Abstract: A method of verifying alerts received from alerting devices associated with a user. The method includes: verifying the received alerts from the user by applying a specified procedure to the user; analyzing the received alert in respect to specified temporal characteristics of the received alerts; classifying each received alert as either a false alarm or as a valid alarm according to the verifying and the analyzing; and reporting the valid alarms to a service center. Double checking the received alerts both by the verifying and the analyzing enhances alarm reliability.

Abstract: A method of verifying alerts received from alerting devices associated with a user. The method includes: verifying the received alerts from the user by applying a specified procedure to the user; analyzing the received alert in respect to specified temporal characteristics of the received alerts; classifying each received alert as either a false alarm or as a valid alarm according to the verifying and the analyzing; and reporting the valid alarms to a service center. Double checking the received alerts both by the verifying and the analyzing enhances alarm reliability.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for acquiring data from an instrument panel or the like by obtaining images of the panel and optically identifying readings of the instruments in the image. The readings are in the form of geometrically identifiable forms having a meaning according to predetermined criteria. A coded data stream is created representative of the identified readings and transmitted to another location. The received data stream is then encoded and displayed on a virtual image of the instrument panel. The data stream can also be stored.