Patent ID: 8498774

Claim:
A method for monitoring of a transportation asset over a communication network, using a computing system including sensors that collect operational data, a memory that stores the operational data and machine instructions, the method comprising: forming, by the computing system, a support data packet, the support data packet including information indicative of values of parameters associated with a state of the transportation asset, wherein the support data packet includes all absolute sensor-provided operational data related to the transportation asset, including coordinates of the transportation asset, a state of individual sub-systems associated with the transportation asset, and a full current date and time; transmitting, by the computing system, the support data packet over the communication network to the transportation asset control center based on predetermined criteria for periodical transmission of support data packets, wherein the support data packet is transmitted to the transportation asset control center regardless of conditions associated with the transportation asset; determining, by the computing system, that one or more changes in the values of the parameters associated with the state of the transportation asset exceed one or more predetermined parameter thresholds associated with respective parameters since the transmission of the support data packet; based on the determination, selectively forming, by the computing system, an intermediate data packet, wherein the formation of the intermediate packet is not triggered unless the one or more predetermined parameters thresholds are exceeded, the intermediate data packet including a time increase associated with the formation of the intermediate data packet and the one or more over-time differences of changes in values of the parameters, wherein besides the time increase associated with the formation of the intermediate data packet, the intermediate data packet includes only relative sensor-provided data in relation to the absolute sensor-provided data transmitted in the support data packet; and selectively transmitting, by the computing system, the intermediate data packet to the transportation asset control center over the communication network.