The present invention relates to the triggering of a software application using at
least one physical object and accessible from a mobile terminal connected to a
communication network.
The invention relates to the Internet of Things, or more precisely, the Web o5 f
Things, which consists of turning physical objects from real life into resources
available via the web, which may thereby potentially communicate with one another:
Lamps, television sets, communication terminals, advertising signs, traffic signals,
household appliances, etc. may interface with one another via the Internet and the
10 software applications available through it, and thereby allow new possibilities.
These concepts and new possibilities are, for example, described on the website
www.webofthings.com and in the article "Towards the Web of Things: Web Mashups
for Embedded Devices" by Dominique Guinard and Vlad Trifa, published in
Proceedings of International WWW (World Wide Web) Conferences, Madrid, 2009.
15
The user of a mobile communication terminal may thereby use a software
application benefiting from the options (or services) offered by the surrounding
physical objects.
Some software applications might only be triggered in the presence of certain
20 physical objects—or more specifically, physical objects that have a feature necessary
for the software application. For example, a software application consisting of viewing
a film must necessarily interface with a physical object having a screen and potentially
the right codecs to display the film.
25 Nonetheless, the majority of developments for the Web of Things focus on the
connection between physical objects and software applications, but do not really
consider the issue caused by the mobility of users, who may move about, with the
environment changing as they move, as do the available physical objects.
3
Thus, there are no simple ways for the user to correctly manage the connection
between the available software applications of the physical objects available in a
given environment. For example, it is not possible to program the triggering of a
given software application in advance when the user reaches a geographic area using
and/or based on the physical objects located 5 d there.
The purpose of the invention is to remedy this shortcoming.
To do so, the invention proposes a method for triggering a software application
accessible from a mobile terminal connected to a communication network and using
10 at least one physical object. This method comprises:
- a step of selecting a (software) application from a set of available (software)
applications,
- a step of delimiting at least one geographic area on a cartographic
representation (i.e. a map), by the user of the mobile terminal,
15 - a step of automatically determining a set of active physical objects located in
the at least one geographic area and having an interface with the
communication network,
- a step of interface of the application with a subset of physical objects among
the set of physical objects.
20
In some embodiments of the invention, this subset may be determined
dynamically based on the previously determined set of active physical objects and on
the geographic location of the mobile terminal.
The at least one area may be formed of two separate geographic areas, and the
25 application may in such a case deploy a single application session in both geographic
areas.
The at least one geographic area may comprise a path.
The automatic determination of a set of physical objects may be performed
dynamically at the same time as the delimiting of at least one geographic area.
30
4
A further purpose of the invention is a communication terminal having a
human-machine interface comprising
- a screen enabling the display of a cartographic representation,
- first control means for selecting an application from a set of available
applications, 5 ations, and
- second control means for delimiting at least one geographic area on that
cartographic representation.
The terminal further comprises processing means
- for automatically determining a set of active physical objects located in the at
10 least one geographic area and having an interface with a communication network,
and
- for interfacing that application with a subset of physical objects from among
the previously determined set.
15 A further purpose of the invention is a computer program having code means
provided for implementing the previously described method when deployed on a
communication terminal.
For this reason, the user may program the triggering of a software application in
20 advance in a geographic area that it may determine via a cartographic representation.
The physical objects available in that area are automatically determined, and the
software application may interface with those physical objects (or some of them) in
order to make it possible to trigger the software application.
25 The invention, its characteristics, and its benefits will become apparent in the
following description, in connection with the attached figures.
Figure 1 depicts one possible sequence of the steps of the inventive method.
Figure 2 schematically depicts a general architecture in which the invention is
likely to fit.
5
Figures 3 and 4 depict two example human-machine interfaces for the
implementation of the invention.
The communication terminal T depicted in Figure 2 has processing means TRT
comprising multiple modules MZG, MIA, MOR, MSA. In a conventional manner know5 n
per se, these processing means may comprise programmable electronic circuits and
an operating system provided for implementing software modules made of computer
code. The modules MSA, MZG, MOR, and MSA may be independent software
modules, or be interlinked within a single software module.
10 The communication terminal T further has an interface INT enabling it to
communicate with a communication network N. The communication terminal may be
a mobile terminal, and the communication interface INT may in such a case be a radio
interface (Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE, etc.)
The communication network N is conventionally a composite network. It may
15 comprise a radio access network (Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, LTE…), a wired private network, a
public network, etc. The invention can apply independent of the architecture of the
communication network and the technologies used.
Connected to communication network N are physical objects O1, O2, O3, having
an appropriate interface, respectively Int1, Int2, Int3, enabling them to communicate
20 with that network N. This communication may potentially be carried out via an
adaptor that may be embedded in the real object itself, or it may form a gateway
between physical objects and the communication network.
These physical objects may be of different natures. They might be physical
objects available in a private home, in a workspace (office, factory, workshop, etc.), in
25 a public space (street, restaurant room, bar, hotel, etc.), etc.
Indoors, for example, they may be a lamp, a television screen, a telephone, a
speaker, a digital picture frame, a media player (for DVDs, etc.), a radio, a pendulum,
etc. Outdoors, they may be signal indicators (traffic lights, light-up signs), advertising
media, information display screens, etc.
6
These physical objects may have an interface with the telecommunication
network N.
Some physical objects are complex objects offering multiple services (or
features) via their interface with the communication network N. A television may, for
example, offer a very broad panel of services via its interface, particularly 5 ticularly making it
possible to remotely order: changing channels, setting brightness or contrast, setting
volume, choosing a process to improve video or sound, etc.
Other physical objects are much simpler and offer fewer services. For example, a
lamp might offer an interface that can only turn it on or off.
10
Selecting an application
The inventive method comprises a step E1 in Figure 1, consisting of selecting an
application from a set of available software applications. This step may be
implemented by a module MSA of the processing means TRT.
15 These available software applications may be embedded in the communication
terminal or hosted on a remote server. In order to embed and implement software
applications, the communication terminal may comprise an operating system that
makes it possible to download and launch such applications, such as the iOS systems
from the company Apple, Android, or Badu from the company Samsung.
20
Figure 3 depicts one possible human-machine interface for implementing the
invention. The communication terminal T has a screen D that makes it possible to
display a geographic representation G (which will be explained later on) and a set of
tools. Some of those tools may be organized in the form of fixed or floating menus,
25 etc., in a manner known per se.
Some of those tools are provided for selecting a software application. They may
be combined in the form of a specific toolbar ZA, in which each icon corresponds to
an application. This toolbar forms the control means enabling the user of the
7
communication terminal T to simply select one application from among those offered
by clicking on the corresponding icon.
Software applications may be software applications embedded in the
communication terminal T, but they may also comprise applications available 5 ble via the
communication network T. Once selected, the application may then be downloaded
and installed on the communication terminal. Other types of applications might not
require a download and be accessible remotely (web applications, applications in Ajax
language, etc.)
10 The available applications may be referenced in a database DB2 accessible via
the communication network T. The embedded applications may be referenced in an
internal database within the communication terminal in a manner known per se and
depending on the operating system used.
15 Delimiting at least one geographic area
The invention also comprises a step E2 of delimiting at least one geographic
area of the graphic representation G displayed on the screen D of the communication
terminal T. This step may be implemented by a module MZG of the processing means
TRT.
20 This step E2 may be performed subsequent to the step E1 of selecting an
application, but it may also be performed before. For this reason, a choice has been
made to represent those two steps E1 and E2 on two branches of the algorithmic
representation of Figure 1.
The cartographic representation G corresponds to a real geographic area. It may
25 be determined by the user himself or herself (who may indicate the name of a town,
GPS coordinates, etc.), by geo-locating the mobile terminal, or by any other means.
The determining and display of the cartographic representation G are prerequisite
conditions that do not fall within the subject matter of the present invention.
8
By means of the human-machine interface, the user may delimit one or more
geographic areas.
This delimiting may be performed with design software: It may trace a
geometric shape using a mouse, for example by previously selecting a type of
geometric shape in a menu or toolbar ZT. This toolbar ZT forms control means 5 ans for
particularly choosing a type of shape from a set of offered types: rectangle, circle,
polygons, etc. Once the type has been selected, the user can trace the desired shape
in the desired location on the cartographic representation G.
Figure 3 shows multiple examples of such shapes. The geographic areas ZG1
10 and ZG2 are triangle-shaped, while the geographic area is ring-shaped. The
geographic area ZG4 is polygonal. It is also possible to provide advanced help
mechanisms. For example, the geographic area ZG4 may be produced by an image
analysis mechanism that isolates a block of housing units by detecting the contours of
roads: The user can choose this tool with the toolbar ZT and then indicate a point on
15 the map, and the processing means TRT will automatically determine the block to
which the point in question belongs, and therefore the geographic area ZG4.
It is also possible to connect geographic areas, as has been done for the
geographic areas ZG1 and ZG2. To do so, the user chooses the appropriate tool from
the toolbar ZT and indicates the two areas or traces a line between the two areas.
20 The impact of a connection depends on the software application selected during
step E1.
Automatic determination of active physical objects in the area
The invention then comprises a step E3 of automatically determining a set of
25 active physical objects located in the previously delimited geographic areas and
having an interface with the communication network N. This step may be
implemented by a module MOR of the processing means TRT.
9
Here, a physical object is said to be "active" if it is capable of effectively
communicating with the communication network N. To do so, some objects need to
be suitably powered, turned on, and/or configured.
It may be provided to display the active physical objects on the cartographic
representation G. This display may be subject to the number of determined 5 active
physical objects.
In order to determine the active physical objects that are present, multiple
implementations are possible.
10 A database DB1 may be provided in order to reference the available physical
objects. This database may associate physical objects and their geographic positions.
It may, for example, contain records associating identifiers of physical objects with
characteristics (types, capacities offered, etc.), states (active/non-active), and those
geographic positions.
15 The geographic position may consist of a longitude/latitude pair. It may also
comprise an altitude.
It is then possible to determine the set of active physical objects by transmitting
to that database DB1 a request containing characteristics of the delimited geographic
20 area(s). A search engine may, for example, compare the geographic positions of the
physical objects present in the database DB1 and those of the geographic area.
Interfacing
The invention also comprises a fourth step E4 of interfacing the selected
25 application with a subset of physical objects among the set of physical objects
determined in step E3. This step may be partially implemented by an application
interface module MIA of the processing means TRT of the communication terminal T.
10
This interfacing makes it possible to trigger the selected application by allowing
it to use physical objects. It might use only one subset of the physical objects present;
that subset may potentially be as small as a single object.
This subset may be determined dynamically by the geographic location of the
mobile terminal. In other words, the processing means can implement a 5 process
running in the background, which makes it possible to refresh that subset based on
the position of the communication terminal. For this reason, when the user moves
around, the available active physical objects may change, and the selected software
application might end up using a different subset.
10
Before the application is actually triggered, the invention may comprise a step of
verifying that the application can really be deployed for the subset of physical objects.
This is because the applications may have requirements. Those requirements
may be input interface points that require an incoming flow of information, and
15 output interface points that require being able to transmit an outgoing flow of
information. Alternatively, those requirements may be types of physical objects that
must necessarily (or perhaps optionally) be present in order to implement the
application.
The database D2 may combine the references of the applications with the
20 requirements, for example in the form of a description that may comply with the
language XML (Extensible Markup Language) as in the simplified example below:

disable
25 no
blinkcall Application
appli_ blinkcall.png
The blinkcall Application allows you to
prompt the caller name on a screen and to blink a lamp when your phone
11
rings
Monique
4.5
2$
3

10

15

This example is a description of an application named "blinkcall" that makes it
possible, when receiving an incoming phone call, to cause a lamp to blink and to
20 display the caller's name on a screen.
This application therefore uses for the physical objects as indicated in the last
three attributes: a telephone ("phone"), a lamp ("lamp"), and a screen
("screen"). The earlier attributes give other information, such as the application's
name, its creator's name, an image, and a description (intended to be displayed on
25 the screen of the terminal T), its price, etc.
The application interface module MIA can use these descriptions in order to
verify whether the selected application can effectively interface in the delimited
geographic area. In concrete terms, this means searching for the active physical
12
objects available in that area which can meet the requirements indicated in the
application's description.
If they are not found, the user can be informed, and he or she may be prompted
to choose another geographic area, particularly to expand those dimensions in order
to include more physical 5 al objects.
He or she may be told which type of physical object is missing so that he or she
can, if possible, request it.
He or she may also be prompted to trigger the application anyway, which can
then operate in safe mode.
10 In one particular embodiment, this verification may be performed during step
E2 of delimiting a geographic area in real time. While the user is tracing the shape of
the geographic area on the cartographic representation G, the verification is
performed dynamically, and a display allows the user to tell whether the current area
makes it possible or not to deploy the selected application. This display may be any
15 graphical indicator. It may be possible, for example, to alter the color of the
geographic area being traced based on that verification. This embodiment makes it
possible to guide the user in order to delimit an optimal geographic area, which may
be an important criterion in some contexts.
20 The triggering itself may be done immediately after interfacing, or may be
postponed until an event appears. This event may particularly be tied to geo-locating
the communication terminal T and comparing it with the geographic area(s). For
example, when the communication terminal T enters the previously delimited
geographic area, an event is generated, and the software applications tied to that
25 geographic area are triggered using the physical objects (either those previously
determined, or dynamically determined at that time).
The choice of trigger moment may depend on the user's choice, but may also
depend on the nature of the software application.
13
As previously described, the steps of the inventive method may be ordered in
different ways.
Thus, it is possible for the user to first select an application, then delimit a
geographic area; or alternatively, to first delimit a geographic area, then select a
software applicatio5 n.
It should be noted that which of these options to choose may be left up to the
user, or may be mandatory.
This choice may also have technical consequences.
10 For example, the delimiting of a geographic area may immediately trigger the
next step of automatically determining a set of active physical objects located in the
geographic area and having an interface with the communication network. Based on
the set of active physical objects thereby determined, it is possible to present to the
user only some of the available software applications. This implementation therefore
15 have an additional technical benefit that may be useful.
Uses
The invention may be used in different contexts.
A first implementation may involve a dispatcher of a fleet of service vehicles. It
20 may, for example, be a fire department dispatcher.
He or she chooses, on his or her communication terminal T, the fleet
management application, and then creates a geographic area. This geographic area
may be a path ZG as in the example of Figure 4, which leads from the fire department
to the intervention site. A parameter may be added containing the identifiers of the
25 vehicles that will be deployed to the site.
When the vehicles are in the area ZG, depending on the location, the application
will interface with the "traffic signal" physical objects in order to turn them green in
front of the fleet.
The application may further indicate the progress of the fleet, the state of the
30 traffic signals, and dynamically change the area ZG based on the progress of the fleet.
14
Another implementation may concern infrastructure management, such as road
infrastructure or industrial infrastructure at a massive site, etc.
The manager may select a monitoring application and trace an area
corresponding to an area to be monitored. The application will automatically interf5 ace
with the physical objects present in that area, and conduct a series of tests. Physical
objects that have failed to those tests may then be reported to the manager via the
human-machine interface. He or she may then trigger a second application for subareas
of the geographic areas in order to deploy technicians there. This second
10 application makes it possible to help technicians replace faulty equipment, and help
the manager view the progress of those repairs.
A third implementation may make it possible to connect two geographic areas
ZG1, ZG2 as previously described. The user creates two separate areas ZG1 and ZG2
15 and connects them. Those geographic areas may, for example, correspond to two
common locations in his or her routine: His or her home and workplace, for example.
The connection between the two areas makes it possible to indicate that the selected
application must create a single application session for both areas or create a logical
application link between those two areas.
20 It may, for example, be a telephony application: When his or her child enters the
house (area ZG1), the application automatically triggers a phone call between the
house and workplace (area ZG2) of the user. Specifying areas (rather than particular
physical objects) makes it possible to postpone the choosing of the physical object
until the moment when the call is triggered: The application will look at that time to
25 see which active physical object will make it possible to call: A mobile phone, a
television set with telecommunication capabilities if it is on, etc.
A fourth implementation consists of delimiting an ecological or preferred
transportation area. The user wishes to use a mode of transportation and he or she
15
traces an area around that mode of transportation (area ZG in Figure 4, for example).
He or she selects an application related to that transportation and associates it with
that area ZG.
Whenever his or her travels cause him or her to cross that geographic area ZG,
the selected application is automatically triggered and may offer 5 fer him or her the
upcoming schedule of that line.
The invention has many possible implementations, because the underlying
mechanism of the invention consisting of "drawing" an application's area of influence
10 on a map is novel and a total change from existing habits. It therefore opens the door
to a vast field of possible applications.
16

I/We Claim:
1) A method for triggering a software application accessible from a mobile
terminal connected to a communication network and using at least one physical
object, 5 ct, comprising:
- the method further comprising: a step (E1) of selecting an application from
among an available set of applications,
- a step (E2) of delimiting on a screen of the mobile terminal at least one
geographic area on a cartographic representation, by the user of said mobile
10 terminal,
- a step of accessing a description of the selected application, the description
comprising requirements of said application,
- a step (E3) of automatically determining a set of active physical objects
15 located in said at least one geographic area and having an interface with said
communication network, the automatic determination comprising a
comparison of the geographic positions of the active physical objects
referenced in a database with the characteristics of the at least one
geographic area,
20 - a step of searching for a subset of active physical objects from among said
set of active physical objects, the physical object of the subset meeting at
least one requirement indicated in the description of said application,
- a step (E4) of interfacing said application with the subset of physical objects.
25 2) A method according to the preceding claim, wherein said subset is
dynamically determined based on said set of active physical objects and on the
geographic location of said mobile terminal.
17
3) A method according to one of the preceding claims, in which said at least one
area is formed of two separate geographic areas and said application deploys a single
application session in both geographic areas.
4) A method according to one of the preceding claims, in which 5 h said at least one
geographic area comprises a path.
5) A method according to one of the preceding claims, in which said automatic
determination of a set of physical objects is dynamically performed at the same time
10 as said delimiting of at least one geographic area.
6) A method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the description
of the application is stored in a second database.
15 7) A method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the terminal
informs the user if the subset of physical objects does not meet all the requirements
present in the application's description.
8) A method according to claim 7, wherein the terminal proposes expanding the
20 geographic area in response to detecting that the subset of physical objects does not
need all the requirements present in the application's description.
9) A method according to claim 7, wherein the terminal proposes choosing
another geographic area in response to detecting that the subset of physical objects
25 does not need all the requirements present in the application's description.
10) A method according to one of the claims 7 to 9, wherein the terminal
indicates a missing type of physical object in response to detecting that the subset of
physical objects does not need all the requirements present in the application's
30 description.
18
11) A method according to one of the claims 7 to 9, wherein the terminal
proposes an operation of the application in safe mode in response to detecting that
the subset of physical objects does not need all the requirements present in the
application's descript5 ion.
12) A communication terminal having a human-machine interface comprising a
screen (D) that makes it possible to display a cartographic representation (G), first
control means (ZA) for selecting an application from among a set of available
applications, and second control means (ZT) for delimiting on the screen of the
10 terminal at least one geographic area (ZG1, ZG2) on said cartographic representation,
said terminal further comprising means for obtaining a description of the selected
application, the description comprising the requirements of said application,
processing means (TRT) for automatically determining a set of active physical objects
located in said at least one geographic area and having an interface with a
15 communication network (N), the automatic determining comprising a comparison of
the geographic positions of the active physical objects present in a database with
characteristics of the at least one geographic area, means of selection for searching
for a subset of active physical objects among said set of active physical objects, the
physical objects of the subset meeting at least one requirement indicated in the
20 description of said application, and for interfacing said application with the subset of
physical objects.
13) A computer program having code means provided for implementing the
method according to one of the claims 1 to 11 when deployed on a communication
terminal.