WO2005055522A2

WO2005055522A2 - System of monitoring and remote intervention

Info

Publication number: WO2005055522A2
Application number: PCT/IT2004/000673
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giancarlo Formicuccia; Roberto Montagna
Original assignee: Atop Innovation S.P.A.; Digic S.R.L.; R.T.M.-Ripetitori Televisivi Montagni S.R.L.
Priority date: 2003-12-03
Filing date: 2004-10-02
Publication date: 2005-06-16
Also published as: ITRM20030560A1; WO2005055522A3

Abstract

The present invention concerns a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site, comprising, for each surveyed site (1): - at least one local apparatus (3), comprising first means (5) and second means (7, 11, 12, 15) of communication, and a processing unit (6) apt to control said at least one local apparatus (3) and to process information received form said first means (5) of communication; - one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) of monitoring and/or of intervention, provided with third means of communication (4) apt to connect with said first means (5) of communication; the system further comprising one or more radioterminals (13), provided with fourth means (16) of communication (4) apt to connect with said second means (7, 11, 12, 15) of communication through one or more Internet Protocol or IP networks (8), each one of said one or more radioterminals (13) being apt to receive from said at least one local apparatus (3) data provided by at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) in multimedia format. The present invention further concerns the method executed by the system, and apparatuses and instruments forming the system.

Description

SYSTEM OF MONITORING AND REMOTE INTERVENTION

The present invention concerns a system of monitoring and remote intervention, allowing a very high interactivity, and permitting real-time surveillance of spaces and rooms to be carried out from a remote terminal, in particular from a cellular radiotelephone or from a Personal Digital Assistant or PDA, and selectable actions in the surveyed space to be controlled by this, the system being reliable, simple and safe. The present invention further concerns the method performed by the system, and the apparatuses and instruments forming the system. Presently, it is increasingly diffusing the need of having a continuous and reliable remote control of specific sites, such as homes, offices and industrial structures. By way of example, and not by way of limitation, n increasing number of companies need a system of monitoring, for internal and external surveillance of manufacturing areas and plants. Moreover, it is often necessary to remotely control direct interventions in the surveyed sites in presence of anomalies or emergency situations. Presently available systems of remote detection and remote control present some drawbacks. First of all, they are made through use of rather complex and expensive communication devices and architectures. Moreover, such systems allows a rather limited interaction, because operators may interact with the surveyed site only, from an operative centre connected with the same site. In this context, it is included the solution proposed according to the present invention, allowing all the aforementioned problems to be solved. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system of monitoring and remote intervention allowing a very high interactivity. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that is reliable, simple and safe. It is specific subject matter of this invention a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site, comprising, for each surveyed site: - at least one local apparatus, comprising first means and second means of communication, and a processing unit apt to control said at least one local apparatus and to process information received form said first means of communication; - one or more distributed components of monitoring and/or of intervention, provided with third means of communication apt to connect with said first means of communication; the system further comprising one or more radioterminals, provided with fourth means of communication apt to connect with said second means of communication through one or more Internet Protocol or IP networks, each one of said one or more radioterminals being apt to receive from said at least one local apparatus data provided by at least one of said one or more distributed components in multimedia format. Preferably according to the invention, said multimedia format data comprise audio and/or video messages. Always according to the invention, said audio and/or video messages may be of the A/V streaming or Download and play type. Still according to the invention, the frame rate of said video messages may be defined by said at least one local apparatus on the basis of the capacity of the connection with at least one of said one or more radioterminals. Furthermore according to the invention, the frame rate of said video messages may be settable by at least one of said one or more radioterminals. Always according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may be apt to execute a compression of the audio and/or video messages to be transmitted to said one or more radioterminals. Still according to the invention, at least one compression factor of said compression may be defined by said at least one local apparatus on the basis of the capacity of the connection with at least one of said one or more radioterminals. Furthermore according to the invention, at least one compression factor of said compression may be settable by at least one of said one or more radioterminals. Always according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals may be apt to execute a decompression of the audio and/or video messages received from said at least one local apparatus. Still according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may be apt to store said audio and/or video messages. Furthermore according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals may be apt to activate said storage by said at least one local apparatus. Always according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals may be apt to select at least one of said one or more distributed components of which it receives data from said at least one local apparatus. Still according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals may be apt to activate at least one of said one or more distributed components. Furthermore according to the invention, the connection of said fourth means of communication with said second means of communication may comprise a preliminary step of recognising and authenticating said one or more radioterminals by said at least one local apparatus. Always according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may be apt to configure at least one of said one or more radioterminals, during an initial negotiation step of the connection of said fourth means of communication with said second means of communication. Still according to the invention, during the initial negotiation step, said at least one local apparatus may transmit to said at least one radioterminal one or more software applications, on the basis of the characteristics of said at least one radioterminal, apt to continue the connection of said fourth means of communication with said second means of communication. Furthermore according to the invention, said third means of communication may be apt to connect with said first means of communication through one or more communication channels. Always according to the invention, at least one of said one or more communication channels may be a radio communication channel. Still according to the invention, said first and third means of communication may comprise respective radio interface means. Furthermore according to the invention, said one or more distributed components may be connected to at least one radio interface. Preferably according to the invention, corresponding univocal identifiers are assigned to said at least one local apparatus and to each one of said one or more distributed components. Always according to the invention, at least one further identifier, equal to the univocal identifier of at least one 'Corresponding local apparatus, may be further assigned to each one of said one or more distributed components. Still according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus and said one or more distributed components may exchange messages having the following format comprising four fields: <id source> <id destination> <info> <checksum> where:

<id source> is the sender identifier, <id destination> is the target identifier, <info> is the information contents of the message, and <checksum> is a message correctness control field. Furthermore according to the invention, at least one of said one or more distributed components may be an image acquisition apparatus. Preferably according to the invention, at least one of said one or more distributed components is an image acquisition apparatus, still more preferably comprising a field of view and/or infrared video camera. Always according to the invention, at least one of said one or more distributed components is a sensor. Still according to the invention, at least one of said one or more distributed components may be an actuator apt to operate at least one intervention device, preferably comprising at least one irrigation plant and/or at least one fire fighting plant. Furthermore according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may comprise means for recognising information provided by said at least one sensor. Always according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may be apt to send information to said one or more radioterminals on the basis of the recognition of said information provided by said at least one sensor. Still according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may be apt to activate at least one of said actuators on the basis of the recognition of said information provided by said at least one sensor. Preferably according to the invention, at least one of said one or more IP networks operates according to at least one cellular radiotelephony standard. Furthermore according to the invention, said at least one cellular radiotelephony standard may be a GSM and/or GPRS and/or EDGE and/or UMTS and/or Wifi standard. Always according to the invention, said second means of communication may comprise Application Exchange Gateway means connected to IP interface means. Still according to the invention, said second means of communication may comprise messaging means, apt to transmit to and/or to receive from said one or more radioterminals SMS and/or MMS radiomobile telephony messages and/or e-mail messages. Furthermore according to the invention, said at least one local apparatus may further comprise a unit for processing one or more reports and/or statistics on events monitored by and/or intervention made by at least one of said one or more distributed components. Always according to the invention, said one or more reports and/or statistics may be accessible through the Internet network. Preferably according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals is a cellular radiotelephone or a personal digital assistant or PDA. Still according to the invention, said third means of communication of said at least one image acquisition apparatus may be apt to connect with said first means of communication through a video communication channel and a data communication channel, and said third means of communication of said at least one sensor and of said at least one actuator may be apt to connect with said first means of communication through said data communication channel. Furthermore according to the invention, the system may further comprise an operative centre, apt to connect with said second means of communication through said one or more IP networks. Always according to the invention, at least one of said one or more radioterminals may be apt to connect with said at least one local apparatus through a wired link. It is further specific subject matter of this invention an apparatus comprising first means and second means of communication, and a processing unit apt to control said at least one local apparatus and to process received information, characterised in that it is apt to be employed in a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site as previously described. It is still specific subject matter of this invention a method of connection of a radioterminal with a local apparatus, belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site as previously described, characterised in that it comprises an initial negotiation step in which said local apparatus is apt to configure said radioterminal. Preferably according to the invention, during the initial negotiation step, said local apparatus transmits to said radioterminal one or more software applications, on the basis of characteristics of said radioterminal, apt to continue the connection. Always according to the invention, the method may further comprise a preliminary step of recognising and authenticating said radioterminal by said at least one local apparatus. It is always specific subject matter of this invention a server computer program comprising code means adapted to execute, when running on a local apparatus belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site as previously described, the operations of the method of connection illustrated above which are executed by the local apparatus. It is also specific subject matter of this invention a memory medium readable by a computer, storing a program, characterised in that the program is the just described computer program. It is further specific subject matter of this invention a client computer program comprising code means adapted to execute, when running on a radioterminal belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site as previously described, the operations of the method of connection illustrated above which are executed by the radioterminal. It is always specific subject matter of this invention a memory medium readable by a computer, storing a program, characterised in that the program is the just described computer program. Further details of the present invention are described in the dependent claims. The present invention will now be described, by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, according to its preferred embodiment, by particularly referring to the Figures of the enclosed drawings, in which: Figure 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the system according to the invention; Figure 2 schematically shows a second embodiment of the system according to the invention. In the following of the description, the same reference numbers will be used for indicating alike elements in the Figures. Figure 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the system according to the invention applied to an area 1. The system comprises one or more components 2 distributed over the area 1 , communicating with at least one local control apparatus 3, that is turn communicates with mobile terminals 13 and with at least one operative centre 14. Components 2 may include sensors, such as detectors of physical and environmental parameters and video cameras, in both field of view and infrared, and actuators apt to operate intervention devices, such as irrigation plants or fire fighting plants. Distributed components 2 communicate with a corresponding control local apparatus 3, situated in the area 1 too, preferably through a radio link. In particular, each component 2 may comprise a radio interface 4 apt to communicate with a corresponding radio interface 5 of the local apparatus 3. Alternatively, components 2 may be connected to a sole radio interface 4, or they may be subdivided into subsets, each one of which is provided with a corresponding radio interface 4. The local apparatus 3 comprises a unit 6 for managing and processing information received by the local apparatus 3. In particular, this information may come from: components 2, - possible other local apparatuses present in the surveyed area 1 , which communicate with the apparatus 3 by means of the radio interface 5 preferably through a WiFi or Wlan wireless link, - mobile terminals 13, with which the apparatus 3 communicates by means of an Internet Protocol or IP interface 7 for connection to one or more IP networks 8, preferably according to a cellular radiotelephony standard, to which mobile terminals 13 connect too, and - the operative centre 14, with which the apparatus 3 still communicates by means of the IP interface 7. The local apparatus 3 also comprises a database 9, in which information related to actions ensuing from specific values and/or value range of data received from the sensor components 2, and information related to specific interactions with actuator components 2 are stored. The database 9 may allow the operative centre 14 to manage a plurality of local apparatuses, each one of which manages a set of components 2 in general different from the others, using an identical set of messages, that is then adapted to the specific set of components 2 of each apparatus 3 through the interpretation of the database 9. The local apparatus 3 still comprises a unit 10 for processing reports and/or statistics on the events monitored by the apparatus 3. Preferably, processed reports and/or statistics are accessible through the Internet network, and are provided on graphic interfaces with a high portability level, for example Java® interfaces of Sun Microsystem, so as to be displayable independently from hardware and software apparatuses used by operators. Furthermore, the local apparatus 3 comprises an Application Exchange Gateway 11 , allowing the apparatus 3 to be interfaced with the mobile terminals 13. Finally, the apparatus 3 comprises a messaging unit 12, allowing

^• instant notification of specific events monitored by the apparatus 3 towards mobile terminals 13 and/or operative centre 14, preferably through SMS and/or MMS radiomobile telephony messages, and through e-mail messages. All the elements of the local apparatus 3, i.e. the radio interface 5, the unit 6 for managing and processing information, the IP interface 7, the database 9, the unit 10 for processing reports and/or statistics, the Application Exchange Gateway 11, and the messaging unit 12 may be integrated in a sole equipment, such as for instance a computer. The system of Figure 1 is capable to monitor critical activities within the area 1 and, in case of probable dangerous situation, to give alarm signalling in real time providing data detected by sensors both in multimedia form, preferably with audio and/or video messages, of the A/V streaming or Download and play type, or with multimedia messages, and in format of reports and/or statistics. Mobile terminals 13 are preferably cellular radiotelephones, while said at least one operative centre 14 may be implemented with a computer. Figure 2 schematically shows a second embodiment of the system according to the invention. In particular, it may be observed that the system comprises a local apparatus 3, provided with a modem 15 for communicating with the modems 16 with which the remote mobile terminals 13, preferably cellular radiotelephones or PDA, are provided. In Figure 2 only one cellular radiotelephone 13 is shown. The local apparatus 3 communicates with: - one or more video cameras 2A, through a video channel 16 and a data channel 17; - one or more sensors 2B, through the data channel 17; and - one or more actuators 2C, through the data channel 17. In particular, video cameras 2A transmit images in analog and/or digital format, to the local apparatus 3 on the video channel 16, that may be an analog radio channel, a digital radio channel, a wired channel, or a combination of a plurality of physical channels. Preferably, transmission on the video channel 16 occurs in 2.4 GHz band composite signal form, on configurable sub-band, or in composite signal form through screened cable, or in digital form through wi-fi or dedicated radio channel. The data channel 17 is the communication channel on which the local apparatus 3 transmits digital data and commands, preferably at low bit rate, to video cameras 2A, sensors 2B and actuators 2C, while sensors 2B (and possibly video cameras 2A and actuators 2C as well) transmit digital data, preferably at low bit rate, to the local apparatus 3. The data channel 17 may be implemented by link via cable or Via radio waves, for example at remote control frequency (433 MHz), or even through waves conveyed by an electrical network of the surveyed area. Messages exchanged over the data channel 17 preferably have the following format having four fields: <id source> <id destination> <info> <checksum> where: <id source> is the sender identifier,

<id destination> is the target identifier,

<info> is the information contents of the message, and

<checksum> is a message correctness control field. A univocal identifier is assigned to each device (local apparatus 3, video cameras 2A, sensors 2B, and actuators 2C)^', that is settable at manufacturing stage and possibly modifiable through microswitches, through switches, or through reconfiguration automatic procedure. Further switches are present on the devices controlled by the local apparatus 3, i.e. on video cameras 2A, sensors 2B, and actuators 2C, for setting the identifier of the local apparatus 3 by which they must be controlled, in the case when a plurality of local apparatuses 3 is present in the surveyed area. The local apparatus 3 is preferably capable to perform compression of the video signal, containing images received by video cameras 2A, that is sent to the cellular radiotelephone 13. Sensors 2B may send data to the local apparatus 3 upon request of the latter, and automatically in presence of particular events as well. The correct operation of the system according to the invention is ensured by the software applications installed on the various devices. In particular, such software applications comprise computation algorithms and possibly also specific data compression applications for the different modes of physical link. The managing software present on the local apparatus 3 is capable to configure the remote mobile terminals 13, in particular the cellular radiotelephones, preferably radiotelephones starting from the 2.5G generation, in a way completely transparent to the user. The system software comprises two main software applications: a server application, installed on the local apparatus 3 (more in particular on the unit 6 for managing and processing information of Figure. 1 ), and a client application, installed on the remote mobile terminal 13. In particular, the server application controls: - communication from/to the various components 2 (video cameras 2A, sensors 2B, actuators 2C), - processing, such as for example the video data'compression, of the information coming from the components 2 or from the remote terminal 13, - safety of the communication, allowing one or more users to access and/or control the local apparatus 3 through their own remote terminals 13. The client application is essentially constituted of at least one part of communication with the local apparatus, one part of authentication and one part of interpretation of information coming from sensors and/or video cameras and/or sent to actuators. Said component parts may be updated according to automatic modes (preferably through the local apparatus) or fully replaced. Once the communication has been established and authorised, the same comprises a negotiation step during which the client application requires the server application for a service. The latter, on the basis of the characteristics of the remote terminal 13, recognised through an identifying code as, for example, the IMEI code in case of a cellular radiotelephone 13, identifies which functions are Controllable and/or enjoyable through the radiotelephone 13. By way of example, in some radiotelephone models it is possible to receive video streaming video flows, while in others it is possible to receive only MMS containing instant images which are dynamically updated by the local apparatus 3. The system according to the invention allows users provided with different remote terminals 13, for example cellular radiotelephones 13, to access and/or control the same local apparatus 3 even if connected with different operators through different both circuit services, for instance GSM, EDGE, or UMTS, and packet services, for instance GPRS. In particular, in some cases, as for example in case of GPRS packet link, it may be necessary the interposition of a service centre, for example a GPRS service centre, between the local apparatus^' 3 and the remote terminal 13. The operative centre 14 may transmit software update, such as for instance new communication applications, new codecs, or new protocols, to the local apparatus 3, allowing managing a plurality of platforms for the remote terminals 13, such as in case of a new video codec transmitted to and stored in the local apparatus 3 for different operating systems (Symbian, WinCe, Midori, or others). In case of communication between the local apparatus 3 and the remote terminal 13 comprising a video streaming, under the same transmission bit rate, there are different behaviours depending on the circuit or packet communication channel. This entails that the various codecs are packed in different protocols depending on the connection. The same protocol, for example the real-time data transport protocol or RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol), is implemented for all the transport layers, for instance of GSM, GPRS, UMTS, or EDGE cellular radiotelephony. In this way, although the protocol is always RTP, the transmitted data information contents or payload is differently managed depending on the transport layer and this allows the maximum performance as possible to be obtained. In order to better understand the present invention the operation modes of the embodiment of Figure 2 are described in the following, similar modes being valid for other embodiments of the system according to the invention. The cellular radiotelephone 13, communicating with the local apparatus 3, may remotely monitor the situation of the surveyed site, displaying images of at least one video camera 2A which it may select and activating one or more specific actuators 2C. First of all, the radiotelephone 13 carries out the connection or login to the system. Once the local apparatus 3 has authorised the access of the radiotelephone 13, in the negotiation step of the communication the server application recognises the characteristics of the radiotelephone 13 and transmits to this the applications necessary for decompressing and displaying video images that the local apparatus 3 transmits in compressed format, for controlling actuators 2C, and for managing further services available from the local apparatus 3 and enjoyable by the radiotelephone 13. Then, the radiotelephone 13 receives images coming from a, preferably predefined, video camera 2A. Then, through buttons of the radiotelephone 13, preferably the numeric buttons, the user of the radiotelephone 13 may interrogate the other video cameras 2A, passing from one to another by simply dialling through the buttons the number associated with each video camera 2A. In fact, the local apparatus 3 interprets data coming from the radiotelephone 13 and consequently transmits to the radiotelephone 13 the images taken by the video camera 2A corresponding to the user's selection. Preferably, the transmission frame rate and the compression factor of the video images are automatically defined by the local apparatus 3 depending on the capacity of the used communication channel, or they may be set by the user of the radiotelephone 13. In the case when image take of video cameras 2A is not continuously recorded, always through buttons of the radiotelephone 13 and the corresponding interpretation of the local apparatus 3, the user of the latter may require the local apparatus 3 for high' definition storage of the images transmitted by one or more video cameras 2A on a memory medium connected to the same apparatus 3 (for example a USB or MMC type memory card), for a future look-up. Still through buttons of the radiotelephone 13 and the corresponding interpretation of the local apparatus 3, the user of the latter may interrogate a sensor 2B and/or activate an actuator 2C. Advantageously, operations executable by each one of the radiotelephones 13 may be configurable according to an authorisation hierarchy. To this end, the user of a system "administrator" radiotelephone or operators of the operative centre 14 may configure and manage user profiles and assign different entitlements to access the various devices of one or more surveyed sites on the basis of the user profile. Moreover, the operative centre 14 is capable to receive notification of the identifiers of components 2 managed by local apparatuses 3, so that the configuration of devices installed in a surveyed site can dynamically vary. Possibly, it is possible to update the software, or a part of it, present in the local apparatus 3 through a, preferably remote, automatic procedure. Finally, the local apparatus 3 may store specific event chains (possibly set by a radiotelephone 13 or by the operative centre 14) for activating the components 2 upon certain conditions, for example activating the actuators 2C of light lamps and/or of power supply stages and/or of transmission stages corresponding to a video camera 2A upon selection of this one by the radiotelephone 13. Advantages offered by the system according to the invention are evident. First of all, the system permits an extreme interactivity, allowing the user, once connected with the local apparatus 3, to remotely monitor and control the surveyed site. Moreover, all the actions are executed substantially in real time and remotely. Finally, the system is easily scalable, allowing variation of the number of components 2 controlled by the same local apparatus 3, of the number of local apparatuses 3 installed in the same surveyed site (one of which preferably operates as interlocutor of mobile terminals 13 and as arbitrator of local apparatus inter-communications), and of the number of surveyed sites included in the system. The applications of the system according to the invention are many. In fact, it is applicable in indoor or outdoor sites, starting from the installation in a private home to installations in large companies. Moreover, the users may connect with a surveyed site, besides through cellular radiotelephones or PDA or remote radioterminals, also through further remote terminals with wired links (for example ADSL), keeping the radio interface (for example GSM and/or GPRS) as alternative access form. The present invention has been described, by way of illustration and not by way of limitation, according to a preferred embodiment of it, but it should be understood that those skilled in the art can make variations and/or changes, without so departing from the related scope of protection, as defined by the enclosed claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1.- System of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site, comprising, for each surveyed site (1): - at least one local apparatus (3), comprising first means (5) and second means (7, 11 , 12, 15) of communication, and a processing unit (6) apt to control said at least one local apparatus (3) and to process information received form said first means (5) of communication; - one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) of monitoring and/or of intervention, provided with third means of communication (4) apt to connect with said first means (5) of communication; the system further comprising one or more radioterminals (13), provided with fourth means (16) of communication (4) apt to connect with said second means (7, 11 , 12, 15) of communication through one or more Internet Protocol or IP networks (8), each one of said one or more radioterminals (13) being apt to receive from said at least one local apparatus (3) data provided by at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) in multimedia format. 2.- System according to claim 1 , characterised in that said multimedia format data comprise audio and/or video messages. 3.- System according to claim 2, characterised in that said audio and/or video messages are of the AA streaming or Download and play type. 4.- System according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the frame rate of said video messages is defined by said at least one local apparatus (3) on the basis of the capacity of the connection with at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13). 5.- System according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterised in that the frame rate of said video messages is settable by at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13). 6.- System according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) is apt to execute a compression of the audio and/or video messages to be transmitted to said one or more radioterminals (13). 7 - System according to claim 6, characterised in that at least one compression factor of said compression is defined by said at least one local apparatus (3) on the basis of the capacity of the connection with at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13). 8.- System according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that at least one compression factor of said compression is settable by at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13). 9.- System according to any one of claims 6 to a 8, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is apt to execute a decompression of the audio and/or video messages received from said at least one local apparatus (3). 10.- System according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) is apt to store said audio and/or video messages. 1 - System according to claim 10, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is apt to activate said storage by said at least one local apparatus (3). 12.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is apt to select at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) of which it receives data from said at least one local apparatus (3). 13.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is apt to activate at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C). 14.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connection of said fourth means (16) of communication (4) with said second means (7, 1 1 , 12, 15) of communication comprises a preliminary step of recognising and authenticating said one or more radioterminals (13) by said at least one local apparatus (3). 15.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) is apt to configure at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13), during an initial negotiation step of the connection of said fourth means (16) of communication (4) with said second means (7, 11 , 12, 15) of communication. 16.- System according to claim 13, characterised in that, during the initial negotiation step, said at least one local apparatus (3) transmits to said at least one radioterminal (13) one or more software applications, on the basis of the characteristics of said at least one radioterminal (13), apt to continue the connection of said fourth means (16) of communication (4) with said second means (7, 11 , 12, 15) of communication. 17.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said third means of communication (4) is apt to connect with said first means (5) of communication through one or more communication channels. 18.- System according to claim 17, characterised in that at least one of said one or more communication channels is a radio communication channel. 19.- System according to claim 18, characterised in that said first and third means of communication comprise respective radio interface means (4; 5). 20.- System according to claim 19, characterised in that said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) are connected to at least one radio interface (4). 21.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that corresponding univocal identifiers are assigned to said at least one local apparatus (3) and to each one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C). 22.- System according to claim 21, characterised in that at least one further identifier, equal to the univocal identifier of at least one corresponding local apparatus (3), is further assigned to each one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C). 23.- System according to claim 21 or 22, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) and said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) exchange messages having the following format comprising four fields: <id source> <id destination> <info> <checksum> where:

<id source> is the sender identifier, <id destination> is the target identifier, <info> is the information contents of the message, and <checksum> is a message correctness control field. 24.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) is an image acquisition apparatus (2A). 25.- System according to claim 24, characterised in that said image acquisition apparatus (2A) comprises a field of view and/or infrared video camera. 26.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) is a sensor (2B). 27.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C) is an actuator (2C) apt to operate at least one intervention device. 28.- System according to claim 27, characterised in that said at least one intervention device comprises at least one irrigation plant and/or at least one fire fighting plant. 29.- System according to claim 26, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) comprises means (9) for recognising information provided by said at least one sensor (2B). 30.- System according to claim 29, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) is apt to send information to said one or more radioterminals (13) on the basis of the recognition of said information provided by said at least one sensor (2B). 31.- System according to claim 29 or 30 in combination with claim 27 or 28, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) is apt to activate at least one of said actuators (2C) on the basis of the recognition of said information provided by said at least one sensor (2B). 32.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more IP networks (8) operates according to at least one cellular radiotelephony standard. 33.- System according to claim 32, characterised in that said at least one cellular radiotelephony standard is a GSM and/or GPRS and/or EDGE and/or UMTS and/or Wifi standard. 34.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said second means of communication comprises Application Exchange Gateway means (11) connected to IP interface means (7). 35.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said second means of communication comprises messaging means (12), apt to transmit to and/or to receive from said one or more radioterminals (13) SMS and/or MMS radiomobile telephony messages and/or e-mail messages. 36.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said at least one local apparatus (3) further comprises a unit (10) for processing one or more reports and/or statistics on events monitored by and/or intervention made by at least one of said one or more distributed components (2, 2A, 2B, 2C). 37.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said one or more reports and/or statistics are accessible through the Internet network. 38.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is a cellular radiotelephone or a personal digital assistant or PDA. 39.- System according to each one of claims 17, 24, 26, and 27, characterised in that said third means of communication (4) of said at least one image acquisition apparatus (2A) are apt to connect with said first means (5) of communication through a video communication channel (16) and a data communication channel (17), and in that said third means of communication (4) of said at least one sensor (2B) and of said at least one actuator (2C) are apt to connect with said first means (5) of communication through said data communication channel (17). 40.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it further comprises an operative centre (14), apt to connect with said second means (7, 11 , 12, 15) of communication through said one or more IP networks (8). 41.- System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one of said one or more radioterminals (13) is apt to connect with said at least one local apparatus (3) through a wired link. 42.- Apparatus comprising first means (5) and second means (7, 1 , 12, 15) of communication, and a processing unit (6) apt to control said at least one local apparatus (3) and to process received information, * characterised in that it is apt to be employed in a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site according to any one of the preceding claims 1-41. 43.- Method of connection of a radioterminal (13) with a local apparatus (3), belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site according to any one of the preceding claims 1-41 , characterised in that it comprises an initial negotiation step in which said local apparatus (3) is apt ,to configure said radioterminal (13). 44.- Method according to claim 43, characterised in that, during the initial negotiation step, said local apparatus (3) transmits to said radioterminal (13) one or more software applications, on the basis of characteristics of said radioterminal (13), apt to continue the connection. 45.- Method according to claim 43 or 44, characterised in that it further comprises a preliminary step of recognising and authenticating said radioterminal (13) by said at least one local apparatus (3). 46. Server computer program comprising code means adapted to execute, when running on a local apparatus (3) belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site according to any one of the preceding claims 1-41 , the operations of the method of connection according to any one of the preceding claims 42-45 which are executed by the local apparatus (3). 47. Memory medium readable by a computer, storing a program, characterised in that the program is the computer program according to claim 46. 48. Client computer program comprising code means adapted to execute, when running on a radioterminal (13) belonging to a system of remote monitoring of and/or remote intervention in at least one surveyed site according to any one of the preceding claims 1-41 , the operations of the method of connection according to any one of the preceding claims 42-45 which are executed by the radioterminal (13). 49. Memory medium readable by a computer, storing a program, characterised in that the program is the computer program according to claim 48.