Ring-based monitoring of sensor mesh networks

• US 9,395,219 B1
• Filed: 01/07/2016
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kolar, Harry R., Dow, Eli M., Kelly, Michael R., Passow, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US14/990,156
• Time in Patent Office: 194 Days
• Field of Search: 702/117, 702/118, 702182-185, 702/188
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• 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 4/38 for collecting sensor information

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes arranging two or more sensor nodes into a ring monitor. Each sensor node of the ring monitor is coupled to a sensor and cross-monitors at least one other sensor node in the ring monitor. A request is received to add a new sensor node. A spatial partitioning of a plane is generated, by a computer processor, representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor. The spatial partitioning includes a plurality of regions, each region corresponding to a sensor node. Two or more adjacent sensor nodes are selected from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, based at least in part on the spatial partitioning. The two or more adjacent sensor nodes are instructed to monitor the new sensor node, which is instructed to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

arranging two or more sensor nodes into a ring monitor, each sensor node of the ring monitor coupled to a sensor and each sensor node cross-monitoring at least one other sensor node in the ring monitor;

receiving a request to add a new sensor node to the ring monitor;

generating, by a computer processor, a spatial partitioning of a plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, the spatial partitioning comprising a plurality of regions, and each region corresponding to a sensor node;

selecting two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, based at least in part on the spatial partitioning;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the generating the spatial partitioning of the plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises generating a Voronoi diagram representing the locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor; and

the selecting the two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises selecting a first sensor node and a second sensor node that correspond to first and second regions adjacent to a new region corresponding to the new sensor node in the Voronoi diagram.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node comprises;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to expect heartbeat packets from the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to transmit heartbeat packets to the two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes comprises;

instructing the new sensor node to expect heartbeat packets from each of two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to transmit heartbeat packets to the new sensor node.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein each heartbeat package comprises an outlier detection payload, and wherein the new sensor node is configured to determine whether each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes have sensors detecting outlier data.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving a report from a least one of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes that an expected heartbeat packet was not received from the new sensor node; and

removing the new sensor node from the ring monitor, responsive to the report.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising removing a first sensor node from the ring monitor, and the removing comprising:

identifying a first adjacent node and a second adjacent node that are sensor nodes adjacent to the first sensor node in the ring monitor;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to transmit heartbeat packets to each other;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to expect heartbeat packets from each other; and

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to stop expecting heartbeat packets from the first sensor node.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each sensor node in the two or more sensor nodes of the ring monitor receives heartbeat packets from two other sensor nodes in the ring monitor and expects heartbeat packets from the two other sensor nodes in the ring monitor.

8. A system comprising:

a memory having computer readable instructions; and

one or more processors for executing the computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions comprising;

arranging two or more sensor nodes into a ring monitor, each sensor node of the ring monitor coupled to a sensor and each sensor node cross-monitoring at least one other sensor node in the ring monitor;

receiving a request to add a new sensor node to the ring monitor;

generating a spatial partitioning of a plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, the spatial partitioning comprising a plurality of regions, and each region corresponding to a sensor node;

selecting two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, based at least in part on the spatial partitioning;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the generating the spatial partitioning of the plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises generating a Voronoi diagram representing the locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor; and

the selecting the two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises selecting a first sensor node and a second sensor node that correspond to first and second regions adjacent to a new region corresponding to the new sensor node in the Voronoi diagram.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein:

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node comprises;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to expect heartbeat packets from the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to transmit heartbeat packets to the two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes comprises;

instructing the new sensor node to expect heartbeat packets from each of two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to transmit heartbeat packets to the new sensor node.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each heartbeat package comprises an outlier detection payload, and wherein the new sensor node is configured to determine whether each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes have sensors detecting outlier data.

12. The system of claim 10, the computer readable instructions further comprising:

receiving a report from a least one of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes that an expected heartbeat packet was not received from the new sensor node; and

removing the new sensor node from the ring monitor, responsive to the report.

13. The system of claim 8, the computer readable instructions further comprising removing a first sensor node from the ring monitor, and the removing comprising:

identifying a first adjacent node and a second adjacent node that are sensor nodes adjacent to the first sensor node in the ring monitor;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to transmit heartbeat packets to each other;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to expect heartbeat packets from each other; and

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to stop expecting heartbeat packets from the first sensor node.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein each sensor node in the two or more sensor nodes of the ring monitor receives heartbeat packets from two other sensor nodes in the ring monitor and expects heartbeat packets from the two other sensor nodes in the ring monitor.

15. A computer program product for ring-based monitoring of sensor nodes, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

arranging two or more sensor nodes into a ring monitor, each sensor node of the ring monitor coupled to a sensor and each sensor node cross-monitoring at least one other sensor node in the ring monitor;

receiving a request to add a new sensor node to the ring monitor;

generating a spatial partitioning of a plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, the spatial partitioning comprising a plurality of regions, and each region corresponding to a sensor node;

selecting two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor, based at least in part on the spatial partitioning;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein:

the generating the spatial partitioning of the plane representing locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises generating a Voronoi diagram representing the locations of the new sensor node and the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor; and

the selecting the two or more adjacent sensor nodes from the two or more sensor nodes in the ring monitor comprises selecting a first sensor node and a second sensor node that correspond to first and second regions adjacent to a new region corresponding to the new sensor node in the Voronoi diagram.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein:

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to monitor the new sensor node comprises;

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to expect heartbeat packets from the new sensor node; and

instructing the new sensor node to transmit heartbeat packets to the two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the new sensor node to monitor each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes comprises;

instructing the new sensor node to expect heartbeat packets from each of two or more adjacent sensor nodes; and

instructing the two or more adjacent sensor nodes to transmit heartbeat packets to the new sensor node.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein each heartbeat package comprises an outlier detection payload, and wherein the new sensor node is configured to determine whether each of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes have sensors detecting outlier data.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, the method further comprising:

receiving a report from a least one of the two or more adjacent sensor nodes that an expected heartbeat packet was not received from the new sensor node; and

removing the new sensor node from the ring monitor, responsive to the report.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, the method further comprising removing a first sensor node from the ring monitor, and the removing comprising:

identifying a first adjacent node and a second adjacent node that are sensor nodes adjacent to the first sensor node in the ring monitor;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to transmit heartbeat packets to each other;

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to expect heartbeat packets from each other; and

instructing the first adjacent node and the second adjacent node to stop expecting heartbeat packets from the first sensor node.