DYNAMIC MOBILE AD HOC INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) GATEWAY

• US 20160128043A1
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2014
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: SHUMAN, Mohammed Ataur Rahman, GOEL, Amit, SHARMA, Sandeep, AGGARWAL, Ashutosh
• Application Number:
  US14/926,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20160128043A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0005 Control or signalling for completing the hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/203 for converged personal network application service interworking, e.g. OMA converged personal network services [CPNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/044 based on the type of the allocated resource
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

The disclosure generally relates to a dynamic ad hoc gateway that can be configured to provide inter-network communication among different Internet of Things (IoT) networks (or subnetworks). For example, in various embodiments, connectivity and capability information may be advertised via a personal IoT network from a first potential gateway to a first device and other potential gateways and connectivity and capability information advertised from the other potential gateways may be similarly received at the first potential gateway via the personal IoT network. The connectivity and capability information advertised from the first potential gateway and the other potential gateways may then be evaluated to determine whether the first potential gateway is an elected gateway and a secure private network and an external interface from the secure private network may be established for one or more devices coupled to the elected gateway.

Claims

1. A method for providing a dynamic ad hoc Internet of Things (IoT) gateway, comprising:

exchanging, at a first IoT device, connectivity and capability information with one or more other IoT devices, wherein the first IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices form an IoT subnetwork having a dynamic context;

determining, at the first IoT device, that the first IoT device is assigned to be a gateway node on the IoT subnetwork based at least in part on the exchanged connectivity and capability information and the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork; and

establishing, at the first IoT device, a secure private network coupling the one or more other IoT devices to the assigned gateway node and an external interface from the secure private network for the one or more other IoT devices.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the connectivity and capability information comprises information relating to one or more locations, one or more needed services, one or more offered services, one or more communication interfaces, one or more heuristics, or one or more trust metrics associated with the first IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices.

3. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more services that are offered on an external network and available via the external interface from the secure private network; and

requesting the one or more services offered on the external network on behalf of the one or more other IoT devices via the external interface.

4. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

selectively exposing a portion of the IoT subnetwork via the external interface based on one or more of a trust level associated with an external network in communication with the IoT subnetwork via the assigned gateway node or one or more available services offered on the external network.

5. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more capabilities associated with the assigned gateway node to advertise via the external interface according to a trust level associated with an external network in communication with the IoT subnetwork via the assigned gateway node.

6. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

exposing the IoT subnetwork to an external network, in communication with the assigned gateway node, having a trusted status.

7. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the first IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a voting procedure among the first IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices in response to a determination that the first IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices forming the IoT subnetwork include multiple potential gateways that satisfy one or more criteria to be the gateway node on the IoT subnetwork.

8. The method recited in claim 7, further comprising resigning, by the first IoT device, from being the gateway node in response to the voting procedure resulting in one of the multiple potential gateways other than the first IoT device being elected the gateway node.

9. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

facilitating a handoff to a new gateway node for the one or more other IoT other devices in the IoT subnetwork prior to leaving the IoT subnetwork, wherein the one or more other IoT devices trigger a voting procedure to elect the new gateway node in response to the assigned gateway node leaving the IoT subnetwork.

10. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the first IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a static assignment scheme that designates the first IoT device to be the gateway node in the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork.

11. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the first IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a hierarchical assignment scheme that ranks the first IoT device higher than the one or more other IoT devices in the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork.

12. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the first IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a dynamic assignment scheme that comprises sending the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork to a home gateway node on a personal IoT network that includes the IoT subnetwork and receiving information indicating that the first IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node on the IoT subnetwork from the home gateway node.

13. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from at least one of the one or more other IoT devices coupled to the assigned gateway node, one or more context policies that include functional criteria associated with requesting at least one service over the external interface;

detecting an announcement from an external network indicating that the at least one service is available on the external network; and

requesting the at least one service from the external network in response to determining that the functional criteria included in the one or more context policies received from the at least one IoT device are satisfied.

14. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from at least one of the one or more other IoT devices coupled to the assigned gateway node, one or more context policies that indicate one or more services available on the at least one IoT device to offer over the external interface; and

advertising the one or more available services indicated in the one or more context policies via the external interface.

15. An Internet of Things (IoT) device, comprising:

a transceiver configured to exchange connectivity and capability information with one or more other IoT devices, wherein the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices form an IoT subnetwork having a dynamic context; and

one or more processors, coupled to the transceiver, configured to;

determine that the IoT device is assigned to be a gateway node on the IoT subnetwork based at least in part on the exchanged connectivity and capability information and the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork; and

establish a secure private network coupling the one or more other IoT devices to the assigned gateway node and an external interface from the secure private network for the one or more other IoT devices.

16. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the connectivity and capability information comprises information relating to one or more locations, one or more needed services, one or more offered services, one or more communication interfaces, one or more heuristics, or one or more trust metrics associated with the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices.

17. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine one or more services that are offered on an external network and available via the external interface from the secure private network; and

request the one or more services offered on the external network on behalf of the one or more other IoT devices via the external interface.

18. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

selectively expose a portion of the IoT subnetwork via the external interface based on one or more of a trust level associated with an external network in communication with the IoT subnetwork via the assigned gateway node or one or more available services offered on the external network.

19. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine one or more capabilities associated with the assigned gateway node to advertise via the external interface according to a trust level associated with an external network in communication with the IoT subnetwork via the assigned gateway node.

20. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

expose the IoT subnetwork to an external network, in communication with the assigned gateway node, having a trusted status.

21. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a voting procedure among the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices in response to a determination that the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices forming the IoT subnetwork include multiple potential gateways that satisfy one or more criteria to be the gateway node on the IoT subnetwork.

22. The IoT device recited in claim 21, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit a message to resign the IoT device from being the gateway node in response to the voting procedure resulting in one of the multiple potential gateways other than the IoT device being elected the gateway node.

23. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to facilitate a handoff to a new gateway node for the one or more other IoT other devices in the IoT subnetwork prior to leaving the IoT subnetwork, wherein the one or more other IoT devices are configured to trigger a voting procedure to elect the new gateway node in response to the assigned gateway node leaving the IoT subnetwork.

24. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a static assignment scheme that designates the IoT device to be the gateway node in the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork.

25. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a hierarchical assignment scheme that ranks the IoT device higher than the one or more other IoT devices in the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork.

26. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node based on a dynamic assignment scheme controlled at a home gateway node on a personal IoT network that includes the IoT subnetwork, the home gateway node configured to receive the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork and to send information indicating that the IoT device is assigned to be the gateway node to the IoT subnetwork.

27. The IoT device recited in claim 15, the transceiver is further configured to:

receive, from at least one of the one or more other IoT devices coupled to the assigned gateway node, one or more context policies that include functional criteria associated with requesting at least one service over the external interface; and

receive announcement from an external network indicating that the at least one service is available on the external network, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to request the at least one service from the external network in response to the functional criteria received from the at least one IoT device satisfying the one or more context policies associated with requesting the at least one service.

28. The IoT device recited in claim 15, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

receive, from at least one of the one or more other IoT devices coupled to the assigned gateway node, one or more context policies that indicate one or more services available on the at least one IoT device to offer over the external interface; and

advertise the one or more available services indicated in the one or more context policies via the external interface.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for exchanging connectivity and capability information with one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wherein the apparatus and the one or more IoT devices form an IoT subnetwork having a dynamic context;

means for determining that the apparatus is assigned to be a gateway node on the IoT subnetwork based at least in part on the exchanged connectivity and capability information and the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork; and

means for establishing a secure private network coupling the one or more IoT devices to the assigned gateway node and an external interface from the secure private network for the one or more IoT devices.

30. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions recorded thereon, wherein executing the computer-executable instructions on an Internet of Things (IoT) device causes the IoT device to:

exchange connectivity and capability information with one or more other IoT devices, wherein the IoT device and the one or more other IoT devices form an IoT subnetwork having a dynamic context;

determine that the IoT device is assigned to be a gateway node on the IoT subnetwork based at least in part on the exchanged connectivity and capability information and the dynamic context associated with the IoT subnetwork; and

establish a secure private network coupling the one or more other IoT devices to the assigned gateway node and an external interface from the secure private network for the one or more other IoT devices.