Method and wireless sensor networks
First Claim
1. A method of locating a sink for gathering data in a wireless sensor network, the method comprising:
- relaying, via at least some sensors among a plurality of sensors, to direct data to the sink, at least some of the plurality of the sensors being capable of acting as the sink and one of which is currently acting as the sink;
determining, by a positioning entity, respective locations of active sensors and relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors, the positioning entity choosing a lead sensor;
selecting, at the lead sensor, two or more of the active sensors or the relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors as candidate sinks;
finding, at the lead sensor, the suitability of respective candidate sinks to act as the sink for gathering data from the plurality of the sensors according to a calculation producing a result indicating the suitability of the respective candidate sinks for communication with the plurality of the sensors, the calculation estimating a maximum throughput of data targeted to be achieved if a respective candidate sink acts as the sink;
comparing, at the lead sensor, the result for the respective candidate sinks to determine the most suitable candidate sink; and
transferring, based on the comparison, the role of the current sink to the determined most suitable candidate sink as a destination for the data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a wireless sensor network having a plurality of mobile sensor nodes (62, 63, 64, 65), a sink (70) is provided and re-positioned as required by assigning the role of sink to one of the mobile sensors at a time. Re-positioning involves finding candidate sinks in the vicinity of a current sink, a temporary sink or a central candidate in the network; judging the suitability of each candidate, for example by estimating the data throughput likely to be achieved if each candidate is selected as the new sink; and transferring the role of sink to the best candidate found. The temporary sink or central candidate may be selected with the aid of a positioning system (80) of the network. Suitability of a candidate sink may take into account a desired transmission rate of each sensor node in the vicinity of a candidate, this desired rate being found from a 3-D look-up table of each sensor.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method of locating a sink for gathering data in a wireless sensor network, the method comprising:
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relaying, via at least some sensors among a plurality of sensors, to direct data to the sink, at least some of the plurality of the sensors being capable of acting as the sink and one of which is currently acting as the sink; determining, by a positioning entity, respective locations of active sensors and relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors, the positioning entity choosing a lead sensor; selecting, at the lead sensor, two or more of the active sensors or the relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors as candidate sinks; finding, at the lead sensor, the suitability of respective candidate sinks to act as the sink for gathering data from the plurality of the sensors according to a calculation producing a result indicating the suitability of the respective candidate sinks for communication with the plurality of the sensors, the calculation estimating a maximum throughput of data targeted to be achieved if a respective candidate sink acts as the sink; comparing, at the lead sensor, the result for the respective candidate sinks to determine the most suitable candidate sink; and transferring, based on the comparison, the role of the current sink to the determined most suitable candidate sink as a destination for the data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A wireless sensor network for locating a sink for gathering data in the wireless sensor network, comprising:
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at least some sensors among a plurality of sensors relaying to direct data to the sink, at least some of the plurality of the sensors being capable of acting as the sink and one of which is currently acting as the sink; a positioning entity determining respective locations of active sensors and relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors, the positioning entity choosing a lead sensor; the lead sensor selecting two or more of the active sensors or the relay sensors among the plurality of the sensors as candidate sinks; the lead sensor finding the suitability of respective candidate sinks to act as the sink for gathering data from the plurality of the sensors according to a calculation producing a result indicating the suitability of the respective candidate sinks for communication with the plurality of the sensors, the calculation estimating a maximum throughput of data targeted to be achieved if a respective candidate sink acts as the sink; the lead sensor comparing the result for the respective candidate sinks to determine the most suitable candidate sink, and transferring, based on the comparison, the role of the current sink to the determined most suitable candidate sink as a destination for the data.
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Specification