FR3116623A1 - PERSONAL POLLUTION SENSING DEVICE WITH EXTENDED BATTERY LIFE - Google Patents

Abstract

Personal pollution sensing device with extended battery life and A computer system and computer-implemented method for extending the battery life of a personal wearable sensing device, the method includes determining a current location of the sensing device; determining locations of publicly accessible environmental monitoring devices; determining whether the current location is within proximity of a publicly accessible environmental monitoring device; and receiving information from the publicly available environment monitoring device when the current location is within the proximity limit of the publicly accessible environment monitoring device to save battery life of the sensing device . Figure for abstract: 1

Description

PERSONAL POLLUTION SENSING DEVICE WITH EXTENDED BATTERY LIFE

A computer-implemented method of extending battery life of a sensing device, the method comprising:

the determination, by a computing device, of a current location of the capture device;

the determination, by the computer device, of locations of publicly accessible environment monitoring devices;

the determination, by the computer device, of whether or not the current location is within a proximity limit of a publicly accessible environment monitoring device; And

the computing device receiving information from the publicly available environment monitoring device when the current location is within proximity of the publicly accessible environment monitoring device to save the life of the collection device battery.

According to advantageous embodiments, the method may comprise:

• disabling a sensor on the sensing device to extend battery life;
• displaying information from the publicly available environment monitoring device on the computing device;
• generating a notification of selection of the use of a publicly available environment monitoring device in place of a sensor of the sensing device.

Also disclosed is a system, comprising a battery saver application engine including computational circuitry configured to:

determining a current location of the sensing device;

determine locations of publicly accessible environmental monitoring devices;

determine if the current location is within proximity of a publicly accessible environment monitoring device; And

receiving information from the publicly available environment monitoring device when the current location is within the proximity limit of the publicly accessible environment monitoring device to save battery life of the sensing device.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the battery saver application engine includes computational circuitry configured to provide a selection notification of the use of a publicly available environment monitoring device instead of a sensor of the capture device.

Also disclosed is a computer-implemented method of extending battery life of a sensing device with environmental sensors, the method comprising:

reducing a frequency of sample measurements of a sensor on the sensing device based on the occurrence of at least one of the following conditions:

a predetermined number of consecutive samples taken by the sensor show similar results; Or

a location of a user does not change within a predetermined time window.

Also disclosed is a system, comprising a battery saver application engine including computational circuitry configured to:

reduce a frequency of sample measurements of a sensor on a sensing device based on the occurrence of at least one of the following conditions:

a predetermined number of consecutive samples taken by the sensor show similar results; Or

a location of a user does not change within a predetermined time window.

Summary

Personal, wearable, and wearable environmental sensing devices can measure exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays and air pollutants and warn a user of overexposure to one or the other. Sensor devices that are powered by a battery, whether rechargeable or not, are limited by battery life. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method extends the battery life of wearable personal sensing devices. In one embodiment, the battery life of a personal pollution sensing device is extended by contextually enabling and disabling one or more sensors on the sensing device based on the determination of proximity to the user (and sensing device) of federally classified air quality monitoring devices via a global positioning system, for example. In one embodiment, the application receives results from the environment monitoring device, such as air quality or harmful light results, from publicly available online sources instead of the sensing device.

This summary is provided to present a selection of concepts in simplified form which are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify any key particulars of claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of claimed subject matter.

Description of the drawings

The foregoing aspects and many of the related advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated with a better understanding thereof by reference to the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[Fig. 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a battery life extension system of a battery-powered sensing device;

[Fig. 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a battery-powered sensing device having one or more environmental monitoring sensors;

[Fig. 3] Figure 3 is a block diagram that illustrates one embodiment of a system that includes a computing device and a server computing device;

[Fig. 4] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a computing device; And

[Fig. 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a method of extending battery life of the battery-powered sensing device.

detailed description

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method uses environmental monitoring device information, such as air and light quality results, from publicly available online sources when proximity to monitoring devices and uses sensors from a wearable device when they are not nearby. Environmental sensors inside a personal or wearable pollution sensing device can consume a large amount of power, limiting the device's operating time to a single battery charge if left running continuously. However, in many circumstances, especially in urban environments, the user wearing the sensing device is in some proximity to a federally classified air quality monitoring device that reports extremely accurate data to weather stations and other public bodies. This environmental information is available to the public through computer networks. In one embodiment, it is not necessary for the personal sensing device, or parts of the personal sensing device, to be activated or powered, since equivalent information can be collected online from these publicly available sources of environmental information.

In one embodiment, the method extends the battery life of the personal sensing device, which creates a better user experience.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method (Application or "App") is configured on a mobile computing device, such as a smart phone, tablet, laptop computer, and the like, that connects via wireless technology. wire to a computer network, such as the Internet. The method has instructions on determining the current location of the user wearing the personal environment sensing device. The mobile computing device compares the location of the user and the sensing device against locations of federally classified publicly available environmental monitoring devices whose data is made available to the public over networks. public computer. If the mobile computing device determines that the user's location and the sensing device are within a certain radius of the public environment monitoring device or within a relative dispersal area (calculated from online weather station data) , the App transmits a signal to the user's personal sensor device to deactivate some or all of its sensors. Once the App determines that the user is outside a certain radius of the monitoring device or outside a relative dispersion zone, the App transmits a signal to the user's personal sensing device to reactivate some or all of its sensors.

High levels of indoor or outdoor air pollutants can have a detrimental effect on health. Therefore, there are wearable personal sensing devices that measure one or more levels of a pollutant and transmit the data to a mobile computing device carried by a user. Various battery-powered sensing devices exist to measure different types of light radiation (i.e., UV-A, UV-B, visible high-energy blue light, IR) and atmospheric pollutants (i.e. i.e., CO, CO2, NO2, NOx, SO2, O3, PM2.5, PM10, VOCs, heavy metals, radiation) as well as atmospheric conditions, such as temperature and humidity. The amount of light radiation and air pollutants at given locations is also available for download from various publicly available sources on the Internet.

Existing battery-powered sensing devices have dedicated sensors that measure the amount of pollutant in any environment and transmit the data via wireless technology to a smart device (eg, mobile phone). The smart phone can receive, process, and display data in a way that is useful to the user.

This disclosure relates to a computer system and computer-implemented method that controls the energy usage of a sensing device, wherein the sensing device is in communication with a mobile computing device.

Figure 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a system 100 for controlling the energy usage of a personal or wearable sensing device 106 through communication with a mobile computing device 104. The sensing device 106 is battery powered and has one or more sensors for measuring a quality of the environment, including but not limited to pollutants. Mobile computing device 104 has a capture device application engine 124 that receives, processes, and displays information received from capture device 106 in a form that is useful to user 102. In one embodiment, the mobile computing device 104 has a battery saver application engine 108 which is in addition to the capture device application engine 124 or a modification thereof. The battery saver application engine 108 is used to reduce power consumption, which extends the battery life of the sensor device 106.

In system 100, user 102 interacts with mobile computing device 104. In one embodiment, mobile computing device 104 may be used to receive exposure information of one or more pollutants from the sensing device. personnel 106 carried by the user 102. Additionally or alternatively, the information may come from one or more publicly available sources on the Internet, such as online sources that report air quality and harmful light levels for a particular location, for example, online sites can provide the amount of ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), UVA, and UVB.

Mobile computing device 104 is capable of performing Applications 108 and 124 of the computer-implemented method. User 102 can start the computer-implemented methods by touching icons 124 and 108 on a touchscreen display of mobile computing device 104. Alternatively, battery saver application engine 108 is started automatically and runs every once the capture device application engine 124 is started or running. The Application engine 108 of the computer-implemented method is further described in connection with Figure 5.

In one embodiment, the mobile computing device 104 is connected to a remote server computer system 112 composed of one or more server computers via a network, such as the Internet 110. The network may include n any suitable networking technology, including but not limited to wireless communication technology (including but not limited to Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, and LTE), wired communication (including but not limited to Ethernet, USB, and FireWire), or combinations thereof.

Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a sensing device 106 according to one embodiment. The sensing device 106 is a battery powered device. Either battery 114 is a rechargeable battery, in which case battery 114 can be recharged by plugging sensing device 106 into an AC outlet via plug-in charger 116, or battery 114 is replaced with a new battery. Sensing device 106 includes one or more sensors 118, 120, and 122 that are powered by battery 114. In one embodiment, sensors 118, 120, and 122 measure one or more environmental parameters, including light radiation. (i.e., UV-A, UV-B, visible high energy blue light, IR) and air pollutants (i.e., CO, CO2, NO2, NOx, SO2, O3 , PM2.5, PM10, VOC, heavy metals, radiation) as well as atmospheric conditions, such as temperature and humidity. Sensing device 106 includes circuitry configured to selectively switch battery 114 on and off to sensors 118, 120, 122. Sensing device also includes wireless communication to communicate with mobile computing device 104. Instructions regarding when to switch power on and off to sensors 118, 120, 122 of device 106 are stored in mobile computing device 104 which sends the instructions via wireless signals.

Figure 3 is a block diagram that illustrates a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a system that includes mobile computing device 104 and a remote server computing system 112. In one embodiment, mobile computing device 104 is a smart phone. In one embodiment, mobile computing device 104 is any other type of computing device having the components shown, including but not limited to a tablet computing device or a laptop computing device. In one embodiment, the illustrated components of mobile computing device 104 are in a single package. In one embodiment, the illustrated components of mobile computing device 104 are in separate housings that are communicatively coupled through wired or wireless connections. Mobile computing device 104 also includes other components that are not shown, including but not limited to one or more processors, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a power source, and one or more communication interfaces.

In one embodiment, server computer system 112 includes one or more computing devices that each include one or more processors, non-transitory computer-readable media, and network communication interfaces that are collectively configured to provide the components shown. In one embodiment, the one or more computing devices that constitute the server computing system 112 may be rack computing devices, desktop computing devices, or cloud computing service computing devices.

The server computer system 112 includes the group of computing devices that acquire and store environmental information from remote environmental monitoring devices 204, 206, 208, 210 placed at various locations, and make this information available on sources public. A reliable source of environmental information is the air quality monitoring system maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States. For example, this information is publicly available at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/interactive-map-air-quality-monitors.

In one embodiment, server computer system 112 includes and communicates with more than one environment monitor 204, 206, 208, and 210, whose information is publicly available. In one embodiment, server computer system 112 includes data store 202. In one embodiment, data store 202 is configured to store records, such as a location of more than one monitoring device environment and environmental information derived therefrom, and an assigned dispersal area. Data store 202 may include all locations where environmental monitors are operating, dispersal areas, and historical records of environmental monitors and other related information.

As shown, mobile computing device 104 includes, at least, a display device 216, a capture device application engine 212, a battery saver application engine 108, and a user interface engine. 214.

In one embodiment, mobile computing device 104 is configured to connect to server computing system 112 in a cloud computing environment. In one embodiment, mobile computing device 104 is configured to retrieve environmental information from publicly available sources that receive environmental information from remote environmental monitoring devices 204, 206, 208, and 210.

In one embodiment, sensor device application engine 212 is configured to receive and process information acquired by personal sensor device 106 to determine pollutant levels and user exposure times. In one embodiment, the sensor application engine 212 is configured to process data acquired from publicly available sources having the amount of air pollutants at a given location. In one embodiment, the sensor device application engine 212 is configured to process both information acquired by the sensor device 106 and information acquired through publicly available sources from the monitoring devices. environment 204, 206, 208, 210.

In one embodiment, the sensor device application engine 212 is configured to calculate the amount of exposure to pollutants per minute, per hour, per day, per week, per month, per year, or over a lifetime. In one embodiment, the Sensor Device Application 212 calculates pollutant levels by tracking a user's location by Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.

In one embodiment, the sensor device application engine 212 is configured to calculate the user's exposure to one or more pollutants over time, and compare the amount of exposure to target exposure limits at minute, hour, day, week, month, year, or lifetime.

In one embodiment, the mobile computing device 104 includes the battery saver application engine 108. The battery saver application engine 108 is incorporated into the capture device application engine 124 or the battery saver application engine is a stand-alone engine that is invoked by catcher application engine 124. In either case, battery saver application engine 108 includes a "engine" configured to determine the current location of user 102 and sensing device 106 via GPS 218. In one embodiment, sensing device 106 is worn by user 102, its purpose is to inform the user of the air quality to which this same user is exposed. When referring to the location of the user 102, it is meant that the location also corresponds to the location of the sensing device 106. The battery saver application engine 108 is further configured to compare the location current location of the user to the locations saved in the data store of an environmental monitoring device that is close to the current location of the user, and whose information is publicly available. When the battery saver application engine 102 determines that one or more locations of the environment monitor are near the user's current location, the battery saver application engine sends a signal either through the capture device application engine 124 or independently of the capture device application engine 124, which is received by the capture device 106. The signal conveys instructions to the capture device 106 to deactivate one or more of the sensors 118, 120, 122. The deactivation includes decreasing the power consumption of the sensor and associated systems so that the sensor and associated systems use less energy, thereby extending the battery life 114. The sensor that is disabled is the sensor that collects information that is similar to information that can be acquired from s environmental monitoring through publicly available sources that battery saver application engine 102 determines to be near the user's current location.

In one embodiment, battery saver application engine 108 sends a signal to sensor device application engine 124, which conveys instructions to stop using environmental information from the disabled sensor and begin using the environmental information of the environment monitoring device which is close to the user's current location.

In one embodiment, as the user moves from one location to another, the battery saver application engine 108 may issue additional instructions to enable the previously disabled sensor, and disable a different sensor, while also sending instructions to the sensing device application engine 124 as to when to use information from sensors of sensing device 106 and when to use information from environmental monitoring devices that come near the location current user.

Display device 216 is an LED display, OLED display, or other type of display for presenting a user interface. Display device 216 may be combined with, or include, a touch layer such that a user 102 can interact with a user interface presented on display device 216 by touching the display. A separate user interface device, including but not limited to a mouse, keyboard, or stylus, may be used to interact with a user interface presented on display device 216.

The user interface engine 214 is configured to present a user interface on the display device 216 upon opening the capture device application engine 124. The capture device application engine 124 will cause the user interface engine 214 for displaying a plurality of user interfaces on display device 216 relating to information received from sensing device 106 or from publicly available sources of remote environmental monitoring devices on the network. The sensor application engine 124 can usefully display pollutant data, such as current pollutant levels, or cumulative pollutant levels over any period of time. In one embodiment, the sensor device application engine 124 may also display the battery charge status of the battery 114 in the sensor device 106.

In one embodiment, the sensor device application engine 124 can display if any of the sensors on the sensor device 106 are disabled, as described herein, and if the information that is displayed is from a source. accessible to the public and the location of the environment monitoring device. In one embodiment, the user 108 can override the deactivation of a sensor by the battery saver application engine 108, such that the user chooses to receive information from the sensor device 106, by opposed to receiving information from a location of a remote but nearby environment monitoring device. In one embodiment, the user can also override proximity restrictions upon selection of the remote environmental monitoring device, such that the user receives environmental information from the remote environmental monitoring device despite the fact that this monitoring device is outside the area close to the user's current location. In one embodiment, the user can change the limits of proximity restrictions when using remote information versus sensing device 106 information. This can result in even greater power savings. and extended battery life, as the number of remote environmental monitoring device locations is increased. In one embodiment, the proximity boundary is known as the dispersal zone. A dispersion zone is a radius or plume over which a pollutant is distributed. The dispersion zone can take into consideration the wind direction and the wind speed and the altitude of the user to adjust the proximity limit, and also to determine whether or not the use is in the dispersion zone of an environment monitoring device. For example, in one embodiment, a proximity limit would exclude an environmental monitor if that environmental monitor is downwind of the user, and include an environmental monitor if this environment monitoring device is upwind of the user. In the first case, the user is not in the plume or the dispersion zone of the pollutant which is measured by the environment monitoring device, while in the last case, the user is in the plume or the pollutant dispersion zone which is measured by the environment monitoring device. Pollutant dispersal areas are also publicly available from online sources, such as weather stations.

“Engine” refers to logic implemented in hardware or software instructions, which may be written in a programming language, such as C, C++, COBOL, JAVA™, PHP, Perl, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, VBScript , ASPX, Microsoft .NET™, Go, and/or similar. An engine can be compiled into executable programs or written in an interpreted programming language. Software engines can be called from other engines or from themselves. Generally speaking, the engines described here refer to logic modules which can be merged with other engines, or can be divided into sub-engines. Engines may be stored in any type of computer readable medium or computer storage device and stored on and executed by mobile computing device 104.

"Data Store" means any suitable device configured to store data for access by a Computing Device. An example of a data store is a high-speed, highly reliable relational database management system (DBMS) running on one or more computing devices and accessible over a high-speed network. Another example of a data store is a key/value store. However, any other suitable technique and/or storage device capable of rapidly and reliably providing stored data in response to queries may be used, and the computing device may be locally accessible instead. only on a network, or can be provided as a cloud service. A data store may also include data stored in an organized manner on a computer-readable storage medium, such as a hard disk drive, flash memory, RAM, ROM, or any other type computer-readable storage medium. One skilled in the art will recognize that separate datastores described herein may be combined into a single datastore, and/or a single datastore described herein may be separated into multiple datastores, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Figure 4 is a block diagram that illustrates aspects of an exemplary computing device 400 suitable for use as the mobile computing device 104 of the present disclosure. Although multiple different types of computing devices have been discussed above, example computing device 400 describes various elements that are common to many different types of computing devices. Although Figure 4 is described with reference to a mobile computing device, the description below is applicable to servers, personal computers, mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computing devices, embedded computing devices, and other devices that may be used to implement portions of embodiments of this disclosure.

In its most basic configuration, computing device 400 includes at least one processor 402 and system memory 404 connected by communication bus 406. Depending on the exact configuration and type of device, system memory 404 may be volatile or nonvolatile, such as read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), EEPROM, flash memory, or similar memory technology. Those skilled in the art and others will recognize that system memory 404 typically stores data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to processor 402 and/or being operated by processor 402. In this regard, processor 402 can serve as the computing center of the computing device 400 by supporting the execution of instructions.

As further illustrated in Figure 4, computing device 400 includes a network interface 410 comprising one or more components for communicating with other devices on a network. Computing device 400 accesses basic services that employ network interface 410 to perform communications using common network protocols. Network interface 410 also includes a wireless network interface configured to communicate via one or more wireless communication protocols, such as WiFi, 2G, 3G, LTE, WiMAX, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, and/or the like. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, network interface 410 illustrated in Figure 4 represents one or more wireless interfaces or physical communication interfaces described and illustrated above with respect to particular components of computing device 400.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the computing device 400 also includes a storage medium 408. However, services can be accessed using a computing device that does not include means for storing data on a local storage medium. Therefore, the storage medium 408 shown in Fig. 4 is optional. In either case, storage medium 408 may be volatile or non-volatile, removable or non-removable, implemented using any technology capable of storing information such as, but not limited to, a hard disk, solid state disk, CD ROM, DVD, or other disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, and/or the like.

As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" includes volatile and non-volatile and removable and non-removable media implemented in any process or technology capable of storing information, such as instructions machine-readable, data structures, program modules, or other data. In this regard, system memory 404 and storage medium 408 shown in Figure 4 are merely examples of computer-readable media.

Suitable implementations of computing devices that include processor 402, system memory 404, communication bus 406, storage medium 408, and network interface 410 are known and commercially available. For ease of illustration and since it is not important to understanding the subject matter claimed, Figure 4 does not show some of the typical components of many computing devices. In this regard, computing device 400 includes an input device, such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, microphone, touch input device, touch screen, tablet, and/or the like. These input devices can be coupled to the computing device 400 by wired or wireless connections including RF, infrared, serial, parallel, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, USB, or other appropriate connection protocols. using wireless or physical connections. Likewise, computing device 400 includes an output device such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. Since these devices are well known in the art, they are neither illustrated nor described further here.

Figure 5 is a flow chart that illustrates a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of a computer-implemented method for extending battery life of sensing device 106. Method 500 may be implemented, in one example, by the mobile computing device 104 and server computing system 112.

The computer-implemented process 500 can begin by clicking the icon for the capture device application engine 124 on the display of the mobile computing device 104. At block 502, the capture device application engine 124 starts and enter block 504.

At block 504, the capture device application engine 124 communicates with the capture device 106, and processes the information acquired from the capture device 160 and displays the information in some way to the user 102 via the device. mobile computing 104.

From block 504, the capture device application engine 124 proceeds to block 506. At block 506, the capture device application engine 124 calls the battery saver application engine 108 to start. In one embodiment, the call to start battery saver application engine 108 is a choice made by user 102 when selecting a battery saver feature. In one embodiment, the call to start battery saver application engine 108 is automatic based on battery status. For example, battery saver application engine 108 is started when the battery state of charge is less than 50% charge. In one embodiment, the call to start the battery saver application engine 108 is automatic each time the capture device application engine 124 is started. In one embodiment, a notification to user 102 may be presented via mobile computing device 104 indicating that sensing device 106 is operating in battery saver mode, and user 102 is given the option to turn off running battery saver app engine 108.

Once the Battery Saver Application 108 is running, at block 508, the Battery Saver Application Engine 108 acquires the current location of the user 102 wearing the sensor device 106 via the GPS 218 on computing device 104. A current location of user 102 may be indicated in longitude and latitude as well as altitude. From block 508, battery saver application engine 108 enters block 510.

At block 510, the battery saver application engine 108 acquires the locations of remote publicly accessible environment monitoring devices. These locations may be available through data store 202 on server computer system 112. Beginning at block 510, battery saver application engine 108 enters at block 512.

At block 512, battery saver application engine 108 compares the current location of user 102 to the locations of remote environmental monitors. The comparison is used to determine whether the user's current location is within proximity of one or more remote environmental monitoring device locations. In one embodiment, the proximity limit is set automatically by the battery saver application engine 108. In one embodiment, the proximity limit is set by the user 102. For example, the user may decide to compare all remote environmental monitors within a certain radius of the current location or within the same geographic area, such as a zip code. In one embodiment, the proximity boundary is defined by a dispersal zone. In one embodiment, a dispersal area is modeled based on factors, such as wind direction and wind speed. In one embodiment, a dispersal area is a geographic area where a certain concentration of a pollutant is expected within the boundaries of a dispersal area. When battery saver application engine 108 determines that there is a publicly available environment monitor within the proximity boundary, battery saver application engine 108 enters block 516. When the battery saver application engine 108 determines that there is no publicly accessible environment monitoring device within the proximity boundary, the battery saver application engine 108 enters the block 514.

At block 516, battery saver application engine 108 disables one or more sensors that collect information, which information is information that may be acquired from the one or more publicly available environment monitoring devices that are within the proximity limit of the user's current location. In one embodiment, when there are two or more publicly available environment monitors, battery saver enforcement engine 108 may select the closest one. In one embodiment, when there are two or more publicly available environmental monitors, the battery saver application engine 108 may use the average or median of the environmental results. In one embodiment, before disabling a sensor on sensing device 106, battery saver application engine 108 may verify that information from the publicly available environment monitor is accurate by comparing that information to the latest information received from the sensing device 106. In one embodiment, disabling a sensor means reducing the power consumption of the sensor, for example, cutting off communications with the mobile computing device 104.

When the battery saver application engine 108 confirms information from the publicly available environment monitor to a location that is within proximity of the user's current location, and has disabled the sensor , the method returns to the sensing device application engine 124 at block 520, and the sensing device application engine 124 retrieves and uses the environmental information from the publicly accessible environmental monitoring device within the proximity boundary the user's current location.

At block 514, battery saver application engine 108 determines that the user's current location is outside of a proximity boundary of a publicly available environmental monitoring device or dispersal area. At block 514, battery saver application engine 108 does not disable any sensors on sensing device 106, or if a previous sensor has been disabled, battery saver application engine 108 now enables the sensor. From block 514, the method returns to sensor application engine 124 at block 520, and sensor application engine 124 uses the environmental information from the activated sensor. In one embodiment, at block 514 when the user's current location is not within the proximity boundary of a remote environment monitoring device location, the Battery 108 uses a different process to extend battery life. In one embodiment, at block 514, for enabled sensors, battery saver application engine 108 reduces the sample measurement rate of at least one sensor if a) a predetermined number of consecutive samples exhibit similar or identical results, whether they are a series of zero or non-zero values, and/or b) the user's GPS location does not change within a predetermined time window. In one embodiment, the sampling rate is reduced from about once per minute to about once every ten minutes. In one embodiment, similar results or measurements mean that a result does not deviate from the previous result or from an average or median result by more than about 10%, about 20%, or about 30%. In one embodiment, if the user's GPS location does not change within approximately 10 minutes, the sampling rate is reduced. In one embodiment, the sample rate is set by the user. In one embodiment, the allowable deviation for determining consecutive results to be similar is set by the user. In one embodiment, the predetermined time the user is at the same GPS location is also set by the user. The above values are given as representative only.

As a result, the battery saver application engine 108 can both reduce power consumption and extend the battery life of the sensing device 106, both when the user's current location is within proximity of publicly available environmental monitoring devices, and the user's current location is not within proximity of publicly available environmental monitoring devices.

Although illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it should be appreciated that various changes may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

A computer-implemented method of extending battery life of a sensing device, the method comprising:

• determining, by a computing device, a current location of the sensing device;
• determining, by the computing device, locations of publicly accessible environment monitoring devices;
• determining, by the computing device, whether or not the current location is within a proximity boundary of a publicly accessible environment monitoring device; And
• the computing device receiving information from the publicly available environment monitoring device when the current location is within proximity of the publicly accessible environment monitoring device to save the life of the collection device battery.

A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising disabling a sensor on the sensing device to extend battery life. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying information from the publicly available environment monitoring device on the computing device. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a notification of selection to use a publicly available environment monitoring device in place of a sensing device sensor. A system, comprising a battery saver application engine including computing circuitry configured to:

• determining a current location of the sensing device;
• determining locations of publicly accessible environmental monitoring devices;
• determining if the current location is within proximity of a publicly accessible environment monitoring device; And
• receiving information from the publicly available environment monitoring device when the current location is within the proximity limit of the publicly accessible environment monitoring device to save battery life of the sensing device.

The system of claim 5, wherein the battery saver application engine includes computational circuitry configured to provide notification of selection of use of a publicly available environmental monitoring device instead of a sensor of the capture device. A computer-implemented method of extending battery life of a sensing device having environmental sensors, the method comprising:

• reducing a frequency of sample measurements of a sensor on the sensing device based on the occurrence of at least one of the following conditions:
  • a predetermined number of consecutive samples taken by the sensor show similar results; Or
  • a location of a user does not change within a predetermined time window.

A system, comprising a battery saver application engine including computing circuitry configured to:

• reducing a frequency of sample measurements of a sensor on a sensing device based on the occurrence of at least one of the following conditions:
  • a predetermined number of consecutive samples taken by the sensor show similar results; Or
  • a location of a user does not change within a predetermined time window.