Method for Adaptively Modifying the Observed Collective Behavior of Individual Sensor Nodes Based on Broadcasting of Parameters

• US 20100293131A1
• Filed: 08/05/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hwang, Inseok, Misra, Archan, Qi, Han
• Granted Patent: US 8,898,284 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method for continually controlling the collective behavior of a set of computing devices in a distributed data processing system. A gateway node disseminates a specification request comprising a set of parameters to a set of computing devices. The gateway node may be unaware of the number and identity of individual computing devices. Each computing node receiving the request determines whether its attributes satisfy the predicates expressed in the specification request. If so, the node processes the parameters in the specification request and modifies its own behavior based on the values in the parameters of the specification request. Subsequently, the gateway node may also observe the quality of information (QoI) values communicated from the set of computing devices. The gateway node iteratively modifies the parameters disseminated in subsequent specification requests based on a divergence between a computed quality of information value and a desired quality of information value.

Claims

1. A method for continually controlling the collective behavior of a variable set of sensor nodes in a sensor network, the method comprising:

disseminating a first broadcast message from a gateway node comprising an initial specification request to the set of sensor nodes in the sensor network, wherein the initial specification request comprises a set of parameters including a probability value of an individual sensor node to perform a requested behavior, and wherein the gateway node is unaware of a number and identity of individual sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes;

responsive to a number of sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes performing the requested behavior according to the probability value in the initial specification request, observing data communicated from the set of sensor nodes, wherein a computed quality of information value representing a collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes is calculated for the set of sensor nodes using the data; and

responsive to a determination that the computed quality of information is not within a desired range of the desired quality of information, iteratively modifying a subsequent set of parameters including new probability values disseminated in subsequent specification requests based on a divergence between the computed quality of information value and the desired quality of information value, wherein an individual sensor node in the set of sensor nodes adjusts its individual behavior based on the new probability values disseminated in the subsequent specification requests, wherein the computed quality of information value is re-calculated for each subsequent specification request comprising new probability values until adjustments in individual behaviors of the set of sensor nodes allow the computed quality of information values representing the collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes to satisfy the desired quality of information value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the

probability values represent at least one of a sensor activation probability or a sample reporting probability.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the disseminating step further comprises:

specifying parameters and their values in a format understood by both the gateway node and the individual sensor nodes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the disseminating step further comprises:

using a point-to-multipoint packet distribution technique, wherein the point-to-multipoint packet distribution technique includes one of directed diffusion, multicasting, and broadcasting, and wherein the point-to-multipoint packet distribution technique routes each specification request to only those sensor nodes devices whose attributes satisfy the predicates of the specification request.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the observing step further comprises:

receiving all data samples requested from the set of sensor nodes; and

applying an appropriate function to calculate the computed quality of information value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the observing step further comprises:

requesting one or more data sample receivers to calculate and return the computed quality of information value to the gateway node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the iteratively modifying step further comprises:

modifying the subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request based on a combination of past divergence, parameters specified in past specification broadcasts, and actual values of computed quality of information and desired quality of information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the iteratively modifying step further comprises:

using a control theory technique to compute the subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the control theory technique comprises one of proportional-integral-derivative control, fuzzy control, or sliding window control.

31. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

observing data communicated from sensor nodes in an active mode;

calculating a computed quality of information value from the data;

responsive to determining that the computed quality of information value for sensor nodes in an active mode is less than the desired quality of information, increasing the probability value of the sensor activation probability in a subsequent specification request; and

responsive to determining that the computed quality of information value for sensor nodes in an active mode is greater than the desired quality of information, decreasing the probability value of the sensor activation probability in a subsequent specification request.

10-28. -28. (canceled)

29. A computer program product in a computer readable storage medium having instructions embodied therein for continually controlling the collective behavior of a variable set of sensor nodes in a sensor network comprising:

first instructions for disseminating a first broadcast message from a gateway node comprising an initial specification request to the set of sensor nodes in the sensor network, wherein the initial specification request comprises a set of parameters including a probability value of an individual sensor node to perform a requested behavior, and wherein the gateway node is unaware of a number and identity of individual sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes;

second instructions for responsive to a number of sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes performing the requested behavior according to the probability value in the initial specification request, observing data communicated from the set of sensor nodes, wherein a computed quality of information value representing a collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes is calculated for the set of sensor nodes using the data; and

third instructions for responsive to a determination that the computed quality of information is not within a desired range of the desired quality of information, iteratively modifying a subsequent set of parameters including new probability values disseminated in subsequent specification requests based on a divergence between the computed quality of information value and the desired quality of information value, wherein an individual sensor node in the set of sensor nodes adjusts its individual behavior based on the new probability values disseminated in the subsequent specification requests, wherein the computed quality of information value is re-calculated for each subsequent specification request comprising new probability values until adjustments in individual behaviors of the set of sensor nodes allow the computed quality of information values representing the collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes to satisfy the desired quality of information value.

32. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the probability values represent at least one of a sensor activation probability or a sample reporting probability.

33. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the second instructions for observing further comprises:

instructions for receiving data samples requested from the set of sensor nodes; and

instructions for applying an appropriate function to calculate the computed quality of information value.

34. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the third instructions for iteratively modifying further comprises:

instructions for modifying the subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request based on a combination of a past divergence, parameters specified in past specification broadcasts, and actual values of computed quality of information and desired quality of information.

35. The computer program product of claim 29, wherein the third instructions for iteratively modifying further comprises:

instructions for using a control theory technique to compute the subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request, wherein the control theory technique comprises one of proportional-integral-derivative control, fuzzy control, or sliding window control.

36. The computer program product of claim 32, further comprising:

fourth instructions for responsive to determining that the computed quality of information value for sensor nodes in an active mode is less than the desired quality of information value, increasing the probability value of the sensor activation probability in a subsequent specification request; and

fifth instructions for responsive to determining that the computed quality of information value for sensor nodes in an active mode is greater than the desired quality of information value, decreasing the probability value of the sensor activation probability in a subsequent specification request.

30. (canceled)

37. A distributed data processing system for continually controlling the collective behavior of a variable set of sensor nodes in a sensor network, comprising:

a gateway node; and

a set of computing devices connected to the gateway node;

wherein the gateway node disseminates a first broadcast message comprising an initial specification request to the set of sensor nodes in the sensor network, wherein the initial specification request comprises a set of parameters including a probability value of an individual sensor node to perform a requested behavior, and wherein the gateway node is unaware of a number and identity of individual sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes;

wherein the gateway node observes data communicated from the set of sensor nodes in response to receiving the initial specification request, and responsive to a number of sensor nodes in the set of sensor nodes performing the requested behavior according to the probability value in the initial specification request the gateway node calculates a computed quality of information value representing a collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes using the data; and

wherein the gateway node, responsive to a determination that the computed quality of information is not within a desired range of the desired quality of information, iteratively modifies a subsequent set of parameters comprising new probability values disseminated in subsequent specification requests based on a divergence between the computed quality of information value and the desired quality of information value, wherein an individual sensor node in the set of sensor nodes adjusts its individual behavior based on the new probability values disseminated in the subsequent specification requests, wherein the computed quality of information value is re-calculated for each subsequent specification request comprising new probability values until adjustments in individual behaviors of the set of sensor nodes allow the computed quality of information values representing the collective behavior of the set of sensor nodes to satisfy the desired quality of information value.

38. The distributed data processing system of claim 37, wherein the probability values represent at least one of a sensor activation probability or a sample reporting probability.

39. The distributed data processing system of claim 37, wherein iteratively modifying a subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request further comprises iteratively modifying the subsequent set of parameters based on a combination of a past divergence, parameters specified in past specification broadcasts, and actual values of computed quality of information and desired quality of information.

40. The distributed data processing system of claim 37, wherein iteratively modifying a subsequent set of parameters further comprises using a control theory technique to compute the subsequent set of parameters disseminated in the subsequent specification request, wherein the control theory technique comprises one of proportional-integral-derivative control, fuzzy control, or sliding window control.