Systems and methods for dynamically configuring node behavior in a sensor network

• US 8,868,703 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2007
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ewing, David B., Martindale, Rick A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Application Number:
  US13/480,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20120294237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 880 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-202, 709220-227, 709/228, 702/91, 702/93, 702/104
• US Class Current: 709/221
• 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 operable to receive a first script defining a new behavior for the network, the first node operable 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 operable to receive the first script and to store event data indicative of when the first script is to be invoked, the one sensor node operable to perform a comparison between the 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 one sensor node is operable to execute the script for controlling an operational state of a device monitored by the sensor of the one sensor node.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein one sensor node is operable to execute the script for wirelessly transmitting a notification to the first node.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein the first node is operable to receive a second script and to wirelessly transmit the second script to the one sensor node, and wherein the one sensor node is operable to execute the script for updating the event data.

5. The network of claim 1, wherein the one sensor node has a virtual machine for running the first script.

6. The network of claim 1, wherein the one node is operable to receive a remote procedure call from another of the plurality of sensor nodes and to run the first script in response to the remote procedure call.

7. The network of claim 1, wherein the one sensor node is operable to update the event data based on information from the first node such that event data correlates the first script with a threshold, and wherein the one sensor node is operable to perform the comparison by comparing the sensor data to the threshold.

8. The network of claim 7, wherein the one sensor node is operable to execute a second script from the first node for updating the event data to define a correlation between the first script and the threshold, and wherein the one sensor node is operable to compare the sensor data to the threshold based on the correlation for determining whether to invoke the first script.

9. 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.

10. The method of claim 9, 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.

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

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a second script; and

updating the event data based on the second script.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of running the first script via a virtual machine of the one sensor node.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, at the one node, a remote procedure call from another of the plurality of sensor nodes; and

invoking the first script in response to the remote procedure call.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of updating the event data to correlate the first script with a threshold, wherein the comparing step comprises the step of comparing the sensor data to the threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a second script at the one sensor node; and

executing the second script, wherein the executing step comprises the updating step.