Method and apparatus for battery-aware dynamic bandwidth allocation for wireless sensor networks

• US 7,969,928 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2007
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Strong Force IoT Portfolio 2016, LLC (Strong Force Intellectual Capital, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Saidi, Ali, Chiricescu, Silviu
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US11/681,625
• Publication Number:
  US 20080212557A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 370/345, 370/331, 370/318, 3703952-39543, 340/539, 340/539.22, 455/73, 455450-453
• US Class Current: 370/318
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0277 according to available power supply, e.g. switching off when a low battery condition is detected
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/04 Wireless resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus that allocates bandwidth among wireless sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network (WSN) is disclosed. The method may include allocating transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric, determining battery levels in each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, determining differences in battery level between each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, wherein if any such difference is above a predetermined threshold, increasing the transmission time slots allocation of wireless sensor nodes having higher battery levels relative to other wireless sensor nodes in the plurality of wireless sensor nodes.

Claims

1. A method for allocating bandwidth among wireless sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network, the method comprising:

allocating a portion of transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric;

determining battery levels in each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes;

allocating a remaining portion of transmission time slots for the plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on the determined battery levels; and

determining differences between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, wherein if any such difference is above a predetermined threshold increasing the transmission time slots allocation of wireless sensor nodes having higher battery levels relative to other wireless sensor nodes in the plurality of wireless sensor nodes.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein if any difference in battery levels is not above a predetermined threshold, then allocating transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one channel quality metric is at least one of a link quality indicator and a relative signal strength indicator.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the difference between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes is determined at predetermined times.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes serves as a battery-aware dynamic bandwidth coordinator and allocates transmission time slots to the other wireless sensor nodes in the wireless sensor network.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes transmits sensor information, the sensor information being at least one of temperature, pressure, humidity, motion, vibration, and sound.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes is part of a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being one of a portable MP3 player, satellite radio receiver, AM/FM radio receiver, satellite television, iPod, portable laptop, portable computer, wireless radio, wireless telephone, portable digital video recorder, cellular telephone, mobile telephone, and personal digital assistant.

8. An apparatus that allocates bandwidth among wireless sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network, the apparatus comprising:

one or more sensors that sense environmental conditions;

a transceiver that transmits sensor information related to the sensed environmental conditions using transmission time slots; and

a controller that allocates a portion of the transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric, determines battery levels in each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, allocates a remaining portion of transmission time slots for the plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on the determined battery levels, and determines the difference between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, wherein if any such difference is above a predetermined threshold, the controller increases the transmission time slot allocation of wireless sensor nodes having higher battery levels relative to other wireless sensor nodes in the plurality of wireless sensor nodes.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein if any difference in battery levels is not above a predetermined threshold, then the controller allocates transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the at least one channel quality metric is at least one of a link quality indicator and a relative signal strength indicator.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the controller determines the difference between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes at predetermined times.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the apparatus serves as a battery-aware dynamic bandwidth coordinator which allocates transmission time slots to the other wireless sensor nodes in the wireless sensor network.

13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the transmitted sensor information is related to at least one of temperature, pressure, humidity, motion, vibration, and sound.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the apparatus is part of a mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being one of a portable MP3 player, satellite radio receiver, AM/FM radio receiver, satellite television, iPod, portable laptop, portable computer, wireless radio, wireless telephone, portable digital video recorder, cellular telephone, mobile telephone, and personal digital assistant.

15. A mobile communication device comprising:

one or more sensors that sense environmental conditions;

a transceiver that transmits sensor information related to the sensed environmental conditions using transmission time slots; and

a controller that allocates a portion of the transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric, determines battery levels in each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, allocates a remaining portion of transmission time slots for the plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on the determined battery levels, and determines the difference between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes, wherein if any such difference is above a predetermined threshold, the controller increases the transmission time slot allocation of wireless sensor nodes having higher battery levels relative to other wireless sensor nodes in the plurality of wireless sensor nodes.

16. The mobile communication device of claim 15 wherein if any difference in battery levels is not above a predetermined threshold, then the controller allocates transmission time slots for a plurality of wireless sensor nodes based on at least one channel quality metric.

17. The mobile communication device of claim 15 wherein the at least one channel quality metric is at least one of a link quality indicator and a relative signal strength indicator.

18. The mobile communication device of claim 15 wherein the controller determines the difference between the battery levels of each of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes and the average battery level of all of the plurality of wireless sensor nodes at predetermined times.

19. The mobile communication device of claim 15 wherein the transmitted sensor information is related to at least one of temperature, pressure, humidity, motion, vibration, and sound.

20. The mobile communication device of claim 15 wherein the mobile communication device is one of a portable MP3 player, satellite radio receiver, AM/FM radio receiver, satellite television, iPod, portable laptop, portable computer, wireless radio, wireless telephone, portable digital video recorder, cellular telephone, mobile telephone, and personal digital assistant.