Methods for controlling temperature in a conditioned enclosure such as a dwelling are described that include an auto-away and/or auto-arrival feature for detecting unexpected absences which provide opportunities for significant energy savings through automatic adjustment of the setpoint temperature. According to some preferred embodiments, when no occupancy has been detected for a minimum time interval, an auto-away feature triggers a changes of the state of the enclosure, and the actual operating setpoint temperature is changed to a predetermined energy-saving away-state temperature, regardless of the setpoint temperature indicated by the normal thermostat schedule. The purpose of the auto away feature is to avoid unnecessary heating or cooling when there are no occupants present to actually experience or enjoy the comfort settings of the schedule, thereby saving energy.

Apparatuses, components and methods are provided herein useful to provide assistance to customers and/or workers in a shopping facility. In some embodiments, a shopping facility personal assistance system comprises: a plurality of motorized transport units located in and configured to move through a shopping facility space; a plurality of user interface units, each corresponding to a respective motorized transport unit during use of the respective motorized transport unit; and a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with one or both of the plurality of motorized transport units and the plurality of user interface units, wherein the central computer system is configured to control movement of the plurality of motorized transport units through the shopping facility space based at least on inputs from the plurality of user interface units.

Apparatuses, components and methods are provided herein useful to provide assistance to customers and/or workers in a shopping facility. In some embodiments, a shopping facility personal assistance system comprises: a plurality of motorized transport units located in and configured to move through a shopping facility space; a plurality of user interface units, each corresponding to a respective motorized transport unit during use of the respective motorized transport unit; and a central computer system having a network interface such that the central computer system wirelessly communicates with one or both of the plurality of motorized transport units and the plurality of user interface units, wherein the central computer system is configured to control movement of the plurality of motorized transport units through the shopping facility space based at least on inputs from the plurality of user interface units.

Provided are systems and methods for intelligent distributed industrial facility safety systems. In some embodiments an industrial facility safety system includes remote sensing devices (RSDs) disposed throughout an industrial facility and a facility safety control system (FSCS) adapted to collect safety data from the RSDs, determine a zone of interest within the industrial facility based on the collected data, and send corresponding alerts to the RSDs based on the zone of interest.

Provided are systems and methods for intelligent distributed industrial facility safety systems. In some embodiments an industrial facility safety system includes remote sensing devices (RSDs) disposed throughout an industrial facility and a facility safety control system (FSCS) adapted to collect safety data from the RSDs, determine a zone of interest within the industrial facility based on the collected data, and send corresponding alerts to the RSDs based on the zone of interest.

A sensor node with a mounting assembly and methods of using the same for affixing a sensor node to a machine to detect, isolate, and diagnose machine faults are discussed. An exemplary mounting assembly includes a base with a substantially centered through hole, and a fixation member operatively to pass through the through hole and engage the base. The sensor node includes a circuit board with circuitry to sense information of machine characteristic. The circuit board defines a guide hole concentrically aligned with the through hole on the base to allow the fixation member to pass through said holes. The base can be fixed directly to the machine by the fixation member, or via a mounting pad. A network of sensor nodes may communicate with a cloud-based computing device that provides a cloud-based service to detect a machine fault or to diagnose a fault type.

A sensor node with a mounting assembly and methods of using the same for affixing a sensor node to a machine to detect, isolate, and diagnose machine faults are discussed. An exemplary mounting assembly includes a base with a substantially centered through hole, and a fixation member operatively to pass through the through hole and engage the base. The sensor node includes a circuit board with circuitry to sense information of machine characteristic. The circuit board defines a guide hole concentrically aligned with the through hole on the base to allow the fixation member to pass through said holes. The base can be fixed directly to the machine by the fixation member, or via a mounting pad. A network of sensor nodes may communicate with a cloud-based computing device that provides a cloud-based service to detect a machine fault or to diagnose a fault type.

Provided are systems and methods for intelligent distributed industrial facility safety systems. In some embodiments an industrial facility safety system includes remote sensing devices (RSDs) disposed throughout an industrial facility and a facility safety control system (FSCS) adapted to collect safety data from the RSDs, where the RSDs communicate with the FSCS by way of one or more other RSDs based on RSD operational characteristics.

Provided are systems and methods for intelligent distributed industrial facility safety systems. In some embodiments an industrial facility safety system includes remote sensing devices (RSDs) disposed throughout an industrial facility and a facility safety control system (FSCS) adapted to collect safety data from the RSDs, where the RSDs communicate with the FSCS by way of one or more other RSDs based on RSD operational characteristics.

A heating, ventilation and air condition (HVAC) system is provided. The system includes a thermostat including an onboard temperature sensor, a remote temperature sensor in operable communication with the thermostat, and a controller in operable communication with each of the onboard sensor and the remote sensor and configured to execute a control algorithm that calculates a temperature difference between a temperature detected by the onboard temperature sensor and a temperature detected by the remote temperature sensor, such that when the remote temperature sensor fails, the controller uses the calculated temperature difference to calibrate the onboard temperature sensor and set the thermostat to the temperature detected by the remote temperature sensor.