Surveillance network system
First Claim
1. A surveillance network comprising multiple network nodes:
- a first set of network nodes configured to communicate within the surveillance network using a first type of communications link;
a second set of network nodes configured to communicate within the surveillance network using both the first type of communication link and a second type of communication link; and
at least one controller that is directly or indirectly linked to each of the multiple network nodes, the controller being capable of establishing whether each of the multiple network nodes is a member of the first set or the second set.
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Abstract
Embodiments of a sensor network system provide surveillance capabilities in multiple contexts/environments (e.g., military, commercial, scientific, civic, urban, wilderness, etc.). Network nodes may include devices such as sensors, network routers, network controllers, etc. Network sensors may be configured so that power management objectives are maximized. Network sensors (both individually and as a group) may be capable of intelligent and cooperative information gathering, so that the output of the sensor network does not contain high levels of irrelevant information. The network nodes may communicate among one another via one or more communication links, and in some cases, multiple routes between any two network nodes may be available. The sensor network may include aspects of both high data rate and low data rate network features. One or more network controllers may provide various network management capabilities, including management of network routing, information collection, information exportation, network configuration, etc.
125 Citations
77 Claims
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1. A surveillance network comprising multiple network nodes:
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a first set of network nodes configured to communicate within the surveillance network using a first type of communications link;
a second set of network nodes configured to communicate within the surveillance network using both the first type of communication link and a second type of communication link; and
at least one controller that is directly or indirectly linked to each of the multiple network nodes, the controller being capable of establishing whether each of the multiple network nodes is a member of the first set or the second set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for conducting surveillance in a physical environment, the system comprising:
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multiple network nodes including endpoint devices and one or more network gateways, the endpoint devices having sensors for detecting environmental conditions, and the one or more network gateways functioning as communication hubs for one or more of the multiple network nodes;
means for employing, with respect to a first group of network nodes from the multiple network nodes, a first communication technique associated with a first type of information; and
means for employing, with respect to a second group of network nodes from the multiple network nodes, a second communication technique associated with the first type information and a second type of information. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for communication in an information gathering network which gathers information from a physical environment, the system comprising:
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designating a first set of nodes in the information gathering network;
designating a second set of nodes in the information gathering network;
assigning a first communication link type to the first set of nodes to allow nodes from the first set of nodes to communicate with other nodes in the information gathering network; and
assigning the first communication link type and a second communication link type to the second set of nodes to allow nodes from the second set to communicate with other nodes in the information gathering network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A surveillance network comprising:
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a controller;
a plurality of sensors being capable of communicating with the controller, each of the plurality of sensors being capable of collecting information from its environment and sending the collected information to the controller;
the controller being responsive to the communication from each of the plurality of sensors to authenticate a given sensor and compare its collected information to the collected information from a set of sensors located in the vicinity of the given sensor. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A surveillance method comprising:
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collecting information from one or more network nodes within an environment, the collected information relating to a given factor or set of factors;
comparing the collected information to information received from at least two other network nodes in the same environment, wherein the at least two other network nodes are responsible for collecting information that relates to the given factor or set of factors;
accepting the collected information if a variance range between the collected information and the information received from the at least one other network node satisfies a specified threshold; and
rejecting the collected information if the variance range between the collected information and the information received from the at least one other network node does not satisfy a specified threshold. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39)
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40. A sensor network system comprising:
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multiple network nodes configured to perform surveillance activities within a physical environment; and
at least one network controller configured to monitor individual states of the multiple network nodes over time and further configured to detect an inconsistency in a behavior of the at least one network node, determine whether the detected inconsistency requires an action, if the detected inconsistency requires an action, generate instructions relating to the action; and
deploy the generated instructions to a subset of the multiple network nodes that includes one or more network nodes affected by the inconsistency. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A reconfigurable surveillance network comprising:
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a controller for receiving a mission plan;
a plurality of sensors being capable of communicating with the controller; and
the controller being responsive to the mission plan to create a network of sensors by generating a communication link with a first set of the multiple sensors based on requirements of the mission. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method for self-configuration of a surveillance network with multiple network nodes, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a network node, an indication of a new mission, activity, or task to be performed by the surveillance network;
identifying one or more network nodes being capable of performing the new mission, activity, or task; and
enabling each of the identified one or more network nodes to perform the mission. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66)
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67. A method of self-configuration a surveillance network having multiple network nodes, the method comprising:
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receiving an indication of a recently deployed network node;
determining a role or operation specification for the recently deployed network node based, at least in part, on the relative location of the recently deployed network node and the capabilities of the recently deployed network node; and
providing information for dissemination within the surveillance network, the provided information including an indication of a role or operation specification for the recently deployed network node and enabling automatic integration of the recently deployed network node into the surveillance network. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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Specification