Method for enabling a wireless sensor network by mote communication

• US 7,475,158 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US10/856,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20050275532A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 709238-239, 702103-104, 455/41.2, 455/63.4
• US Class Current: 709/238
• 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 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.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising the further step of storing within each mote a primary path back top the endpoint.

3. The method of claim 2, 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.

4. The method of claim 3, comprising the further step of having each mote rank the primary path and set of secondary paths in a routing table.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising the further step of having each mote periodically update its routing table by analyzing a set of communication criteria of the neighboring motes.