WO2010035137A2

WO2010035137A2 - Secure managed data collection and transmission

Info

Publication number: WO2010035137A2
Application number: PCT/IB2009/007125
Authority: WO
Inventors: Steinar Brede
Original assignee: Telenor Asa
Priority date: 2008-09-26
Filing date: 2009-09-25
Publication date: 2010-04-01
Also published as: WO2010035137A3

Abstract

The invention related to a secure method performed in a smart card reading environment data from a microcontroller (2) that the smart card (1) is communicatively connected to, and transmitting these data through wireless communication interface means (14) to a server (30).

Description

Secure managed data collection and transmission

Field of the invention The present invention relates to telecommunication. More specifically, the invention relates to a method performed in a smart card for reading and communicating environment data from a microcontroller that the smart card is communicatively connected to, and transmitting the data through wireless communication interface means.

Background of the invention

A smart card, also called chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), is defined as any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits which can process data. This implies that it can receive input which is processed - by way of the smart card applications - and delivered as an output.

A specific type of smart card application is a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which is normally present in removable smart cards for mobile telephony devices such as computers and mobile phones using the GSM network. Smart cards with a SIM are also known as SIM cards. SIM cards securely store the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to identify a subscription, and cryptographic keys used for authentication of the SIM towards the network. The SIM card allows users to change phones while keeping the same subscription by simply removing the SIM card from one mobile phone and inserting it into another mobile phone or broadband telephony device. An M2M device is an embedded computer system connected to sensors and optionally also actuators. Often, one or more M2M devices are connected to a server to form an M2M telemetry system. In such systems, an M2M device needs to be equipped with a communication interface for being communicatively connectable with the server. Because of the wide variety of sensing and control problems available in industry and society in general, M2M devices are often implemented to be flexible, customizable and general purpose sensing and control devices. A multi-purpose M2M device has to be configurable for hosting one or more applications, performing one or more tasks related to the reception and optionally also interpretation of sensory information obtained from one or more sensors connected to the M2M device. Such applications may also need to generate control signals to actuators connected to the M2M device. A multi-purpose M2M device often also has watchdog functionality for monitoring and controlling applications and ensuring the reliability of the M2M device.

This has led to a development where multi-purpose M2M devices have become expensive due to the fact that they have to be generic enough to suit a wide variety of interface problems. Often, multi-purpose M2M devices support several communication protocols, both with sensors, actuators, other on-board processors, and remote servers.

The lack of standardization of M2M devices has led to a development where an M2M telemetry system may consist of several different kinds of multi-purpose M2M devices, each with their own processor architectures, programming languages, compiling tools and interfacing software. For an operator who wishes to monitor and control a telemetry system consisting of several different kinds of multi-purpose M2M devices, management of such systems is a challenging and expensive task.

There is therefore a need for a method and an apparatus that do not have the drawbacks of the state of the art.

Summary of the invention

The present invention proposes to utilize a SIM card for deployment of one or more M2M applications. Because smart cards are subject to widely adopted technology standards and are produced in huge volumes each year, they are much cheaper to buy than general-purpose M2M devices.

Because the technology standards related to SIM cards are generally adopted with mobile communication terminals and payment solutions in mind, the present invention also proposes to use a standard communication protocol and a standard communication pin of a SIM card for a non-standard purpose, namely for providing an interface between an M2M SIM application and a microcontroller chip. Microcontroller chips are also produced in huge volumes each year, and are therefore considerably cheaper than general-purpose M2M devices, even when adding the additional cost of a SIM card and SIM card reader to the cost of the microcontroller.

In an aspect of the invention, a smart card includes a reception unit that receives environmental data from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables via a first electrical circuit processing the environmental data based on control signals from the smart card, a processing unit that processes the environmental data, and a transmitting unit that transmits the environmental data via a long-range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

In an aspect of the invention, a smart card controlled monitoring method includes sending control signals, from the smart card, to a first electrical circuit regarding processing of environmental data obtained from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables. Also included in the method are the steps of receiving, at the smart card, the environmental data from the one or more sensors via the first electrical circuit processing the environmental data based on the control signals from the smart card and processing the environmental data using the smart card. In addition, the method includes transmitting the environmental data via a long- range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

In an aspect of the invention, a smart card controlled monitoring method includes sending instructions from a server to a first microcontroller via the smart card, the instructions regarding processing of environmental data by the first microcontroller, the environmental data obtained from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables. Also included in the method are the steps of sending, from the server, additional instructions to the smart card and controlling the smart card to further process the environmental data based on the additional instructions. In addition, the method includes a step of receiving processed environmental data transmitted from the smart card via a long-range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

In an aspect of the invention, a single wire protocol can be used for communication between the SIM card and the microcontroller. In an aspect of the invention, the single wire protocol can be implemented according to the Single Wire Protocol (SWP) as specified in ETSI TS 102 613 V7.3.0, hereby incorporated by reference.

In an aspect of the invention, a wireless transmitter means is integrated on the SIM card, for example a WLAN means as described in WO2006137740. Such a wireless transceiver means may be used for sending data received from the microcontroller to a centralized server for registration.

Benefits of using a smart card for deployment of M2M applications are for example reduced installation and maintenance costs. By using the highly secure and standardized SIM card as the application carrier, a remote operator can control and manage M2M applications and services in a controlled way. The operator is for instance a mobile telecommunication operator.

Although SIM cards are mentioned above, the same principles also apply to other types of smart cards.

The present invention is further defined by the features in the enclosed claims. Detailed description

The newly standardized Single Wire Protocol (SWP) of the SIM card is defined as a point-to-point interface to the NFC (Near Field Communication) reader in a mobile phone. SWP specifies a standard interface for interconnection between the hardware on a SIM card and the NFC hardware of the mobile phone.

One embodiment of the present invention utilizes this interface to provide a microcontroller interfacing necessary I/O via data input/data output or RS 232 etc. According to the invention, the SIM card hosts the application controlling the microcontroller and transmits data to a centralized server, either through an ISO 7816 interface to a GSM terminal/modem, or through embedded WLAN interface on the SIM card (WLANSIM).

This allows the M2M application to be controlled by an operator in a secure environment. Brief Description of Several Views of the Drawings

In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to the figures, where:

Figure 1 shows a SIM card connected to a microcontroller;

Figures 2A and 2B show a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including a smart card, sensors and a server as well as a microcontroller (2A) or a relay switch (2B);

Figure 3 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the smart card;

Figure 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the smart card and a tamper detection sensor;

Figure 5 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the smart card;

Figure 6 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including multiple smart cards; Figure 7 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the smart card, microcontroller and sensors;

Figure 8 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the smart card and sensors; Figure 9 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention including the microcontroller, the smart card, the sensors, actuators and the server;

Figure 10 shows a process diagram according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 1 1 shows a process diagram according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 12 shows an embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention;

Figure 13 shows another embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention; Figure 14 shows another embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention;

Figure 15 shows another use of a SIM card with similar aspects as the present invention; and

Figure 16 shows a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a device of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

Figure 1 shows a SIM card communicatively connected to a microcontroller and wireless communication interface means for reading and communicating environment data from the input- and output (I/O) ports of the microcontroller.

Environmental data may correspond to all kinds of data that are present on the I/O ports of the microcontroller. The SIM card and microcontroller may be installed in a GSM terminal, e.g. a mobile phone or a GSM modem. Alternatively, the SIM card and microcontroller are installed in separate devices. For example, the SIM card may be installed in a GSM modem connectable to a circuit board on which the microcontroller is already integrated. The SIM card can be installed for example by connecting it directly to the circuit board of the GSM terminal, as for example described in WO 2008/123827, or inserted into a SIM card reader slot of the GSM terminal. The environmental data can be data related to the device that the SIM card and microcontroller are installed in. Examples of such data are battery status, operating temperature, signal strength of received GSM signals, GPS related data, clock data etc.

The environmental data can also be external to the device. Examples of such data are NFC related data where a device, such as a mobile phone for example, equipped with RFID means, a SIM card and microcontroller according to the invention is used in automatic meter readings for a consumed product, for example power, gas or water. The device can then read meter values from a meter. This information will then be present on the I/O port of said microcontroller, and can be sent to a centralized server via wireless communication interface means for registration. This method for reading meters will greatly simplify the manual method used today. It will also provide a safe and correct way of reading and reporting of consumption. In this set-up the SIM card will function as a secure entity for reporting data.

Figures 2A and 2B illustrate a configuration including a smart card 1 having a reception unit 1 1 , a processing unit 12 and a transmitting unit 13. The smart card 1 may be compliant with ISO 7816-2. Alternatively, the smart card 1 is compliant with electronic component standard SO8. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the smart card 1 may be compliant with other solderable or socket based package standards. The reception unit 1 1 receives environmental data from one or more sensors 20 monitoring environmental variables via a first electrical circuit (microcontroller 2, relay switch 3, etc) processing the environmental data based on control signals from the smart card 1 . The processing unit 12 further processes the environmental data received by the reception unit 1 1. The transmitting unit 13 transmits the environmental data via a long-range communication interface 14 controlled by the smart card 1. The long-range communication interface 14 may be a wired network transceiver operable to communicate with a communication protocol such as, for example, ITU-T G.9960, ISO/IEC 14908, IEEE P1901, IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) or a long range wireless network such as, for example, WiMAX, HiperMAN or WiFi. The long-range communication interface 14 is not limited by the above examples but can be any suitable long-range communication interface.

The first microcontroller 2, shown in Figure 2A, processes the environmental data based on control signals sent from the smart card 1. The smart card 1 includes a control unit 10 which sends control signals to the first microcontroller 2 and thereby controls the first microcontroller 2. For example, the control unit 10 may instruct the first microcontroller 2 to process the environmental data by associating the received environmental data with at least one metadata value indicating the circumstances under which the environmental data is obtained.

This metadata can include, among other things, metadata values indicating a time associated with at least one of the data values, metadata values indicating a state of the microcontroller or metadata values indicating a spatial position where the spatial position is stored in the smart card in conjunction with installing the smart card.

In another example, the control unit 10 may control the first microcontroller 2 to process the environmental data by accumulating the received environmental data in a first memory 21 and aggregating the accumulated environmental data before transmitting the environmental data to the smart card, so that the smart card can further transmit the accumulated environmental data over the long-range communication interface 14. Alternatively, the system includes additional microcontrollers such that the load of the first microcontroller 2 can be distributed. In order to save connectors on the smart card 1 , the microcontrollers may use the same connection on the smart card 1. Alternatively, different pins on the smart card 1 may be used to connect the microcontrollers to the smart card 1 or in the case of connection by short-range wireless communication, the microcontrollers may be able to access the smart card 1 through a single communications interface.

Alternatively, the relay switch 3, shown in Figure 2B, can receive control signals from the control unit 10 which instruct the relay switch 3 to process the environmental data by relaying and/or sampling the environmental data.

The processing unit 12 of the smart card 1 , among other operations, is able to process the environmental data processed by the first microcontroller 2. For example, the processing unit 12 may process the environmental data by calculating a first checksum of the environmental data. The data values together with the first checksum may then be transmitted to a server 30 over the long-range communication interface 14. The server 30 can then compare a second checksum calculated locally using the environmental data with the first checksum. When the checksums mismatch the server 30 can send an indication to the smart card 1 notifying the smart card 1 and resulting in a retransmission of the environmental data values to the server 30. In another example, the control unit 10 may receive instructions, such as processing instructions, from the server 30 over the long-range communication interface 14. Thus, the control unit 10 can control the processing of microcontroller 2 or the relay switch 3 based on instructions received from the server 30. In addition, the processing performed by the processing unit 12 also can be based on instructions received from server 30 over the long-range communication interface 14. Instructions may be received at the smart card 1 by way of an instruction reception unit 15 that is able to receive the instructions sent from the server 30 to the smart card 1 over the long-range communication interface 14. The instruction reception unit 15 of the smart card 1 can be, for example, a web server installed in the smart card 1 or another type of remote access interface.

In addition, the instructions received from the server 30 may be encrypted. Thus, the smart card 1 may also include a decryption unit 17 as is shown in Figure 3. The smart card 1 can then decrypt the instructions and/or verify a cryptographic signature associated with the instructions using a hardware secured key stored in the smart card 1. In addition, the smart card 1 can be set so that the instructions intended for the first microcontroller 2 or the relay switch 3 would only be forwarded for execution upon successful decryption and/or signature verification. Further, the environmental data can be cryptographically signed using a hardware secured key in the smart card 1 before the environmental data is transmitted to the server 30 by way of the long-range communication interface 14. In addition, the server 30 is able to provide authentication credentials to the smart card 1 , enabling the smart card 1 to only transmit the environmental data to the server 30 upon verification that the credentials are authentic. Such a configuration enables the smart card 1 to ensure that the server 30, to which the environmental data is to be sent, is authorized to receive the data.

The invention also includes techniques whereby the smart card 1 can avoid being vulnerable to manipulation by tampering with a device in which the smart card 1 is installed. For example, the smart card 1 can further include a detection unit 18 shown in Figure 4. The detection unit 18 of the smart card 1 is able to detect a tampering attempt based on data from the tampering detection sensor 19 and to transmit an alarm signal to the server 30 via the long-range communication interface 14 upon detection of the tampering attempt. The tampering detection sensor 19 may include, at least, electromagnetic sensors, capacitance based sensors, acoustic based sensors, circuit loop based sensors, etc. In addition, in order to ensure security of the connection between the smart card 1 and the microcontroller 2, the smart card may further include an alarm unit 16 as is shown in Figure 5. The alarm unit 16 reads a first ID of the first microcontroller 2, compares the first ID with an internally stored second ID, and upon mismatch of the first ID and second ID, transmits an alarm signal to the server 30. In addition, the first ID can be assigned to the first microcontroller 2. This process is performed by way of the smart card 1 receiving the first ID from the server 30 and the smart card storing the first ID in the first microcontroller 2.

As is noted above, the smart card 1 is able to transmit the environmental data to the server 30 by way of the long-range communication interface 14. Alternatively, as is shown in Figure 6, the smart card 1 may include a wireless radio transceiver 50 which can be used to transmit the environmental data to a neighboring smart card IB having a wireless radio transceiver 50B (as well as control unit 1 OB, reception unit HB, processing unit 12B, instruction reception unit 15B and transmitting unit 13B). The environmental data can then be transmitted from the smart card IB to the server 30 via a long range communication interface 14B.

Figures 2A/2B illustrate that the smart card 1 is connected to the microcontroller 2/relay switch 3 and that the control unit 10 and reception unit 1 1 of the smart card 1 communicate with the microcontroller 2/relay switch 3. Figure 7 illustrates that the connection between the smart card 1 and the microcontroller 2 can be via a short-range wireless communication interface 60 integrated in the smart card 1 or via a single wire using the Single Wire Protocol (SWP). When the connection between the smart card 1 and the microcontroller 2 is a short-range wireless connection, the microcontroller also includes a wireless transmitter 61 compatible with said short-range wireless interface 60. When the connection between the smart card 1 and the microcontroller 2 is via a single wire, then a short-range communication interface of the smart card 1 occupying a single connector of the smart card 1 is able to communicate with the microcontroller using the SWP. In addition, the connection between the smart card 1 and the relay switch 3 can be via a single wire or via short-range wireless communication. In addition, as is illustrated in Figure 8, the short-range wireless communication interface 60 integrated in the smart card 1 may also be able to communicate directly with sensors 20 including wireless transmitters 62 compatible with said short-range wireless interface 60. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 8, the electrical circuit which interfaces with the sensors is the wireless communication interface 60 which is integrated in the smart card 1. The sensors 20 can include, for example, an electricity meter, a voltage meter, an electricity frequency meter or any other type of environmental data measuring device.

Figures 2A and 2B illustrate that the smart card 1 is connected to the long range communication interface 14. Similarly to the connection between the smart card 1 and the microcontroller 2 or the relay circuit 3, the connection between the long range communication interface 14 and the smart card 1 can be via a single wire connected to a single connector of the smart card 1. Thus the smart card 1 can interface easily with the long range communication interface 14 in spite of this element being external to the smart card 1 . An example implementation of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2A is illustrated in Figure 9. In the example shown in Figure 9, electrical load sensors 20 produce environmental data corresponding to electrical load values of an electrical system. Also included in the system illustrated in Figure 9 are the actuators 40. These actuators stabilize the frequency and/or voltage magnitude of the electrical system. Similarly, the implementation illustrated in Figure 9 can be performed using the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2B.

The actuators 40 stabilize the frequency and/or voltage magnitude of the electrical system based on compensation data indicative of a compensation required to stabilize the a frequency and/or a voltage magnitude of the electrical system. The compensation data is generated at the server 30 and transmitted to the actuators 40 by way of the smart card 1 . In addition, the compensation data is generated at the server 30 based on environmental data corresponding to electrical load values of the electrical system and is obtained by the sensors 20 and sent to the server 30 by way of the smart card 1.

Further an account associated with said smart card may be rewarded in return for the smart card 1 providing stabilization of the electricity supply system.

Another aspect of the invention is a method performed by means implemented on the SIM card, and comprises several steps. The first step is to construct at least one first frame for a single wire protocol comprising an instruction to said microcontroller, e.g. get the current value of a specific I/O-port. This will be application specific, and may include instructions to read both internal and external environmental data on a specific I/O-port.

The second step is to transmit said at least one first frame to said microcontroller over a single wire using the single wire protocol.

The third step is to receive at least one second frame from said microcontroller, said at least one second frame containing environment data obtained by said microcontroller, for instance said meter readings.

The last step is to communicate said environment data to a server by transmitting the data over said wireless communication interface means. The communication can either be performed through wireless communication interface means integrated in the SIM card, e.g. WLAN, or through SWP.

Another method performed by a smart card 1 having a reception unit 1 1 , processing unit 12 and transmitting unit 13 also includes several steps as is shown in Figure 10.

The first step S l includes sending control signals, from the smart card 1 , to a electrical circuit (for example, first microcontroller 2, relay switch 3, etc) regarding processing of environmental data obtained from one or more sensors 20 monitoring environmental variables. In addition, the smart card 1 can receive the instructions from the server 30 before sending the control signals to the electrical circuit (microcontroller 2, relay switch 3, etc). Alternatively, the smart card 1 can retrieve the instructions from a local memory or from some other device before the instructions are sent to the electrical circuit.

The second step S2 includes receiving, at the smart card 1, the environmental data from the one or more sensors 20 via the first microcontroller 2 or the relay switch 3 processing the environmental data based on the control signals from the smart card 1.

The third step S3 includes processing the environmental data using the smart card 1.

Finally, the fourth step S4 includes transmitting the environmental data via a long- range communication interface 14 controlled by the smart card 1. Another method performed using the server 30 and the smart card 1 is shown in Figure 1 1.

The first step S l in the method includes sending instructions from a server 30 to a first microcontroller 2 via the smart card 1 , the instructions regarding processing of environmental data by the electrical circuit (first microcontroller 2, relay switch 3, etc), the environmental data being obtained from one or more sensors 20 monitoring environmental variables. The second step S2 includes sending, from the server 30, additional instructions to the smart card 1 and controlling the smart card 1 to process the environmental data based on the additional instructions.

The third step S3 includes receiving processed environmental data transmitted from the smart card 1 via a long-range communication interface 14 controlled by the smart card 1 .

The fourth step S4 includes generating compensation data indicative of a compensation required based on the processed environmental data received from the smart card 1. In an example embodiment, the compensation data may be used to stabilize at least one of a frequency and a voltage magnitude of an electrical system. In addition, the processed environmental data can include for example electrical load values of the electrical system or momentum, force, torque, temperature, flow, angle, rotational speed, data rate, bit error rate or some other parameter of a regulated system.

The fifth step S5 includes transmitting, to the smart card 1 and from a server 30, the compensation data.

The sixth step S6 includes controlling actuators 40 of the smart card 1 to compensate based on the compensation data. In the example of the electrical system noted above, the compensation data may compensate for at least one of the frequency and voltage magnitude of the electrical system.

Figure 12 shows an embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention. One pin on a SIM card is used for single-wire (C6) communication with SWP-compliant microcontroller (μC). The SIM card further comprises medium range wireless means (W), i.e. an embedded wireless radio and antenna hosted inside the card, e.g. WLAN means for transmitting environmental data to a central server. This may be a server belonging to for instance the power company selling the power.

In this configuration, pins C4 and C8 are available for USB interfacing and C7 is available for interfacing according to ISO 7816 standards.

Figure 13 shows another embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention. This is similar to the configuration described in conjunction with Figure 13, but with the addition of long range wireless means (LW) connected to pin C7 on the SIM card. Pin C7 is therefore used for I/O communication with ISO7816-3 compliant LW means.

Pin C6 is used for single-wire communication with a SWP-compliant microcontroller (μC), and medium range wireless means (W) is integrated in the smart card. With this configuration, the smart card can communicate with a server/concentrator via W or server via said LW. Pins C4 and C8 are available for USB interfacing.

Figure 14shows another embodiment of use of a SIM card according to the invention.

Pin C6 is used for single-wire communication with SWP-compliant microcontroller (μC). Medium-range wireless means (W) is integrated in the SIM card. Two pins (C4, C8) are used for dual-wire communication with ISO 7816-12 (describes protocols for control transfers) compliant long-range wireless means (LW).

The SIM card communicates with server/concentrator via W or server via LW. One or two pins (C7 and optionally also C3) are available.

Figure 1 5 shows an another use of a SIM card with similar aspects as the present invention, but where the single wire protocol is used for communicating environmental data to a server over long range wireless (LW) means instead of to the microcontroller.

In this embodiment the communication between the microcontroller and the SIM card is wireless, i.e. short range wireless means (SW). SW means is integrated in the SIM card, and also integrated in or connected to the microcontroller (μC) thus enabling communication of environmental data to the SIM card.

Received environmental data can then be sent to a trusted server via pin C7, using the single-wire protocol and communication with long-range wireless means (LW).

In this set-up, three pins (C4,C6,C8) will be available for other use, e.g. USB communication.

The different examples shows that the present invention cover different embodiments using a SIM card for acquiring environmental data, and for communicating these data to a distant centralized server in a secure way.

Figure 16 illustrates the structure of the server 30 according to an embodiment of the invention. The server 30 includes a bus B or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a processor/CPU 1004 coupled with the bus B for processing the information. The server 30 also includes a main memory/memory unit 1003, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), and synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), coupled to the bus B for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor/CPU 1004. In addition, the memory unit 1003 may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions by the CPU 1004. The server 30 may also further include a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device (e.g., programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)) coupled to the bus B for storing static information and instructions for the CPU 1004. The server 30 may also include a disk controller coupled to the bus B to control one or more storage devices for storing information and instructions, such as mass storage 1002, and drive device 1006 (e.g., floppy disk drive, read-only compact disc drive, read/write compact disc drive, compact disc jukebox, tape drive, and removable magneto-optical drive). The storage devices may be added to the server 30 using an appropriate device interface (e.g., small computer system interface (SCSI), integrated device electronics (IDE), enhanced-IDE (E-IDE), direct memory access (DMA), or ultra-DMA).

The server 30 may also include special purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g., simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)).

The server 30 may also include a display controller coupled to the bus B to control a display, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. The computer system includes input devices, such as a keyboard and a pointing device, for interacting with a computer user and providing information to the processor. The pointing device, for example, may be a mouse, a trackball, or a pointing stick for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor and for controlling cursor movement on the display. In addition, a printer may provide printed listings of data stored and/or generated by the computer system.

The server 30 performs at least a portion of the processing steps of the invention in response to the CPU 1004 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in a memory, such as the memory unit 1003. Such instructions may be read into the memory unit from another computer readable medium, such as the mass storage 1002 or a removable media 1001. One or more processors in a multiprocessing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in memory unit 1003. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions. Thus, embodiments are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software. As stated above, the server 30 includes at least one computer readable medium 1001 or memory for holding instructions programmed according to the teachings of the invention and for containing data structures, tables, records, or other data described herein. Examples of computer readable media are compact discs, hard disks, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, or any other magnetic medium, compact discs (e.g., CD- ROM), or any other medium from which a computer can read.

Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media, the present invention includes software for controlling the server 30, for driving a device or devices for implementing the invention, and for enabling the server 30 to interact with a human user. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, development tools, and applications software. Such computer readable media further includes the computer program product of the present invention for performing all or a portion (if processing is distributed) of the processing performed in implementing the invention.

The computer code elements of the present invention may be any interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpretable programs, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes, and complete executable programs. Moreover, parts of the processing of the present invention may be distributed for better performance, reliability, and/or cost.

The term "computer readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to the CPU 1004 for execution. A computer readable medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical, magnetic disks, and magneto-optical disks, such as the mass storage 1002 or the removable media 1001 . Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as the memory unit 1003.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying out one or more sequences of one or more instructions to the CPU 1004 for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. An input coupled to the bus B can receive the data and place the data on the bus B. The bus B carries the data to the memory unit 1003, from which the CPU 1004 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by the memory unit 1003 may optionally be stored on mass storage 1002 either before or after execution by the CPU 1004.

The server 30 also includes a communication interface 1005 coupled to the bus B. The communication interface 1004 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network that is connected to, for example, a local area network (LAN), or to another communications network such as the Internet. For example, the communication interface 1005 may be a network interface card to attach to any packet switched LAN. As another example, the communication interface 1005 may be an asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) card, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of communications line. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, the communication interface 1005 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.

The network typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, the network may provide a connection to another computer through a local network (e.g., a LAN) or through equipment operated by a service provider, which provides communication services through a communications network. The local network and the communications network use, for example, electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams, and the associated physical layer (e.g., CAT 5 cable, coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc). Moreover, the network may provide a connection to a mobile device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) laptop computer, or cellular telephone.

It is obvious for a man skilled in the art that there are other possible embodiments covered by the present invention as defined in the present claims.

Claims

Claim 1. A smart card comprising: a reception unit configured to receive environmental data from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables via a first electrical circuit processing the environmental data based on control signals from the smart card; a processing unit configured to process the environmental data; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the environmental data via a long- range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

Claim 2. The smart card according to claim 1 , wherein said electrical circuit is a relay switch external to said smart card.

Claim 3. The smart card according to claim 1 , wherein said electrical circuit is a microcontroller external to said smart card.

Claim 4. The smart card according to claim 3, further comprising: an instructing unit configured to control the first microcontroller to process the environmental data by associating the received environmental data with at least one metadata value indicating the circumstances under which the environmental data is obtained.

Claim 5. The smart card according to any one of claims 3 and 4, further comprising: an instructing unit configured to control the first microcontroller to process the environmental data by accumulating the received environmental data in a first memory and aggregating the accumulated environmental data before transmitting the environmental data, via the smart card, over the long-range communication interface.

Claim 6. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the smart card is further configured to further process the environmental data by calculating a first checksum of the environmental data, transmitting the data values together with the first checksum to a server over the long-range communication interface, and upon indication from the server that a second checksum calculated for the environmental data is mismatched with the first checksum, retransmitting the environmental data values to the server.

Claim 7. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the smart card further comprises an instruction reception unit configured to receive the instructions over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 8. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the smart card is further configured to further process the environmental data based on additional instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 9. The smart card according to claim 7, wherein the smart card further comprises a decryption unit configured to decrypt the instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 10. The smart card according to claim 8, wherein the smart card further comprises a decryption unit configured to decrypt the additional instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 1 1. The smart card according to claim 9, wherein the decryption unit is further configured to verify a cryptographic signature associated with the instructions using a hardware secured key stored in the smart card.

Claim 12. The smart card according to claim 10, wherein the decryption unit is further configured to verify a cryptographic signature associated with the additional instructions using a hardware secured key stored in the smart card.

Claim 13. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the transmitting unit is further configured to cryptographically sign the environmental data using a hardware secured key in the smart card before transmitting the environmental data to a server via the long-range communication interface.

Claim 14. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the transmitting unit is further configured to transmit the environmental data to a server via the long-range communication interface upon verifying the authenticity of credentials provided by the server to the smart card.

Claim 15. The smart card according to any one claims 1 to 14, wherein the one or more sensors includes a tampering detection sensor, and the smart card further comprises a detection unit configured to detect a tampering attempt based on data from the tampering detection sensor and to transmit an alarm signal to a server via the long-range communication interface upon detection of the tampering attempt.

Claim 16. The smart card according to any one of claims 3 to 15, wherein the smart card further comprises an alarm unit configured to read a first ID of the first microcontroller, to compare the first ID with an internally stored second ID, and upon mismatch of the first ID and second ID, to transmit an alarm signal to a server.

Claim 17. The smart card according to claim 16, wherein the first ID is received from a server and stored internally in the first microcontroller by the smart card.

Claim 18. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein said transmission unit is further configured to transmit the environmental data via a long-range communication interface of a neighboring smart card communicating with the smart card using a wireless radio transceiver in the smart card.

Claim 19. The smart card according to any one claims 1 to 18, wherein the smart card further comprises an actuator control unit configured to control at least one actuator via said electrical circuit.

Claim 20. The smart card according to claim 19, wherein said environmental data includes electrical load values of an electrical system, the smart card further comprises an instruction reception unit configured to receive, from a server, compensation data indicative of a compensation required to stabilize at least one of a frequency and a voltage magnitude of the electrical system, and said actuator control unit is further configured to control said actuators to compensate for at least one of the frequency and voltage magnitude of the electrical system based on said compensation data.

Claim 21. The smart card according to claim 20, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the environmental data via the long-range communication interface to the server.

Claim 22. The smart card according to claim 21, wherein the compensation data is generated based on the environmental data transmitted to the server by the transmitting unit of the smart card.

Claim 23. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the smart card includes a remote access interface configured to receive instructions sent from a remote server to the smart card over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 24. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the smart card includes a first short-range communication interface configured to establish a connection with said first electrical circuit.

Claim 25. The smart card according to claim 24, wherein said short-range communication interface comprises a single wire occupying a single connector of the smart card.

Claim 26. The smart card according to claim 24, wherein said short-range communication interface comprises a short-range wireless communication interface integrated in the smart card.

Claim 27. The smart card according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the smart card further comprises a control unit configured to control said first electrical circuit using control signals transmitted to the first electrical circuit via said short-range communication interface.

Claim 28. The smart card according to claim 1 , wherein said first electrical circuit is a short-range wireless communication interface integrated in the smart card, said reception unit being configured to receive said environmental data from said sensors directly via a the short-range wireless communication interface, said sensors having wireless transmitters compatible with the short-range wireless interface.

Claim 29. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein said long-range communication interface is external to the smart card, the smart card communicating with the long-range communication interface via a single wire occupying a single connector of the smart card.

Claim 30. The smart card according to claim 25, wherein said short-range communication interface communicates with said first microcontroller via said single wire using the Single Wire Protocol (SWP).

Claim 31. The smart card according to any one of claims 1 to 30, wherein said one or more sensors are selected from a set of: an electricity meter, a voltage meter, an electricity frequency meter.

Claim 32. A smart card controlled monitoring method comprising: sending control signals, from the smart card, to a first electrical circuit regarding processing of environmental data obtained from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables; receiving, at the smart card, the environmental data from the one or more sensors via the first electrical circuit processing the environmental data based on the control signals from the smart card; processing the environmental data using the smart card; and transmitting the environmental data via a long-range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

Claim 33. The method according to claim 32, wherein said electrical circuit is a relay switch external to said smart card.

Claim 34. The method according to claim 32, wherein said electrical circuit is a microcontroller external to said smart card.

Claim 35. The method according to claim 34, further comprising: controlling, using the smart card, the first microcontroller to process the environmental data by associating the received environmental data with at least one metadata value indicating the circumstances under which the environmental data is obtained.

Claim 36. The method according to any one of claims 34 and 35, further comprising: controlling, using the smart card, the first microcontroller to process the environmental data by accumulating the received environmental data in a first memory and aggregating the accumulated environmental data before transmitting the environmental data, via the smart card, over the long-range communication interface.

Claim 37. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 36, wherein the further processing the environmental data using the smart card includes calculating a first checksum of the environmental data, transmitting the data values together with the first checksum to a server over the long-range communication interface, and upon indication from the server that a second checksum calculated for the environmental data is mismatched with the first checksum, retransmitting the environmental data values to the server.

Claim 38. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 37, further comprising: receiving the instructions over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 39. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 38, wherein the further processing the environmental data using the smart card includes processing based on additional instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 40. The method according to claim 38, further comprising: decrypting the instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 41 . The method according to claim 39, further comprising: decrypting the additional instructions received over said long-range communication interface.

Claim 42. The method according to claim 40, further comprising: verifying a cryptographic signature associated with the instructions using a hardware secured key stored in the smart card.

Claim 43. The method according to claim 41 , further comprising: verifying a cryptographic signature associated with the additional instructions using a hardware secured key stored in the smart card.

Claim 44. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 43, further comprising: cryptographically signing the environmental data using a hardware secured key in the smart card before transmitting the environmental data to a server via the long-range communication interface.

Claim 45. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 44, further comprising: transmitting the environmental data to a server via the long-range communication interface upon verifying the authenticity of credentials provided by the server to the smart card.

Claim 46. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 45, further comprising: detecting a tampering attempt based on data from a tampering detection sensor of the one or more sensors, and transmitting an alarm signal to a server via the long-range communication interface upon detection of the tampering attempt.

Claim 47. The method according to any one of claims 34 to 46, further comprising: reading a first ID of the first microcontroller, comparing the first ID with an internally stored second ID, and upon mismatch of the first ID and second ID, transmitting an alarm signal to a server.

Claim 48. The method according to claim 47, further comprising: internally storing the first ID received from a server in the smart card.

Claim 49. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 48, further comprising: transmitting the environmental data via a long-range communication interface of a neighboring smart card communicating with the smart card using a wireless radio transceiver in the smart card.

Claim 50. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 49, further comprising: controlling, using the smart card, at least one actuator via said electrical circuit.

Claim 51. The method according to claim 50, further comprising: receiving, at the smart card and from a server, compensation data indicative of a compensation required to stabilize at least one of a frequency and a voltage magnitude of an electrical system, and controlling said actuators to compensate for at least one of the frequency and voltage magnitude of the electrical system based on said compensation data, said environmental data including electrical load values of the electrical system.

Claim 52. The method according to claim 51, further comprising: transmitting the environmental data via the long-range communication interface to the server.

Claim 53. The method according to claim 52, further comprising: generating the compensation data based on the environmental data transmitted to the server by the transmitting.

Claim 54. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 53, further comprising: receiving instructions sent from a remote server to the smart card over said long-range communication interface using a remote access interface of the smart card.

Claim 55. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 54, further comprising: establishing a connection between the first electrical circuit and the smart card using a first short-range communication interface of the smart card.

Claim 56. The method according to claim 55, wherein said short-range communication interface comprises a single wire occupying a single connector of the smart card.

Claim 57. The method according to claim 55, wherein said short-range communication interface comprises a short-range wireless communication interface integrated in the smart card.

Claim 58. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 57, further comprising: controlling said first electrical circuit using control signals transmitted to the first electrical circuit via said short-range communication interface from the smart card.

Claim 59. The method according to claim 30, wherein said first electrical circuit is a short-range communication interface integrated in the smart card, the method further comprising: obtaining said environmental data from said sensors directly via the short- range wireless communication interface, said sensors having wireless transmitters compatible with the short-range wireless interface.

Claim 60. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 59, further comprising: communicating, using the smart card, with the long-range communication interface external to the smart card via a single wire occupying a single connector of the smart card.

Claim 61. The method according to claim 56, further comprising: communicating, using said short-range communication interface of the smart card, with said first microcontroller via said single wire using the Single Wire Protocol (SWP).

Claim 62. The method according to any one of claims 32 to 61 , wherein said one or more sensors are selected from a set of: an electricity meter, a voltage meter, an electricity frequency meter.

Claim 63. A smart card controlled monitoring method comprising: sending instructions from a server to a first microcontroller via the smart card, the instructions regarding processing of environmental data by the first microcontroller, the environmental data obtained from one or more sensors monitoring environmental variables; sending, from the server, additional instructions to the smart card; controlling the smart card to further process the environmental data based on the additional instructions; and receiving processed environmental data transmitted from the smart card via a long-range communication interface controlled by the smart card.

Claim 64. The smart card controlled monitoring method according to claim 63, further comprising: generating compensation data indicative of a compensation required to stabilize at least one of a frequency and a voltage magnitude of an electrical system based on the processed environmental data received from the smart card, said processed environmental data including electrical load values of the electrical system; transmitting, to the smart card and from a server, the compensation data; and controlling actuators in the smart card to compensate for at least one of the frequency and voltage magnitude of the electrical system based on said compensation data.