, a sensor <NUM>, and a sensor <NUM>) configured to detect the harmful gas. As described elsewhere in the present disclosure, the four devices are connected to the server <NUM> via a <NUM> network and correspond to a same time domain.

As illustrated in <FIG>, sensor <NUM> detects the harmful gas at a first time point T11 and a first location L11; the sensor <NUM> detects the harmful gas at a second time point T12 and a second location L12; the sensor <NUM> detects the harmful gas at a third time point T21 and a third location L21; the sensor <NUM> detects the harmful gas at a fourth time point T31 and a fourth location L31.

Accordingly, the processing device <NUM> obtains four sets of reference information corresponding to the four devices respectively, which can be expressed as (T11, L11), (T12, L12), (T21, L21), and (T31, L31). The processing device <NUM> ranks the four sets of reference information according to a chronological order of corresponding time points. Then the processing device <NUM> determines a diffusion direction, a diffusion path, and/or a diffusion speed of the harmful gas based on ranked reference information.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, the diffusion direction or the diffusion path can be expressed as "L11-L12-L21-L31;" a global diffusion speed or an average diffusion speed can be expressed as a ratio of a global distance among the four locations (i.e., L11, L12, L21, and L31) to a time interval (T31-T11).

As described in connection with <FIG>, each of the four devices may also include an amount sensor configured to determine an indicator indicating an amount of the diffusible substance. Accordingly, each of the four sets of reference information corresponding to the four devices also includes a concentration of the harmful gas at the time point when the harmful gas is detected and at a location where the harmful gas is detected, which can be expressed as (T11, L11, W11), (T12, L12, W12), (T21, L21, W21), and (T31, L31, W31). The processing device <NUM> ranks the four sets of reference information according to a chronological order of corresponding time points. Then, other than the diffusion direction, the diffusion path, and/or the diffusion speed, processing device <NUM> may also determine an amount changing trend of the harmful gas based on ranked reference information.

Certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" in various portions of this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a "block," "module," "engine," "unit," "component," or "system. " Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code embodied thereon.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. A computer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium that is not a computer-readable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer-readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or the like, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a software as a service (SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order except as may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosure discusses through various examples what is currently considered to be a variety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. For example, although the implementation of various components described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it may also be implemented as a software-only solution-e.g., an installation on an existing server or mobile device.

Claim 1:
A system for analyzing a diffusion trend of a diffusible substance, comprising:
an obtaining module (<NUM>) configured to obtain, via a network satisfying a time delay condition, wherein the network satisfying the time delay condition includes a time delay of the network is less than a delay threshold, the delay threshold including one of <NUM> millisecond, <NUM> milliseconds, <NUM> milliseconds, <NUM> milliseconds, a plurality of sets of reference information relating to the diffusible substance from a plurality of devices respectively, each of the plurality of sets of reference information at least including a time point when a corresponding device detects the diffusible substance and a location where the device detects the diffusible substance, wherein the plurality of sets of reference information correspond to a same time domain through the plurality of devices connecting to a server via a <NUM> network; and
a diffusion trend determination module (<NUM>) configured to:
rank the plurality of sets of reference information based on a plurality of time points corresponding to the plurality of sets of reference information; and
determine the diffusion trend of the diffusible substance based on a ranking result,
wherein each of the plurality of sets of reference information includes sound information relating to the diffusible substance at the time point when the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device and the location where the diffusible substance is detected by the corresponding device.