Method, computer program, apparatuses, and system for determining available resources and tasking a selection of the resources

0001METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM, APPARATUSES, AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AVAILABLE RESOURCES AND TASKING A SELECTION

OF THE RESOURCES

0003Technical field

0004The present invention relates to a method, computer program, apparatuses, and system for determining available resources and tasking a selection of the resources. Background of the invention

0005Situational awareness is more or less always an issue for people and organisations. This becomes even more important when it comes to organisations comprising a larger number of entities, since the situation requires a very fast growing co-ordination work as the number of entities grows. Situational awareness also becomes more important when it comes to emergency situations, where correct and swift actions are to be taken, but stress and unforeseeable situations, which are significant for emergency situations, will make this difficult. When it comes to organisations with a larger number of entities, which organisations are disposed to take care of emergency situations, the difficulty of the situation awareness is obvious. There has been attempts for improving situation awareness, e.g. among military organisations. An example of this is a project of the U.S. Army called Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program. Another example is Benefon Commander NT, which is a cellular telephone with functions helping a user to assign tasks, receive status messages and send a unit for help when needed, and is designed for work control use. It is especially suited for e.g. group leaders in security firms, construction fields, emergency services and for military use. Through these examples of tools for situation awareness, a user can get position data of multiple entities. They also provide status reporting from remote entities. Thus the user will get an improved information situation. However, there is still an issue for a user in a situation where stress and unforeseeable situations disturb, and very much information among a large number of entities have to be handled correctly and swiftly.

0006Therefore, it is a problem to provide a wanted effect by available resources. Summary of the invention

0007In view of the above, an objective of the invention is to solve or at least reduce the problems discussed above. In particular, an objective is to provide a method, an apparatus, and a system for distribution of information enabling any entity to collect information from, provide information to, and command other entities. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining available resources and tasking a selection of said resources by a processing means disposed to interact with remote processing means, comprising the steps of: determining at least two resources, each comprising processing means disposed to interact with remote processing means and each resource having capability of performing physical measures; collecting information from each determined resour- ce; presenting collected information on determined resources to a user; enabling selection of a plurality of said at least two resources; grouping selected resources according to said selection into a group; and assigning a task to said group.

0008The collected information may comprise ability, position, state, sensor information, or user input infor- mation, or any combination thereof. The method may further comprise relaying the collected information to at least one resource. The method may further comprise the steps of: determining organic information; and sending the organic information to other resources. The term "organic information" should in this context be construed as information acquired by the apparatus locally, e.g. from sensors or by input by a user. The organic information may comprise ability, position, state, sensor information, or user input information, or any combination thereof. The method may further comprise the steps of: processing the collected information and the determined organic information to provide aggregated information on a situation; and sending the aggregated information on the situation to other resources .

0009This enables a swift way of selecting the right resources based on relevant information, and to assign these resources a task. Further, when the method according to the first aspect of the present invention is performed on a plurality of entities, e.g. all entities associated to the resources, coherent information on all resources are provided on each entity, which in turn not only enables a swift way of selecting the right resources based on relevant information, and to assign these resources a task, but also provides a robust network based information distribution and command ability. This is particularly relevant e.g. for fire fighting operations, rescue teams, operations by the coast guard, military operations, actions by the police, or operations in connection with any emergency situation. Another advantage of the method according to the first aspect of the present invention is revealed within logistics. For example when a plurality of vessels, vehicles, or aircraft are to be manoeuvered as a group, the present invention provides abilities to facilitate this. Further, if these kinds of manoeuvres are to be performed autonomously by groups of entities, such as groups of robot vehicles in production industry, robot vessels performing operations where no personnel is able to be on board, or unmanned aerial vehicles, the method is found very advan- tageous, where the group may be able to compensate for upcoming limitations in resources associated to any of the entities with redundant resources or abilities from any of the other available resources due to the informa- tion sharing among the entities. Thus, improved robustness in sense of ability and availability is provided. The method may further comprise the steps of: enabling a second selection of a plurality of said at least two resources; grouping selected items according to said second selection into a second group; and assigning a second task to said second group. An advantage of this is that it enables available resources to be divided between different tasks, e.g. when there is two different emergency situations, or if two different tasks can be defined in a single situation. Of course, more than two tasks, two groups, etc. are possible in a similar way.

0010The step of presenting may comprise a presentation of indications related to said at least two resources on a two-dimensional representation of an environment in which said at least two resources are present. Alternatively, the step of presenting may comprise a presentation of indications related to said at least two re- sources in a three-dimensional representation of an environment in which said at least two resources are present. The three-dimensional representation may be based on a perspective view on a two-dimensional display, or be based on stereoscopic viewing. The selection may comprise the step of interacting graphically with a representation of an element to be selected.

0011The grouping may further comprise establishing communication between said selected resources of said group . The method may further comprise repeating said step of collecting ability information and position information, and said step of presenting collected information. An advantage of this is that recent information is pre-

0012;nted, which of course is relevant if any decisions is to be taken. This is particularly relevant in the example of an emergency situation. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program comprising program code, which when downloaded and executed on a computer is adapted to perform the method according to the first aspect of the invention. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for determining available resources and tasking a selection of said resources, comprising a processing means; a communication means; and a user interface, wherein said processing means is disposed to receive information by said communication means from at least two resources, wherein said user interface is disposed to present said information to a user, and to provide selection means for enabling selection of a plurality of resources, wherein said processing means is further disposed to assign a group of resources upon selection, and assign a task to said group, wherein said communication means is disposed to send information on said task to resources of said group.

0013The received information may comprise ability, position, state, sensor information, or user input information, or any combination thereof. The communication means may be disposed to relay the received information to at least one resource. The apparatus may further comprise means for determining organic information, wherein the communica'tion means then may be dis- posed to send the organic information to other resources. The organic information may comprise ability, position, state, or sensor information acquired by means for acquiring information of the apparatus, or user information input by means of the user interface,, or any combination thereof. The processing means may be disposed to process the received information and the determined organic information to provide aggregated information on a situation, and the communication means may then be disposed to send the aggregated information on the situation to other resources.

0014The apparatus may further be disposed to enable a second selection of a plurality of said at least two resources; group selected items according to said second selection into a second group; and assign a second task to said second group.

0015The user interface may comprise a display providing indications related to said at least two resources on a two-dimensional representation of an environment in which said at least two resources are present.

0016Alternatively, the user interface may comprise a display providing indications related to said at least two resources in a three-dimensional representation of an environment in which said at least two resources are present. The three-dimensional representation may be based on a perspective view on said display, or on stereoscopic viewing. The selection may be enabled by the user interface by means for interacting graphically with a representation of an element to be selected.

0017The apparatus may further comprise a communication handler for establishing communication between said selected resources of said group. The information and position information may be repeatedly updated and presented by said user interface.

0018According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for a resource comprising a processing means; and a communication means, wherein said processing means is disposed to determine information on said resource, and said communication means is disposed for sending information on the deter- mined information, and wherein said communication means is disposed for receiving information on assigned task and grouping of said resource, and said processing means is disposed to adapt behaviour of said resource according to said received assigned task and grouping.

0019The communication means may be disposed to relay the received information on the assigned task to at least one resource indicated in the grouping information. The apparatus may further comprise means for determining organic information, wherein the communication means then may be disposed to sent the organic information to other resources. The organic information may comprise ability, position, state, or sensor information, or any combination thereof, acquired by means of the apparatus for acquiring information.

0020According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system comprising a plurality of apparatuses according the third aspect and/or apparatuses according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein information held by any of the apparatuses is shared with the other apparatuses .

0021Advantages of the second to fifth aspect of the present invention are similar to those discussed in connection with the first aspect of the invention. Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a/an/the [element, device, component, means, step, etc] " are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of said element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated. Other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependent claims as well as from the drawings .

0022Brief description of the drawings

0023The above, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be better understood through the following illustrative and non- limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the appended drawings, where the same reference numerals will be used for similar elements, wherein:

0024Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of at least a part of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

0025Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed description of preferred embodiments

0026Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a number of apparatuses 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 in a system 100. Each apparatus 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 is associated to a re- source and comprises at least a processing means, which comprises storage capacity for information to be processed, and a communication means. A resource is an entity with an ability. The entity can for example be an ambulance and an ability of the ambulance can be defib- rillator capacity. The resource can also be considered as a complex entity that might change over time, such as a vehicle and personnel in the vehicle being a resource associated to an apparatus, and when the personnel moves over to another vehicle with, to a stationary location, or is operating without the vehicle with the apparatus, the resource associated to the apparatus is considered to change over time. The entity is also associated with a position, which for example can be determined by a GPS receiver on the entity. The entity can also be a pure central for managing other resources, which then is the ability of the entity. The entity can also be stationary, thus, the position of the entity is given without any special positioning arrangements. A particular feature of the system 100 is that it enables a non-hierarchical network between the apparatuses 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, which provides for distributed coherent information sha- ring about the resources, which in turn enables provision of groups of resources to perform tasks. Here, it should be noted that the expression "coherent information" is to be construed openly, since information propagation time through the network of apparatuses is to be considered as non-zero. However, information is handled and distributed as fast as technically feasible between the apparatuses 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, which implies that the apparatuses are working with more or less common attributes with common values. Furthermore, operations performed by each resource provides new information, which in turn is distributed, since all apparatuses are enabled to provide and share information. Besides the information sharing, each entity is also enabled to give tasks, which provides for a significant flexibility, and thus improved robust- ness of the entire system 100.

0027The processing means of an apparatus of an entity is disposed to keep track on the abilities of the entity, and the communication means is disposed to send information on the abilities. The communication means is further disposed to send position information, receive information on tasks given to the entity, and also receive information on which other entities to co-operate with on said task. Other information can also be communicated to and/or from the entity by the communication means. The communication means can be arranged to establish communication over one or several communication channels, and be able to communicate via one or several communication networks, where the several communication networks can use different communication techniques. Information can thus be linked between apparatuses, and also between different types of communication networks. Preferable communication approaches of the present invention are broadcast and multicast. The ability to use an arbitrary mix of communication technologies, including wired and wireless technologies, is illustrated in Fig. 1 by links between communication means of the apparatuses 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 having different line patterns and form. Considering all these communication abilities, further robustness is brought to the system 100.

0028A tool for a user for managing a plurality of resources, which further enables a user manage the re- sources swiftly and correct, is provided in e.g. apparatus 102. All of the apparatuses 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 are disposed to send information on e.g. their position and abilities of their associated resource. Thus, apparatus 102 is able to receive information on positions and abilities of each of the resources associated to apparatuses 104, 106, 108, 110, either by direct communication as depicted from apparatuses 104 and 106, or relayed in one or more steps as depicted from apparatuses 108 and 110. Information on the determined available resources is then presented to a user. The user is then able to select a plurality of the resources and form a group of resources. The group can then be assigned a task, and information on the grouping and the task is communicated to at least the resources of the group. For example, if re- sources associated to apparatuses 104, 106, 108 are selected to form a group and are given a task by using apparatus 102 for managing grouping and tasking, information on resources of the group and the task is communicated by apparatus 102 to apparatuses 104, 106, 108, and then the resources associated to apparatuses 104, 106, 108 will start working on solving the task. This information can also be communicated by apparatus 102 to apparatus 110 if that is determined to be necessary or advantageous. When the task is solved, the group can be broken up, thus making the resources available for new groups and tasks. This can also be made upon receiving new information to form another group, whereby the old group is broken up and the new one is formed.

0029As depicted in Fig. 1, the apparatuses can be equipped with a user interface, if that is the nature of the resource. Some resources are of the nature that it is pure machine-to-machine communication. An example on this is an autonomous robot that will get its instructions from the task, and then just perform actions according to the instructions. This is also applicable to groups of robots working autonomously together. In this context, a robot is to be construed as a machine capable to carry out complex series of actions automatically. The series of actions can be adaptively controlled by the machine to make it autonomous. The user interface can comprise means for visual, tactile, and/or audio presentation of information. Visually presented information is normally provided by some type of display means. Three-dimensional visual presentation can be provided, for example by perspective representation on a two-dimensional display, or by stereoscopic viewing. Alternatives for rendering more than two dimensions on a two-dimensional display is to provide several two-dimensional views to a user. The representation of the resources can be provided by symbols indicating positions and/or capabilities of the resources. Indication of positions can be performed by displaying indications of the resources on a representation of an environment in which the resources are present, e.g. a map, floorplan, etc. Examples on resources can be a fireman, a paramedic, a fire engine, a fire officer, an ambulance, a policeman, a patrol car, a soldier, a combat vehicle, an aircraft, a vessel, a command central, etc. Examples on the apparatus associated with the resource can be any device with computional power and communication means, such as a computer or a personal digital assistant with communication interface, a mobile phone, an embedded computer provided with communication capabilities, etc. The size and complexity of the resource do of course influence what type of apparatus that is suitable for the particular resource. Communication between the apparatuses, which apparatuses can be associated to stationary or mobile resources, can be wired and/or wireless, and can utilise one or more communication networks and/or be direct communication between the apparatuses. The communication network can be a so called ad hoc network, which is a self-configuring network of entities with communication capabilities connected by communication links to form an arbitrary topology. The communication network can also be a network where communication is relayed by communication network devices of a communication system, such as a cellular system or a satellite based communication system.

0030The above discussed information sharing implies that each entity will gain more information. In addition to this, apparatuses of the entities can have further available information, e.g. from its own sensors, or so called organic information, i.e. information acquired by the entity itself, which also can include information input by a user. Examples of organic information in an entity are abilities, position, state, sensor information, user input information, etc. This information can now be shared with the other entities.

0031Fig. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to the present invention. In a determination step 200, available resources are determined. This is preferably performed by communication with or from the available resources. In this communication, abilities and positions of the available resources are collected in an information collection step 202. In Fig. 2, this is illustrated as a step in a sequence, but is preferably updated repeatedly to be able to gain advantage of relevant and actual information on the resources. Infor- mation on the resources are presented in an information presentation step 204. The presentation of information is discussed above together with the disclosure of the user interface. Among the presented available resources, a number of resources are selected in a resource selection step 206. The selected resources are then grouped into a group in a resource grouping step 208, and a task is assigned to the group of resources in a task assignment step 210. The task is then communicated, as discussed with reference to Fig. 1. The selection step 206, resource grouping step 208, and task assignment step 210 can be repeated if further groups and tasks are to be assigned. The method has been illustrated as a sequence of steps, but can be carried out in any order or parallelly, as long as data required for the particular step is available. The method is suitable for implementation in a computer program having program code for performing the method when executed on a computer, e.g. a computer as any of those described with reference to Fig. 1.

0032The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims .