SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURING NODE BEHAVIOR IN A SENSOR NETWORK

• US 20080307076A1
• Filed: 05/02/2008
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ewing, David B., Martindale, Rick A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,871 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

The present disclosure generally pertains to systems and methods for controlling sensor networks. A sensor network has a plurality of sensor nodes, which have sensors for monitoring operational parameters of devices within an application-specific system. A wireless communication module is provided for each node to enable the node to wirelessly communicate with other nodes of the network. A user defines various scripts for controlling the behavior of one or more nodes, and the network distributes the scripts, as appropriate, to various nodes thereby implementing the behavior defined by the scripts. Accordingly, a user can easily and dynamically configure or re-configure the behavior of any node without having to physically access the node that is being configured or re-configured.

Claims

1. A wireless sensor network, comprising:

a first node configured to receive a first script defining a new behavior for the network, the first node configured to wirelessly transmit the first script via the network; and

a plurality of sensor nodes, each of the sensor nodes having a sensor for detecting an operational parameter of a device, wherein one of the sensor nodes is configured to receive the first script and to store event data indicative of when the first script is to be invoked, the one sensor node configured to perform a comparison between event data and sensor data from a sensor of the one sensor node and to invoke the first script based on the comparison thereby implementing the new behavior.

2. The network of claim 1, wherein running of the first script on the one sensor node causes the one sensor node to control an operational state of a device monitored by the sensor of the one sensor node.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein the event data comprises a threshold, and wherein the comparison is based on the threshold.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein running of the first script on the one sensor node causes the one sensor node to wirelessly transmit a notification to the first node.

5. The network of claim 1, wherein the first node is configured to receive a second script and to wirelessly transmit the second script to the one sensor node, and wherein the one sensor node, by running the second script, updates the event data.

6. A method for dynamically changing node behavior for a wireless sensor network, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of sensor nodes, each of the sensor nodes having a sensor;

receiving, at one of the plurality of sensor nodes, a first script from another node of the network, the first script defining a new behavior for the one sensor node;

storing event data indicative of an event for which the first script is to be invoked;

receiving sensor data from a sensor of the one sensor node;

comparing the sensor data to the event data; and

invoking the first script based on the comparing step such that the new behavior is implemented by the one sensor node.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sensor data is indicative of an operational parameter of a device, and wherein the method further comprises the step of controlling an operational state of the device based on the invoked first script.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the event data comprises a threshold, and wherein the comparing step comprises the step of comparing the event data to the threshold.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of transmitting a notification through the network based on the invoked first script.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a second script; and

updating the event data based on the second script.