Patent ID: 8219155

Claim:
A method for determining whether a device is suitable for operating at an incidence location, the method comprising: identifying, by a power monitoring apparatus operating in a wireless communication network, a location of the device in the wireless communication network, wherein the device is associated with a response unit; identifying, by the power monitoring apparatus, a state of charge of a battery of the device based on data received from the device; determining, by the power monitoring apparatus, a preference value of the device relative to an incidence location in the wireless communication network, wherein the preference value is a function of the state of charge of the device and a distance between the location of the device and the incidence location; determining, by the power monitoring apparatus, using the preference value, whether the device is suitable for operating at the incidence location; and dispatching, by the power monitoring apparatus, the response unit from the location of the device to the incidence location based on the determination that the device is suitable for operating at the incidence location.