Method and system for managing a network of sensors

• US 7,840,353 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2006
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: Xiao, Lin, Ouksel, Aris
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US11/914,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20090055691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 701/33, 701/34, 701/214, 701/225, 701/300, 714/48, 714/E11.023, 709/220, 709/221, 709/223, 703/6
• US Class Current: 701/300
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for managing a network of sensors (100). A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a sensor (102) belonging to the network of sensors operating in a geographic space having a controller (210) that manages a sensing device (204). The controller can be programmed to locate (302) itself in the geographic space, and assign (304) itself according to its location a zone within a portion of the geographic space and a corresponding data range for storing sensed information. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

a first sensor locating itself in a geographic space of a network of sensors; and

according to the location determined by the first sensor, the first sensor assigning itself a first zone within a portion of the geographic space and a corresponding data range for storing sensed information.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising the first sensor locating itself in the geographic space according to ranging information obtained from one or more signals associated with at least one neighboring sensor belonging to the network of sensors.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more signals comprise at least one among electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, optical signals, and acoustic signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is mobile, and wherein the method comprises the first sensor repeating the aforementioned steps when it transitions to a second zone.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a second sensor has assigned itself to the second zone prior to the first sensor transitioning to said second zone, and wherein the method comprises the second sensor reassigning itself a new zone and corresponding data range upon detecting the first sensor entering the second zone.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein a third sensor belongs to a third zone adjacent to the first zone, and wherein the method comprises the third sensor reassigning itself a new zone and corresponding data range upon detecting that the first zone is unoccupied.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein information sensed by the first sensor comprises one or more attribute values that form a tuple, and wherein the data range comprises a range of attribute values for storing tuples.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

the first sensor sensing information;

in response to the first sensor detecting that the sensed information is within the data range of the first zone, the first sensor storing the sensed information;

in response to the first sensor detecting that the sensed information is not within the data range of the first zone,

the first sensor mapping the sensed information to a location in the geographic space according to one or more values of the sensed information;

the first sensor selecting a second sensor from the network of sensors according to the location given to the sensed information;

the first sensor transmitting the sensed information to the second sensor, wherein the second sensor operates in a second zone with a corresponding data range for storing sensed information which the second sensor assigned to itself according to its location in the geographic space;

repeating a portion of the aforementioned steps at each sensor receiving the sensed information of the first sensor until the sensed information is stored at one of the sensors in the network of sensors having a data range corresponding to the sensed information.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising the first sensor selecting the second sensor from a group of neighboring sensors according to a distance between each of the neighboring sensors and the location given to the sensed information of the first sensor.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein information sensed by sensors of the network of sensors corresponds to at least one among a group of recordable information types comprising environmental information, medical information, public information, instrumentation information, commercial information, audio information, image information, and location information.

11. The method of claim 8, comprising each sensor in the network of sensors assigning itself a corresponding zone and associated data range for storing sensed information according to its location in the geographic space, wherein the self-assigned zones and associated data ranges correspond to an arrangement in the network of sensors that reduces a cost for a computing device coupled to said network of sensors to retrieve a portion of information sensed by said sensors.

12. The method of claim 8, comprising each sensor in the network of sensors assigning itself a data management task, wherein the self-assigned data management tasks of the network of sensors forms a data aggregation structure.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising each sensor in the network of sensors generating an identifier that delineates the zone, the data range, and the data management task of said sensor.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the arrangement comprises one or more clusters of sensed information having similar values stored in one or more proximately located sensors of the network of sensors.

15. The method of claim 1, comprising:

the first sensor detecting a margin of error in localizing itself that exceeds a threshold; and

the first sensor applying a refined localization method to improve the margin of error.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the network of sensors comprises at least one among a plurality of fixed wireless sensors, mobile wireless sensors, fixed wired sensors, and mobile wired sensors.

17. A computer-readable storage medium in a sensor belonging to a network of sensors operating in a geographic space, comprising computer instructions for locating itself in the geographic space, and assigning itself according to its location a zone within a portion of the geographic space and a corresponding data range for storing sensed information.

18. The storage medium of claim 17, comprising computer instructions for locating itself in the geographic space according to ranging information obtained from one or more signals associated with at least one sensor belonging to the network of sensors.

19. A sensor belonging to a network of sensors operating in a geographic space, comprising a controller that manages a sensing device, wherein the controller is programmed to locate itself in the geographic space, and assign itself according to its location a zone within a portion of the geographic space and a corresponding data range for storing sensed information.

20. The sensor of claim 19, wherein the controller is programmed to locate itself in the geographic space according to ranging information obtained from one or more signals associated with at least one sensor belonging to the network of sensors.