WO2016190808A1

WO2016190808A1 - Autonomously operating devices based on approval and methods thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2016190808A1
Application number: PCT/SG2016/000008
Authority: WO
Inventors: Krishnamoorthy BASKARAN; Sivanesan Kailash PRABHU
Original assignee: 18 Degrees Lab Pte. Ltd.
Priority date: 2015-05-22
Filing date: 2016-05-20
Publication date: 2016-12-01
Also published as: SG11201707231YA; SG10201604035XA

Abstract

The present disclosure provides devices that operate autonomously based on approval and methods of providing the approval to the devices. The device or an IoT device may include a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor. The processor may be further configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval, Accordingly, the communication interface may be configured to transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency. The communication interface may also be configured to receive a response, including the approval, from the approving agency.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION

AUTONOMOUSLY OPERATING DEVICES BASED ON APPROVAL AND

METHODS THEREOF

TECHNICALFIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to autonomous devices configured to operate based on an approval. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to Internet of Things (loT) devices configured to operate autonomously based on an approval and methods of providing the approval to the loT devices.

BACKGROUND

With the advent of Internet of things (loT), mundane everyday objects begin to possess networking capabilities, it is not uncommon for objects such as refrigerators, electric homemeters, and many others to possess Wi-Fi capabilities, and to be able to connect with a home Wi-Fi network and perform a number of activities including downloading/uploading data from/to the Internet, firmware update and even social media status updates. The networking capabilities also allow these objects to share data among one another. An example would be a Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi enabled refrigerator downloading configuration data from a Bluetooth® enabled smart meter to optimize electricity consumption. loT also envisions short-lived network objects that move in and out of networks. The entry times and entry points of these objects can be highly dynamic and difficult to predict. An example would be a wireless handheld terminal held by a technician that wirelessly reads electric meter readings from meters in its immediate vicinity. The same handheld device may also attempt to connect to home Wi-Fi networks to carry out any diagnostic or troubleshooting activities.

Objects in an loT devices' network may operate autonomously with minimal human intervention. However, the dynamic nature of loT networks, as well as the

encroachment of loT devices into everyday life, requires some form of control that must be dispensed by a central authority. This central authority can be a human, such as an owner of a home Wi-Fi network, or can be another network object, such as a server operable for authorizing firmware updates or a combination of both depending on the control sought. SUMMARY

In view of the foregoing problems, it is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a device (or machine) or a network of devices to complete a set of task based on approval.

Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide devices configured to operate autonomously until a critical junction is reached after which an approval may be needed from an approving agency in order to proceed further.

The foregoing and additional objectives and advantages of the present disclosure are provided by a method for a device or a network of devices to fulfil! a task including a series of sub-tasks where a sub-task that is deemed as critical needs to get approval from an approving agency. The approving agency can be a human or a non-human entity. The device(s) operate autonomously until a critical junction is reached, proceeding further from which requires prior approval from one or more approving agencies. On further reception of the approval from the one or more approving agencies, the device(s) proceed with their intended task. Lack of the approval could cause the device(s) to abandon the task at hand or seek an alternate course of action.

Further, in some embodiments, a device for operating autonomously based on approval may be provided. The device may include a processor and a

communication interface coupled to the processor. The processor may be configured to determine a need for approval for performing a task. The processor may also be configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval. Accordingly, the communication interface may be configured to transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency, The communication interface may further be configured to receive a response from the approving agency, wherein the response may include the approval.

In some other embodiments, a device configured to operate autonomously based on approval may be provided. The device may include a storage device, a processor, and a communication interface coupled to the processor. The storage device may be configured to store each of a plurality of task identifiers corresponding to a plurality of tasks and an indication of permission corresponding to each of the plurality of task identifiers. For each task requiring permission the storage device may further be configured to store each of an identifier corresponding to an agency and a contact identifier corresponding to the approving agency. The processor may be configured to determine a need for approval for performing a task based on the indication of permission associated with the task. The processor may further be configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval. The communication interface may be configured to transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency. The communication interface may further be configured to receive a response from the approving agency, wherein the response comprises the approval.

In some embodiments, a method of providing approval to an loT device configured to operate autonomously may be used. According to the method, a request for approval from the loT device may be received. The approval may correspond to a task performable by the loT device. Then, a validity of the loT device to perform the task may be determined. A response to the loT device may then be transmitted based on the validity, wherein the response may include the approval. Accordingly, the device may perform the task based on receipt of the approval.

Further embodiments, features, and advantages, as well as the structure and operation of the various embodiments, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments are describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers can indicate identical or functionally similar elements.

FIGs. 1A-1B illustrates exemplary environments in which various embodiments of the invention can be practiced.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of an environment, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGs. 2A-2B shows block diagrams illustrating system elements of an exemplary device configured to operate autonomously, according to different embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG, 3 is a method flowchart for an loT device to operate autonomously based on an approval from an approving agency, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a method flowchart for providing approval to an loT device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary use case of the disclosed device for operating autonomously in a network by seeking approval from an approving agency.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the disclosure herein, consideration or use of a particular element number in a given FIG. or corresponding descriptive material can encompass the same, an equivalent, or an analogous element number identified in another FIG. or descriptive material corresponding thereto.

In the Detailed Description herein, references to "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "an example embodiment", etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be described in connection with some embodiments, it may be within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that illustrate exemplary embodiments. Other embodiments are possible, and modifications can be made to the embodiments within the spirit and scope of this description. Those skilled in the art with access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which embodiments would be of significant utility. Therefore, the detailed description is not meant to limit the embodiments described below.

Overview The present disclosure relates to devices configured to operate autonomously based on approval. The present disclosure also relates to methods of providing approval to an loT device configured to operate autonomously. Specifically, the present disclosure provides autonomous operation of loT devices based on approval by a human or a non-human entity such as a machine/device or system.

Exemplary Terms

For better understanding, various terms will be described here. However, for a person skilled in the art, it is understood that the terms should not limit the scope of the disclosure.

E: A physical or logical entity (E) in a network. Examples of physical entities would be routers, switches, etc. Logical entities could include data stores, software, firmware.etc. A network could contain one or more entities.

SP: A service provided by E to other entities. The other entities may or may not be in the same network as E. An example of SP by a router would be to grant wireless network connectivity to a peripheral entity like a smart meter.

SC: A service consumed by E from other entities. The other entities may or may not be in the same network as E. An example of SC by a smart-meter would be to request wireless network connectivity from a router.

{SP}: A set of services provided by E to other entities. The set may contain zero or more services.

{SC}: A set of services consumed by E from other entities. The set may contain zero or more services.

AA: Approving agency for a service where the service can either be SC or SP. An SC or SP may be consumed or provided respectively only after obtaining the necessary approval from the respective AA. AA may be a human who has authority to grant or deny approval to a service of an entity. Example of the AA for a home router would be the owner of the router. Another example of AA would be the engineering manager for a logical entity such as firmware running in a smart meter. The approving agency could also be a non-human entity such a program running on a server, a database.etc. A service may have zero or more approvers.

: Method via which AA grants or denies approval requests. Examples of M include device-based methods that utilize mobile phones, smartphones, tabiets.etc. to seek approval from human AA. The may include email-based methods that utilize registered email address to seek approval from human AA. Another example of M would simply be a data store lookup operation that reads from a database.

T: A task, which may bean ordered series of SC and/or SP of one or more entities. ASE: Approval seeking entity. An entity that accepts approval requests from other entities, communicates with the relevant AA, receives the AA's approval and passes the result back to the entity that requested approval. The ASE may also satisfy approval requests originating from within the ASE entity itself. ASE maintains a record of zero or more AA and the appropriate of seeking approval from the respective A As.

Exemplary Environment

The present disclosure relates to devices configured to operate autonomously based on approval and methods of providing approval to these devices. The devices may be, for example, an loT device capable of operating autonomously until a critical junction. Upon reaching the critical junction, a request may be transmitted for approval from another loT device such as, but not limiting to, a smart phone. The approval may correspond to a task performable by the loT device. Then, a validity of the loT device to perform the task may be determined.

In some embodiments, determining the validity may include performing a lookup operation on a database. Accordingly, the database may include a plurality of loT device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of loT devices, at least one task identifier corresponding to at least one task performable by an loT device of the plurality of loT devices and at least one permission indicator corresponding to the at least one task identifier. Further, the request for the approval may include each of an identifier of the ioT device and a task identifier of the task. Accordingly, the lookup operation may determine a value of the permission indicator corresponding to the IoT device and the task identifier. Based on the value of the persmission indicator, the validity of the IoT device to perform the task may be ascertained.

For example, the AA may determine if the IoT device is a valid device and has permission to perform the task for which approval is sought by the IoT device based on one or more factors such as based on an identifier of the IoT device. If the IoT device is determined to be a valid device and has permission for performing the task then only a response including the approval may be transmitted to the loT device else the approval may be denied. Accordingly, the loT device may perform the task based on the receipt of the approval.

FIGs. 1A-1 B illustrates exemplary environments 100A-100B in which various embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced. While discussing FIGs. 1 A- 1B references to various figures may be made. FIG. 1A is shown to include a device 102-1 , communicabiy coupled to a device 102-2, and a network-attached storage (NAS) 104. The device 102-1, the device 102-2, and the NAS 104 may be communicabiy coupled to each other and a communication network 106. In an example, the communication network 106 may be a Wi-Fi network of a home.

Further, the environment 100A includes a device 108 having an associated database 114. The database 114 may store information about permissions for accessing services by other loT devices, tasks, identity information of the devices 102-1 , 102-2, and the NAS 104. The environment 100A also includes one or more users 112-1 and 112-2 capable of connecting to and accessing the communication network 106.

The device 102-1 and the device 102-2 may be Internet of Things (loT) devices and may be configured to communicate with each other via a communication interface. The devices 102-1 and 102-2 may be configured to connect to the network such as the communication network 06 and exchange information with each other via the communication network 106. Further, the device 02-1 and 102-2 are configured to store and access information in the NAS 04. The devices 102-1 and 102-2 are also configured to connect to the internet 110 via the communication network 106. In some embodiments, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 are also configured to

communicate and exchange information with the device 108 located outside the communication network 106. Further, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 are also configured to send and receive information from a server 116 via the Internet 110.

The user 112-1 can connect to the Internet 110 and is also capable of sending or receiving information at his/her associated computing device from the server 116. Examples of the computing device may include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a PDA, a tablet, a computer, and so forth. The user 112-2 by using the computing device can connect to the communication network 06 and can access information from the NAS 104. in some embodiments, the user 112-2 can access the devices 102-1 and 02-2 via the communication network 106.

The device 108 may be an loT device configured to operate autonomously based on approval and may have a communication interface to connect and communicate with other devices 102-1 and 102-2. in one embodiment, the device 108 is configured to connect to the Internet 110 and exchange information with the server 116 via the Internet 110. The environment 100 as shown may be a business set-up or a personal set-up where the user 112-1 and the user 112-2 as shown typically may communicate with the devices 102-1 and 102-2 for various purposes. In some embodiments, the communication network 106 may include places like, but are not limited to, smart homes, sensor networks, a smart parking area including multiple sensors installed to optimize the usage of parking space, a smart office including a network of sensors and devices including the sensors, and so forth. The smart homes may include multiple sensors installed all over the home for monitoring purpose, for example a person may monitor activities in his/her home while sitting in his office.

As shown, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may include any wired or wireless device configured to connect to the communication network 106. Various examples of the devices102-1 and 102-2 may include, but are not limited to.smartphones, tablets, personal computers (PCs), media players, readers, routers, smart meters, refrigerators, music playing systems, video gaming devices, laptops, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), headsets, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi enabled cameras, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi enabled vehicles, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi enabled wearable devices, Bluetooth® enabled health monitoring devices, embedded computing devices, security devices, Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi enabled washing machines, food processors, electric

appliances, and so forth. The device 102-1 and the device 102-2 may be devices capable of sending, receiving, or processing data and are capable of storing the data. The user 112-2 may control one or more functions of the devices 102-1 and the 102-2 from a remote location via the communication network 106 and/or the internet 110.

In the context of the present disclosure, each of the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may be configured to determine a need for approval for performing a task and transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency (AA). The task may be an ordered series of service provided (SP) and/or service consumed (SC) corresponding to one or more entities such as the device 102-1 and device 102-2. The devices 102-1 and the 02-2 may act as an approval seeking entity (ASE) by requesting the approval from the AA. In some embodiments, the AA is a human such as, but not limited to, the user 112-2. In some embodiments, the AA is a non-human entity, for example, the server 116. The devices 102-1 and 02-2 are also configured to receive a response from the approving agency. In one embodiment, the response includes the approval. The devices 02-1 and 02-2 may also be configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval. The task may include a number of tasks and at least one task, which may be performed without the approval. Further, the task may include an SP that can be provided by the devices 102-1 and 02-2. Furthermore, the task may include an SC that may be consumed by the devices 102-1 and 102-2. In some embodiments, the task includes updating a firmware of the devices 102-1 and 102-2.

Further, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may perform at ieast one of transmission of the request and reception of the approval in the form of at least one of a Short Service Message (SMS), an email, the Internet based message. The devices 02-1 and 102- 2 may be further configured to detect a failure to receive the approval. Further, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may be configured to perform an action based on the failure. For instance, in some embodiments, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may be configured to re-transmit the request after a predetermined time period from the time corresponding to the transmission of the request.

In someembodiments, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 may use various communication technologies including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near-field communication, Zigbee, mobile telephone, GSM, CDMA, satellite, LTE technology, or various other wireless communication technologies as known in the art or later developed technologies for communicating with other devices like NAS 104 within the communication network 106 and the server 116, the device 108 external to the communication network 106. Further, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 and the NAS 104 may or may not belong to the user 112-1 and/or the user 112-2. 16 000008

The server 116 refers to any device capable of sending or receiving data, processing data as well as may be operable to store data, and so forth. The server 116 may be a device or combination of devices hosted by any online service provider for providing various services (for example, website) to their users. Further, the server 116 may include firmware, software, hardware or combination of these. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the server 116 receives the request for approval from one of the loT devices, such as the device 102-1 , for approving a task. In some embodiments, the server 116 is configured to act as the approving agency and may determine a validity of the loT device to perform the task. The loT device may be validated based on for example, an identifier of the loT device, a device name of the loT device, and so forth. The identifier of the loT device may be a combination of alphabets, numbers or symbols for identifying the loT device uniquely in the communication network. The server 116 may also be configured to transmit the response the approval to the loT device, i.e., the device 102-1. The response may be transmitted in form of an email, an SMS, an internet- based message, and so forth. The task may be performed by the device based on receipt of the approval from the server 116.

In some embodiments, the devices 02-1 and 02-2 may be registered with the server 116 to use services, while in other scenarios the devices 02-1 and 102-2 may not be registered with the server 116. In some embodiments, the server 116 performs authentication of the devices 102-1 and 102-2. While in some

embodiments, the functionality of authentication may be performed by other entity such as an authentication server located in the Internet 1 0.

As shown, the devices 102-1 and 102-2, the NAS 104, the Internet 10, the server 116, and the device 108 (i.e. an external device of the communication network 106) may be communicatively coupled to each other via a communication link (not shown). The communication link may be a wired link or wireless (such as Wi-Fi, Wi- Max, or other wireless technologies) link or a combination of these. Few examples may include a local area network (LAN) or wireless LAN connection, an Internet connection, a point-to-point connection, or other network connection and

combinations thereof. The communication link can be any other type of network that is capable of transmitting or receiving data to/from host computers, personal devices, telephones or any other electronic devices. Further, the communication link is capable of transmitting/sending data between the mentioned devices. Additionally, the communication link may be a local, regional, or global communication network, for example, an enterprise telecommunication network, the Internet, a global mobile communication network, mobile telephone, GSM, CDMA, satellite, LTE technology, or any combination of similar networks. The communication link may be a

combination of an enterprise network (or the Internet 110) and a cellular network, in which case, suitable systems, and methods are employed to communicate seamlessly between the two networks. In such cases, a mobile switching gateway may be utilized to communicate with a computer network gateway to pass data between the two networks. The communication link may include any software, hardware, or computer applications that can provide a medium to exchange signals or data in any of the formats known in the art, related art, or developed later.

FIG. 1 B shows another exemplary environment 100B, where the communication network 106 is a home Wi-Fi network uses or registers multiple devices such as 102- 1 , 102-2, the NAS 104 to use services provided by each other. As shown, the environment 100B includes the communication network 106 including an approval seeking entity (ASE) 118 and an approving agency 120. The approving agency (AA) 120 can be a human or a non-human entity. In some embodiments, the approving agency 120 is a device configured to receive a request for approval from the devices 102-1 and 102-2 and provide approval based on the validity of the devices 102-1 and the devices 102-2. In some embodiments, the devices 102-1 and 102-2 send their request for approval for performing a task to the approval seeking entity 118 that may forward the request to the approving agency 120 for further processing. The approval seeking entity (ASE) 118 may be an loT device capable of communicating with other ioT devices such as the devices 102-1 , 102-2 present in the

communication network 106.

FIG. 1 C illustrates an example of an environment 100C, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, the environment 100C includes the communication network 106 including a number of IoT devices such as a router 122-1 , a refrigerator 122-2, the NAS 104 communicably coupled to each other via a suitable communication tink(s) as discussed above. The refrigerator 122-2 may be a Bluetooth® and/or Wi-Fi enabled refrigerator. Further, the router 122-1 and the refrigerator 122-2 are configured to connect to the Internet 10 and communicate with a smart meter 124. The router 122-1 is responsible for creating and maintaining the communication network 106 (for example, the home Wi-Fi network).

A user 126 may control one or more functions of the router 122-1 and the refrigerator 22-2, and other devices present in the communication network 106 from a remote location or when the user 126 is present within a range of the communication network 106. The range of the communication network 106 may be defined by an area or distance in which the communication network 106 is available and accessible to devices such as the refrigerator 122-2. For example, the range of the

communication network 106 can be 200 meters, 100 meters, 500 square meters and so forth. In an example, the user 126 can be a homeowner. Further, the homeowner can be an AA. Though not shown, the environment 100C may include multiple AAs.

The smart meter 124 may be a Bluetooth® and/or Wi-Fi enabled device configured to provide readings to another device such as the router 122-1 over a wireless communication link, a wired communication link, or a combination of these. The smart meter 124 may be an entity external to the communication network 106. The smart meter 124 is configured to exchange data with the router 122-1 , the

refrigerator 122-2 and the NAS 04 over the InternetHO and via the communication network 106.

The NAS 104 may store the information about the loT devices, i.e. the router 122-1, the refrigerator 122-2, the AA 120, the ASE 118, and so forth, information about the services provided and consumed by these loT devices, the tasks, the validity of the loT devices to perform the tasks, and so forth. The NAS 104 may also include information in the form of tables, for example, mapping tables (MTs),ASE Tables, method ( ) Tables for the smart meter 124, the router 122-1, the refrigerator 122-2, and so forth.

The ASE 1 8 may employ a suitable method (M) to seek approval from the AA 120. The AA 120 may have at least one of a smart device such as, a mobile phone, an email address, SMS/call, and so forth on which the request for approval may be received by the AA 120. In some embodiments, the AA 120 may carry the smart device, such as a smart phone and tablet that may be registered with the ASE 118. The ASE 118 may push approval request(s) to the smart device of the AA 120 and may obtain approval from the approver. In some embodiments, the ASE 118 may authenticate the AA 120 using a suitable means, such as a PIN, a biometric, a login ID, a password, a key, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the AA 120 may have the email address registered with the ASE 118. For approval seeking, the ASE 118 may send an email request and obtain the approval from the AA 120. In some embodiments, the ASE 18 may

authenticate the AA 120 using a suitable means, such as a PIN, biometric, login ID, password, and so forth.

Furthermore, the AA 120 may have a phone number registered with the ASE 118. For seeking approval, the ASE 118 may send an SMS or cail request and may obtain the approval from the AA 120. In some embodiments, the ASE 118 may authenticate the AA 120 using a suitable means, such as a PIN, biometric, login ID, password, and so forth.

Moreover, any suitable methods other than as disclosed above may be employed by the ASE 118 to seek approval and optionally authenticate the AA 120. For example, the ASE 118 may look up a mySql DB or a service such as Active Directory for authenticating the AA 120.

The E such as the refrigerator 122-2 may seek approval for performing one or more tasks that may be represented as T and may include a series of services, each of which must be successfully completed for T to be deemed as completed. For example, T may be represented by Equation 1 as follows:

T= {SC1 , SP1 , SC2, SP2, SC3, SP3} where SC1 may be a service, such as "Wireless Connection", consumed by an loT device such as the refrigerator 122-2, SP1 may be a service, such as "Wireless Connection", provided by an external E such as the smart meter 124; SC2 may be a service, such as "Firmware Update", consumed by the refrigerator 122-2, SP2 may be a service, such as "Firmware Update", provided by the smart meter 24; SC3 may be a service, such as "Storage Service", consumed by the refrigerator 122-2, SP3 may be a service, such as "Storage Service", provided by the NAS 104

FIGs. 2A-2B shows block dtagrams200A-200B illustrating system elements of an exemplary device 202 configured to operate autonomously, according to different embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.2A, the device 202 includes a processor 204, and communication interface 206. The device 202 may also have an associated storage device 208. The storage device 208 may be external to the device 202 as shown in FIG. 2A, Alternatively, the storage device 208 may be part of the device 202 as shown in FIG. 2B.

The processor 204 may be configured to determine a need for an approval for performing a task. The need for the approval may be for performing a critical task that can be performed only after receiving the approval from an AA such as the AA 120. In some embodiments, the processor 204 may be configured to determine a need for an approval for performing a task based on an indication of permission associated with the task. For example, some tasks may not require permission. The processor 204may also be configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval. In some embodiments, the task includes updating a firmware of a device such as, the device 102-1. The processor 204 may further be configured to detect a failure to receive the approval. The processor 204 may further be configured to perform an action based on the failure.

The communication interface 206 may be coupled to the processor 204 and may be configured to transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency such as, the AA 120. The communication interface 206 may also be configured to receive a response from the approving agency. The response may include the approval, in some embodiments, the device 202 is an Internet of Things (loT) device. The communication interface 206 is further configured to communicate with another loT device of a network of loT devices such as, the communication network 106. The communication interface 206 is configured to perform at least one of transmission of the request and reception of the approval in the form of at least one of a Short Service Message (SMS), an email, an Internet based message. The communication interface 206 may also be further configured to re-transmit the request for approval based on the failure. The re-transmission of the request may be performed after a predetermined time period from the time corresponding to the transmission of the request.

The storage device 208 may be configured to store each of an indication of the task, an identifier of the approving agency, and an association between the task and the approving agency. Further, in some embodiments, an indication of the task, an identifier of the approving agency, and an association between the task and the approving agency is set by a manufacturer of the device. In some embodiments, the indication of the task, the identifier of the approving agency, and the association between the task and the approving agency is set by a user of the device 202. The storage device 208 may further be configured to store a communication identifier associated with the approving agency. The storage device 208 may further be configured to store an indication of permission corresponding to the task. Further, the storage device 208 may be configured to store each of a number of task identifiers corresponding to a number of tasks and an indication of permission corresponding to each of the task identifiers. For each task requiring permission the storage device is further configured to store each of an identifier corresponding to an agency and a contact identifier corresponding to the approving agency (AA). The identifier of the agency may include information for identifying the agency, for example, an agency name, an agency network address, and so forth. The contact identifier corresponding to the AA may include information by using which the AA can be contacted. For example, the AA may be contacted via an email address, a smart phone and its associated phone number, and through an SMS or call.

Therefore, the contact information for the AA may include an email address, a phone number, and so forth.

It may be understood that in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the elements 202-208 may be in the form of hardware components, while in some embodiments, the elements 202-208 may be in the form of software

entities/modules. In yet some embodiments of the present invention, the elements 202-208 may be a combination of hardware and software modules.

Exemplary Method flowchart-Seeking an Approval

FIG. 3 is a method flowchart 300 for an ioT device to operate autonomously based on an approval from an AA, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. While discussing the flowchart 300, references to other figures may be made. The method flowchart 300 includes steps performed by the IoT device such as the device 102-1 that may be a human such as the user 112-2,or a non-human such as the server 16. Initially, the user 112-2 may set up the device 102-1 for use in the communication network 106 and with the InternetH O to use services offered by other devices like the device 102-2, device 108, and so forth. In some embodiments, the user 112-2 may require registering the device 102-1 with the server 116 before using the service of the server 1 6. The method includes a step 302 of determining a need for approval for performance of a task. The processor 204 of the device 202 (or the device 102-1 ) may determine the need for approval for performance of the task. In some embodiments, not every task may need approval. Then at 304, a request for the approval is transmitted to an approval agency such as the AA 120. In some embodiments, the communication interface 206 transmits the request for the approval to the AA 120.

Further, at 306, a response including the approval is received from the approval agency i.e. the AA 120. In some embodiments, the communication interface 206 receives the response. Thereafter, at 308, the task is performed based on the receipt of the approval. In some embodiments, the processor 204 performs the task.

In some embodiments, the response including the approval is not received, for example, when the loT device is determined to have no permission for performing the task and/or is deemed to be invalid. In such embodiments, the loT device may wait for a predetermined time, for example 90 seconds, and then may send a request for approval again or may choose to perform another action, for example, terminating the session or the task to be performed.

In this manner, the loT device (or the device 102-1 ) may receive the approval and perform the task. While FIG. 3 shows the loT device seeking approval for one task, but the device 102-1 may seek approval for performing more than one task.

Exemplary Method Flowchart -Processing a Request for Approval

FIG. 4 is a method flowchart 400 for providing approval to an loT device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. While discussing, references to other figures may be made. The method flowchart 400 depicts steps performed by an approving agency or the AA 120 that may be a human, such as the user 112-2, or a non-human such as, the server 116.When the AA 120 is a non-human entity or a device, then the AA 120 may include a processor, a communication interface, and a storage device such as a database. At 402, the method includes the step of receiving a request for an approval corresponding to a performable task from an loT device such as the device 202 (or the device 102-1 ). In some embodiments, the communication interface of the A A 120 may receive the request for the approval. Then, at 404, the AA 120 determines a validity of the loT device to perform the task, !n some embodiments, the processor of the AA 120 may determine the validity of the loT device for performing the task. For example, the AA 120 may determine if the loT device is a valid device based on the idenetifier of the loT device, and may also check whether the loT device has permission to perform the task for which approval is sought by the ioT device or not. In some embodiments, the validity of the ioT device may be checked based on the information stored in the storage devices for example, the MTs, the ASE tables, and so forth (discussed in detail in subsequent figures). In alternative embodiments, the identifiers such as a device name, device ID, a device network address of the IoT device may be used for validating the IoT device.

Further, at 406, a response including the approval is transmitted to the IoT device based on the validity. The response may include the approval only when the IoT device is deemed valid at step 404. The response may be transmitted to the IoT device by the communication interface of the AA 120. If the IoT device is determined to be a valid device and has permission for performing the task then only the response inclulding the approval is transmitted to the IoT device. In an alternative scenario, if the IoT device is not the valid device then the approval may not be granted and the response may not include the approval. in this scenario, the IoT device may not be able to perform the task or may request for approval again after a predetermined time.

Thereafter, at 408 the IoT device performs the task based on receipt of the approval. In some embodiments, the processor 204 performs the task.

In this manner, the AA 120 may assess the request for the approval and provide the approval for performing the task by the ioT device like the device 202. The AA 120 may assess the request for the approval based on multiple factors and/or based on information present in the MTs, ASE tables, tables and so forth. While FIG. 4 shows the AA 1 0 processing one request for the approval for performing one task by the loT device, but the AA 120 may process and provide approval for multiple requests for approval for performing more than one task by multiple loT devices.

In some embodiments, when the loT device is not valid and may not have

permissions for performing the task, then the AA 120 may deny the approval.

Exemplary Use case and Scenario

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary use case of the disclosed device (or the loT device) for operating autonomously in a network 500 by seeking approval from an approving agency. The network 500 is shown to include a home network 10 where the device(s) may be used. Further, the network500 includes:

1 : The home Wi-Fi network 12 created and maintained by 2'.

2': A Router 14 entity responsible for creating and maintaining 1.

2": A wired network storage entity 16 belonging to 1.

2'": A wired network printing entity 18 belonging to 1.

3: A wireless Smart Meter entity20 outside 1 , seeking to join 1.

4: A service22 'Wired Connection' provided by 2' and consumed by 2"'. A service

'Remote Printing' provided by 2"\ and consumed by 2'.

5: A service 24 'Wired Connection' provided by 2', and consumed by 2'". A service

'Network Storage' provided by 2", and consumed by 2'.

6: A service26 'Wireless Connection' requested by 3 from 2'.

7: A service 28 'Internet', 'Firmware Update' and 'Configuration Download'

Consumed by 2' from external entities.

8: A service 30 'Firmware Update' consumed by 3 from any external entities.

9-10: AAs 32 that are humans.

11 : AA 34 that is a data store local to 3.

12: ASE 36 external to 1 residing in the Internet as shown in FIG. 5.

13: ASE 37 within 3.

Further to the above-described example, wherein the said system and the previous WIT, ASE table and M table, another example task T is described in detail:

T may include a series of services, which when completed successfully, may result in the smart meter joining the home network wirelessly, performing a firmware update and transferring a log file via the router to be stored in the NAS. The series of services in T are: P T/SG2016/000008

SC1 : A 'Wireless Connection' service to be consumed by 3.

SP1 : A 'Wireless Connection' service to be to be provided by 2'.

SC2: A 'Firmware Update' service to be consumed by 3.

SP2: A 'Firmware Update' service to be provided by an external entity.

SC3: A 'Storage Service' to be consumed by 3.

SP3: A 'Storage Service' to be provided by 2\

SC4: A 'Storage Service' to be consumed by 2'.

SP4. A 'Storage Service' to be provided by 2".

T can be represented as a series of services, each of which must be successfully completed for T to be deemed as completed.

T = {SC1 , SP1, SC2, SP2, SC3, SP3, SC4, SP4}

Referring to the respective MTs, the following is derived:

SC1 : No permission needed. Proceed to consume service 'Wireless Connection'.

SP1 : Seek permission from A1 and if granted, provide 'Wireless Connection' service to 3.

SC2: Seek permission from A3 and if granted, consume 'Firmware Update' service. SP2: Provided by an external entity.

SC3. No permission needed. Proceed to consume 'Network Storage' service.

SP3: No permission needed. Proceed to provide 'Network Storage' service.

SC4: No permission needed. Proceed to consume 'Network Storage' service.

SP4: Provided by 2".

Further, referring to the respective ASE table, the following is derived:

SP1 : ASE at www.authserver.com. AA is xxy and xxz, or xxx.

SC2: ASE at www.smartmeter.com or localFunc(). AA identified by externally supplied id such as 'technician85'.

2' proceeds to seek approval from ASE www.authserver.com with AA as xxx. Upon successful approval, the 2' proceeds to provide SP1 to 3. 3 proceeds to seek approval from ASE localFunc(). Upon successful approval, 3 proceed to consume SC2.

ASEs www.authserver.com and localFunc() refer to their respective M tables and proceed to seek approval from AA xxx and AA technician85 respectively via methods mobile push and DB lookup respectively. The result of the approval is given back to the requesting entity.

In the example above, 9, the owner of 2' may receive a push notification on his/her T/SG2016/000008

device indicating that his/her home router is seeking approval to allow entity 3 to join the home network 12.

The owner of 2' (9) either grants or denies the request for approval. Similarly, 11 , the local DB of 3 may receive a lookup operation, the result of which would either allow or deny 3 a firmware update.

In an exemplary scenario, for performing a mapping of a machine to person (M2P) (also referred as a device to person mapping), initially, a mapping table (MT) is constructed. The MT table may be constructed and maintained by an E for example, the device 102-1. The said mapping is provided between the services that are to be provided and consumed by the E (or the device 102-1) and also providing

permissions needed to consume or providing the respective services. The entries within the MT may be factory preprogrammed or updated dynamically in the field.

Table 1 as illustrated below is a mapping table (MT) for the router 122-1:

Wired A1 N.A Network A2 N.A

Connection Storage

Media A1 N.A Firmware A1 Needed

Streaming Update

Network A2 N.A Configuration A1 N.A

Storage Download

Remote Printing A2 N.A Remote A2 N.A

Printing

Internet N.A N.A — - —

A1

P2P N.A — —

Table 2 as illustrated below is an MT for the smart meter 124:

Referring now to Table 3 and Table 4, after constructing the MT, an ASE table may be constructed for the M2P. The ASE Table may be constructed and maintained by the E (or the device 102-1). The ASE table may provide a mapping between the AAs 20 for the various services provided or consumed by the E (or the device 102-1 ). Further, the ASE 118 may be responsible for seeking approval from the respective AAs 120. Further, the entries within the ASE table may be factory preprogrammed or updated dynamically in the field.

Table 3 as illustrated below is an example of ASE table for the router 122-1 :

Further referring now to Tables 5-6, illustrated is a construction of an Table. The M Table may be constructed and maintained by the ASE 118. The M Table may provide a mapping between AAs 120 and one or more methods (M) along with the approval of the AA 120. Further, the entries within the M table may be factory preprogrammed or updated dynamically in the field.

Table 5 as illustrated below is an example of an Table for the ASE 118, such as www.authserver.com, or the server 116 in the InternetHO. AA AA Identified by M

A1 Key: xxy Mobile Push, Email, SMS Key: xxz Key: xxx

A2 Un:25412 mySqi DB Lookup Pw:XXXXXX

Table 6 as illustrated below is an example of Wl table for an ASE localFunc{)₍ which may be a local server such as a server present in the communication network 106.

AA AA Identified by M

A3 User-name DB lookup

The final step of M2P is where the E consumes or is required to provide a service. When a service is to be consumed or provided, the entity, for example, the router 122-1 may refer to its WIT, and if a respective approving agency, such as the AA 20, is valid and permissions are found in the T, then the E may proceed to seek approval from the respective AA 120.

Moreover, the ASE table is referred to, and the respective ASE 118 may be contacted and provided with the details of the AA 120, and the approval may be sought from the AA 120. The ASE 118 may refer its M Table and select appropriate methods (Ms) and may proceed with seeking approval from the respective AA 120.

Further, only upon successful completion of the approval by the chosen ASE 118, the result may be passed back to the E in the form of a response. The E may proceed with consuming or providing of the service. If the approval seeking is failed, then the E may decide an alternative course of action, for example, the E may re- request the approval after a time delay. T 2016/000008

In another exemplary scenario, if the AA 120 or the permissions are invalid or not needed, then the E may decide an alternative course of action, for example, the E may simply terminate the service at hand.

The present disclosure provides a framework for a network of one or more machines or toT devices to operate autonomously but pausing at critical junctions where approval may be required from an approving agency for proceeding further. The approving agency can be a human or a non-human entity.

The disclosed methods and devices have applications in loT networks devices, M2P networks, and Machine to Machine (M2M) networks where the intervention of a human entity is typically needed for granting approval before a critical operation is to be performed. The approval seeking may be done via any suitable method including, but are not limited to, a mobile device push message, an SMS, an email, a DB lookup, and so forth. Further, the present disclosure may be implemented by various loT devices, by servers, and so forth. In other words, the present disclosure may be implemented for any online service provider which provide or consume one or more services in an loT devices' network.

The brief Summary and Abstract sections may set forth one or more but not all example embodiments and thus are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims in any way.

Embodiments have been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed.

The foregoing description of specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the disclosure that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from the general concept of the present disclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.

The breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described example embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

THE FOLLOWING IS CLAIMED:

1. A device configured to operate autonomously based on approval, wherein the device comprises:

a. a processor configured to:

t. determine a need for an approval for performing a task; and ii. perform the task based on receipt of the approval; and b. a communication interface coupled to the processor, wherein the

communication interface is configured to:

i. transmit a request for the approval to an approving agency; and ii. receive a response from the approving agency, wherein the

response comprises the approval.

2. The device of claim 1 further comprising a storage device configured to store each of an indication of the task, an identifier of the approving agency and an association between the task and the approving agency.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the storage device is configured to further store a communication identifier associated with the approving agency.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the storage device is configured to further store an indication of permission corresponding to the task, wherein the need for the approval is determined based on the indication.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the task comprises a plurality of tasks, wherein at least one task is performable without the approval.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the approving agency is a human, wherein the communication interface is configured to communicate with a user device operated by the human.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the approving agency is a server.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is an Internet of Things (ioT)

device, wherein the communication interface is further configured to communicate with another IoT device of a network of IoT devices.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the task comprises a service provided by the IoT device to another IoT device.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the task comprises a service consumed by the IoT device from another IoT device.

1 1.The device of claim 6, wherein the communication interface is configured to perform at least one of transmission of the request and reception of the approval in the form of at least one of a Short Service Message (SMS), an email, an Internet based message.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein at least one of an indication of the task, an identifier of the approving agency and an association between the task and the approving agency is set by at least one of a manufacturer of the device and a user of the device.

13. The device of claim , wherein the processor is further configured to detect a failure to receive the approval.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to perform an action based on the failure.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the communication interface is further

configured to re-transmit the request for approval based on the failure.

16. The device of claim 5, wherein the re-transmission of the request is

performed after a predetermined time period from the time corresponding to the transmission of the request.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is a smart meter.

18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the task comprises updating a firmware

comprised in the device.

19. A device configured to operate autonomously based on approval, wherein the device comprises:

a. a storage device configured to store each of a plurality of task identifiers corresponding to a plurality of tasks and an indication of permission corresponding to each of the plurality of task identifiers, wherein for each task requiring permission, the storage device is further configured to store each of an identifier corresponding to an agency and a contact identifier corresponding to the approving agency;

b. a processor configured to:

i. determine a need for an approval for performing a task based on the indication of permission associated with the task; and ii. perform the task based on receipt of the approval; and

c. a communication interface coupled to the processor, wherein the

communication interface is configured to:

response comprises the approval.

20. A method of providing approval to an loT device configured to operate

autonomously, the method comprising:

a. receiving a request for an approval from the loT device, wherein the approval corresponds to a task performable by the loT device;

b. determining a validity of the loT device to perform the task; and c. transmitting a response to the ioT device based on the validity, wherein the response comprises the approval, wherein the device is configured to perform the task based on receipt of the approval.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein determining the validity comprises

performing a lookup operation on a database, wherein the database comprises a plurality of loT device identifiers corresponding to a plurality of IoT devices, at least one task identifier corresponding to at least one task performable by an loT device of the plurality of IoT devices and at least one permission indicator corresponding to the at least one task identifier, wherein the request for the approval comprises each of an identifier of the IoT device and a task identifier of the task.