Wireless sensor network

• US 20050275532A1
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daedalus Blue LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ferri, Richard, Kim, Moon J., Yee, Eric T.C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,475,158 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.260
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• 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: H04W 40/246 Connectivity information discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/248 Connectivity information update
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A system and method for implementing a wireless sensor network. The system comprises a plurality of motes, each mote having a sensor and a wireless communication system for communicating with neighboring motes; a distributed routing table distributed amongst each of the plurality of motes; and an update system for periodically updating the distributed routing table.

Claims

1. A wireless sensor network, comprising:

a plurality of motes, each mote having a sensor and a wireless communication system for communicating with neighboring motes;

a distributed routing table distributed amongst each of the plurality of motes; and

an update system for periodically updating the distributed routing table.

2. The wireless sensor network of claim 1, wherein each mote further comprises a solar cell.

3. The wireless sensor network of claim 1, wherein the communication system includes a passive mode and an active mode, wherein the passive mode is utilized to relay data from a sending mote to a receiving mote, and wherein the active mode is utilized to send data generated by the mote.

4. The wireless sensor network of claim 1, further comprising at least one transport router and a monitoring station.

5. The wireless sensor network of claim 1, wherein each mote further comprises a join and gather system that allows the mote:

to be gathered by a neighboring mote into a network; and

to gather other motes into the network.

6. The wireless sensor network of claim 5, wherein each mote stores a primary path to an endpoint via the neighboring mote that gathered the mote.

7. The wireless sensor network of claim 6, wherein each mote further comprises a system for identifying a set of secondary paths to the endpoint via other neighboring motes.

8. The wireless sensor network of claim 7, wherein each mote includes a routing table that ranks the primary path and set of secondary paths to the endpoint.

9. The wireless sensor network of claim 8, wherein each mote periodically updates its routing table by analyzing a set of communication criteria of neighboring motes.

10. A method for enabling a wireless sensor network having a plurality of motes, each mote having a sensor and a wireless communication system for communicating with neighboring motes, comprising the steps of:

broadcasting a join command from each mote and a gather command from an endpoint;

joining motes that neighbor the endpoint with the endpoint in a network;

broadcasting a gather signal from each mote that joined the endpoint to cause additional motes to join the network;

broadcasting a gather signal from each additional mote that joined the network to cause further additional motes to join the network; and

repeating the previous broadcasting step until no further motes are available to join the network.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising the further step of storing within each mote a primary path back top the endpoint.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising the further step of having each mote identify a set of secondary paths back to the endpoint by attempting to communicate with other neighboring motes.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising the further step of having each mote rank the primary path and set of secondary paths in a routing table.

14. The method of claim 13, comprising the further step of having each mote periodically update its routing table by analyzing a set of communication criteria of the neighboring motes.

15. A mote for use in a sensor network, comprising:

a sensor for sensing environmental data;

a communication system for communicating with neighboring motes;

a join and gather system for establishing the mote in a network of motes;

a routing table that ranks a set of paths from the mote back to an endpoint; and

an update system for periodically updating the routing table.

16. The mote of claim 15, further comprising a solar cell.

17. The mote of claim 15, wherein the communication system includes a passive mode and an active mode, wherein the passive mode is utilized to relay data from a sending mote to a receiving mote, and wherein the active mode is utilized to send data generated by the mote.

18. The mote of claim 15, wherein each mote stores a primary path to the endpoint, wherein the primary path passes through a neighboring mote that gathered the mote.

19. The mote of claim 18, wherein each mote further comprises a system for identifying a set of secondary paths to the endpoint via other neighboring motes.

20. The mote of claim 15, wherein the update system periodically updates its routing table by analyzing a set of communication criteria of neighboring motes.

21. The mote of claim 15, wherein each mote further includes a self-analysis system that examines various functional criteria of the mote.

22. A method for enabling a wireless network having a plurality of devices, each device having a wireless communication system for communicating with neighboring devices, comprising the steps of:

broadcasting a join command from each device and a gather command from an endpoint;

joining devices that neighbor the endpoint with the endpoint in a network;

broadcasting a gather signal from each device that joined the endpoint to cause additional devices to join the network; and

broadcasting a gather signal from each additional device that joined the network to cause further additional devices to join the network.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising the further step of:

repeating the previous broadcasting step until no further devices are available to join the network.