Efficient network access initialization of wireless control system

Abstract

To improve the efficiency and reliability of communication in a large and high-density wireless network 100, it is beneficial to assign a subset of multiple nodes 500 as router nodes 200, while assigning the remaining nodes as non-router nodes 300. Thus, the dense wireless network 100 is divided into a sparse core mesh network and many small star networks surrounding each router node 200. However, initializing multiple nodes into such a hybrid topology can be quite complex and time-consuming. This invention discloses a network initialization method that derives an appropriate role for a single node using one or more adjacency relationships established between multiple nodes, and then configures the single node to operate according to the assigned role. The disclosed network initialization method can be executed semi-automatically or automatically.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless control systems. More specifically, this document discloses various methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer-readable media related to methods for initializing a wireless control system comprising multiple nodes to a wireless network. Background Technology

[0002] An ongoing trend in the professional lighting market is the increasing shift towards connected lighting systems that enable a wide range of new features, such as (remote) dispatching, energy monitoring, sensor-based lighting control, and asset management. In many cases, these systems are installed in existing buildings, where wireless networks are preferred to avoid the need for new cabling to be deployed through the ceiling (for lighting control). Examples of such wireless network protocols widely used in current practice are open standards such as Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth LE (BLE), BLE Mesh, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, and various proprietary network implementations built on top of IEEE 802.15.4, IEEE 802.15.1, or IEEE 802.11 standards.

[0003] In many cases, networks can be so large that not all nodes are reachable from a direct link to the central controller, and therefore those remote nodes may require assistance from one or more relay nodes. Flooding-based routing methods are widely used to distribute control messages to a large number of nodes. A message is broadcast and received by multiple nodes simultaneously, and if each node repeats the message once or several times, the chance of losing the message can be reduced to an acceptable level. Depending on the size and density of the network, the number of repetitions can be configured (in some networks) to suppress “network storms” that occur during broadcasting. Without this constraint, each node would typically retransmit the message several times, and therefore a single broadcast message in a 200-node network could easily result in thousands of retransmissions.

[0004] However, for control systems with a large number of densely deployed nodes, collisions can frequently occur because many nodes are within direct communication range. Such flooding-based routing may not be very efficient.

[0005] WO2011083389A1 relates to a method for defining broadcast routers in a wireless multi-hop mesh network, the wireless multi-hop mesh network including multiple routing nodes potentially capable of repeating broadcast messages. The method includes: determining, for each routing node, the number of neighboring routing nodes and the quality of each link between the routing node and its neighbors; selecting a subset of the multiple routing nodes comprising a reduced number of routing nodes such that only routing nodes belonging to that subset are allowed to perform the selected operation.

[0006] WO2018228883A1 relates to systems and methods for extending the coverage of a wireless single-hop network (e.g., a BLE network) by relaying messages from a wireless single-hop network over a wireless multi-hop network (e.g., a ZigBee mesh network) that benefits from the combined single-hop / multi-hop (e.g., BLE / ZigBee) capability of a wireless combination device capable of seamless bridging between two wireless networks. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of the foregoing, this disclosure relates to methods, apparatus, systems, computer programs, and computer-readable media for providing mechanisms related to the network initialization of a large number of nodes into a hybrid mesh and star wireless network based on one or more adjacency relationships in a more efficient manner. More specifically, the object of the invention is achieved by the network initialization method as claimed in claim 1, the wireless system as claimed in claims 13 and 14, and the distributed computer program for a plurality of nodes as claimed in claim 15.

[0008] Therefore, to efficiently configure large, dense wireless systems as a hybrid network topology combining mesh and tree / star topologies, the adjacency relationships collected between multiple nodes in the system are used to identify the core mesh network, which includes pure router nodes for multi-hop routing, while other nodes operate as non-router nodes and send and receive data via router nodes within direct communication range. Thus, the large, dense wireless system becomes a combination of a sparse core mesh network and many small star networks surrounding the individual router nodes. Furthermore, different options for establishing overall adjacency relationships in a semi-automatic or fully automatic manner are disclosed, further reducing the involvement of network initialization engineers.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method is provided. A method for initializing the network access of multiple nodes to a wireless network operating according to a first communication protocol, the method comprising the following steps:

[0010] a) Establish one or more adjacency relationships between multiple nodes, and each of the multiple nodes exists in at least one of the one or more adjacency relationships;

[0011] b) Configure a subset of nodes from multiple nodes to operate as router nodes by enabling multi-hop routing capabilities for relaying messages in a wireless network; and

[0012] c) Configure the remaining nodes among the plurality of nodes, excluding the router node, as non-router nodes, which, when present, disable multi-hop routing capabilities and do not relay messages.

[0013] Furthermore, the router nodes and non-router nodes are configured based on one or more adjacency relationships, such that at least one router node exists within the direct communication range of the non-router node;

[0014] In one example, a wireless network can be used as a one-to-many control network with a central controller or gateway device and multiple nodes to be controlled. Control commands distributed across the network can be sent from the central controller or the cloud via the gateway device to one or more nodes in the system, executed as broadcast messages or unicast / multicast messages depending on the specific type of control function. The central controller or gateway device issues control commands to the large distributed network in a centralized manner. In exchange, multiple nodes in the large distributed network can also provide feedback to the central controller or cloud periodically or at certain events, providing status information related to functional devices or actuators controlled by the central controller or cloud. This event can be a malfunction or operational change of the functional device or actuator, an event detected by the functional device or actuator, or a received query. In addition to actuators, other sensors may be present, co-located with multiple nodes in the same area. Therefore, the status information can also include sensing data from other sensors, such as data related to temperature, humidity, etc. Thus, in a preferred example, communication in the system can be one-to-many or many-to-one, where multiple nodes are multiple nodes performing bidirectional communication with only one central controller or gateway device in the system.

[0015] In such a large, dense wireless system, employing a hybrid mesh and tree / star network topology is beneficial for performing communication in a more efficient and reliable manner. Router nodes are selected to construct the core network, providing connectivity for the entire system. Furthermore, building a star network with one-hop direct links around each router node is primarily to reduce interference and improve system performance. At large scale, wireless systems rely on sparse, multi-hop networks to distribute messages to and collect data from multiple nodes, especially for nodes at the network edge.

[0016] While assigning different roles to nodes is beneficial, the network entry initialization process to achieve such a configuration can be very complex and time-consuming. For example, for efficiency purposes, it may be desirable to reduce the number of router nodes to keep the core network as sparse as possible. However, on the other hand, a certain degree of redundancy may be required to ensure that the network entry initialization system supports full access to all nodes without leaving some nodes isolated. Considering the trade-off between efficiency and reliability, this invention discloses a method of selecting router nodes in an optimized manner using one or more adjacency relationships collected from nodes. Reducing the number of router nodes can be advantageous, such that each of the multiple nodes is preferentially configured to operate as a non-router node, and the network entry initialization method will ensure that at least one router node is present within the direct communication range of each non-router node. It is also possible that a node may be configured as a router node to provide connectivity to another node near it but outside the first router node's hop, even though it is within the direct communication range of the first router node. For example, more routers may be used for capacity or robustness of mesh networks. Sometimes, connecting to too many non-router nodes can place an excessive burden on a single router node in terms of processing power, storage, and communication bandwidth. Therefore, it is preferable to combine the adjacency relationships between nodes in a common manner to derive a more efficient configuration for the core network.

[0017] Sometimes, certain prior knowledge about the system may be available, such as the total number of nodes in the system, the average node density, and the average direct communication range of the nodes. Therefore, a rough estimate of the number of router nodes required to provide full system coverage can be derived. This estimate can be quite accurate when the nodes are deployed in a relatively uniform manner. It may be more beneficial to design the ratio between the number of router nodes and the total number of nodes. Such a ratio can be determined based on at least one of the following: the average distance between two nodes, the average one-hop communication range, power supply conditions, application requirements, and design choices between efficiency and reliability. Such a ratio can provide guidelines for determining whether a node should be a router node.

[0018] Given the large scale of the system, it is also desirable to perform the network access initialization process in a semi-automatic or automatic manner with minimal involvement from network access initialization engineers.

[0019] In another embodiment, the method further includes step d) associating each of the non-router nodes with a router node within direct communication range, wherein sending a unicast message to a non-router node is performed via the corresponding router node.

[0020] When a broadcast message is generated, each router node will rebroadcast or relay the same message to distribute the information to multiple nodes on the network. Non-router nodes can receive the same broadcast message from more than one router node within their direct communication range. This redundancy may not be the most efficient in some situations, but it can help improve reliability in others. For example, a message relayed by one router node may be corrupted or have lower signal quality due to sporadic interference from the surrounding environment. Therefore, receiving duplicate messages from another router node within direct communication range is beneficial.

[0021] However, when a unicast message is generated for a non-router node, it is beneficial to assign a router node to represent the non-router node on the core mesh network for routing purposes. Unlike broadcast messages, unicast messages are sent along a route between a source node and a destination node. In this example, the destination node is a non-router node, and the source node could be a central controller, a gateway, or another node in the network. Although there can be more than one router node within the expected direct communication range of the non-router node, it is beneficial to specify only one router node to represent the non-router node on the mesh network when establishing unicast routes and delivering messages to avoid any resource confusion or waste. Preferably, the non-router node is associated with a nearby router node whose connection to the non-router node is better than any other candidate router node.

[0022] To send messages generated by a non-router node, the non-router node can, but does not necessarily need to, send them via its associated router node. In one example, a non-router node might know of another nearby router node, rather than its associated router node, due to previously received broadcast messages. The non-router node can simply send messages via that router node, especially if good link quality is detected based on messages recently received from that router node.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, in order to perform network maintenance after network initialization, the steps of the method are repeated periodically or when a triggering event occurs, and the triggering event can be at least one of the following: a change in node location, a change in node power supply status, a change in traffic pattern, a change in system settings, and a change in link quality between two nodes among a plurality of nodes.

[0024] The methods described above are primarily designed to improve efficiency during the network initialization phase, configuring large, dense wireless systems into hybrid network topologies. However, the same approach can also be used for network maintenance purposes by repeating these steps periodically or based on triggered events. This is because one or more adjacency relationships can change over time, and the original configuration determined based on the initial adjacency relationships during the network initialization phase may no longer be optimal. For example, a node configured as a router node may fail. Some older nodes may be removed from the system, while new nodes may be added. Layouts in office areas or factories may change, and some connections between nodes may be blocked; or in home / office environments, such as closing doors or moving furniture; portable nodes (such as Hue Go) may be moved around; nodes may have their power supply to their trunk lines removed (trunk power switches). New deployments of central controllers or gateways may also occur. In smart lighting environments, an example of what might lead to updated adjacency relationships could be changing layouts for over-the-air (OTA) programming or deploying new lighting scenes or environments, requiring reconfiguration of the relationships between different nodes, such as associating different switches or sensors with lighting devices in a specific area. Therefore, it is highly beneficial to perform the same process to refresh the configuration of the hybrid topology to accommodate changes in the system.

[0025] In another embodiment, step a) of the method further includes:

[0026] - Pre-select the first subset of multiple nodes as temporary router nodes;

[0027] - Query each ephemeral router node for at least one adjacent relationship around each ephemeral router node;

[0028] In this process, the temporary router nodes are preselected in such a way that each of the multiple nodes is found at least once based on one of the adjacency relationships queried by the temporary router node.

[0029] To establish one or more neighbor relationships, each node in the system can be queried to provide information about its perceived neighbors, thus establishing a relationship between the queried node and each reported neighbor. However, in large, dense networks, querying all nodes one by one can be a considerably lengthy process. Furthermore, considering that each node may have many neighboring nodes within its direct communication range, and that similar neighbor relationships may be identified by these nodes, this could also lead to a large amount of redundant information. Therefore, pre-selecting a subset of multiple nodes as temporary router nodes for collecting neighbor relationships may be more beneficial.

[0030] Temporary router nodes can be pre-selected using a quasi-random method. Preferably, upon network initialization, a greater number of temporary router nodes than the number of router nodes in the system will be selected. As disclosed above, given some prior knowledge of the system, a rough estimate of the number of router nodes required to provide full coverage of the system can be derived with good accuracy. Based on this information, temporary router nodes can be intentionally pre-selected to have a higher density than the final or planned number of router nodes, because the task of temporary router nodes is to create an overview of adjacency relationships in the system rather than to build an efficient core mesh network.

[0031] In one example, temporary router nodes are pre-selected one by one by the network initiation device via point-to-point wireless connection or manually via wireless network according to a second communication protocol, wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.

[0032] As an option, temporary router nodes can be manually pre-selected by a network entry initialization device, which can be controlled by a network entry initialization engineer. While moving around an area where multiple nodes are deployed, the engineer can manually select a subset of nodes as temporary router nodes based on simple rules. For example, they could select a node near the entrance for each room as a temporary router node. They could also select a node from a given number of nodes based on the deployment density.

[0033] The network initialization device can connect to a node via a point-to-point connection according to a second communication protocol. Here, we consider point-to-point connections to also include point-to-multipoint connections. Such point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connections are characterized by a single-hop direct link, which offers the advantage of ease of setup. To select a temporary router node, the network initialization engineer can control the network initialization device to send messages, such as beacon messages, to invite the node via a point-to-point connection. Because the network initialization device is close to the selected node, additional requirements regarding proximity (such as a predefined RSSI threshold) may be used to exclude another nearby node from mistakenly picking up the invitation.

[0034] Alternatively, the network initialization device can connect to the nodes via a wireless network according to a first communication protocol. Therefore, in this method, it may be necessary for multiple nodes, or a subset of multiple nodes, to connect to the same wireless network as the network initialization device. One way to add a new node to the network is to have a wireless device (in most cases a central controller, gateway, or bridging device) turn on the wireless network and allow the new wireless node to automatically join the network; this is known as an automatic joining process. Once the network is formed in this way, nodes will typically appear randomly, meaning that locating devices will take a considerable amount of time. In smart lighting applications, this also means that the network initialization engineer may have to identify each light fixture individually by sending a flashing command to each device and registering each device to a group of locations. In this example, the network initialization device can use additional proximity criteria, such as Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), to pick up nearby nodes to operate as temporary router nodes.

[0035] In another example, temporary router nodes are formed by multiple nodes themselves or by the network access initialization device via a point-to-point wireless connection according to a second communication protocol, based on predefined rules, or by automatic pre-selection by the central controller on the wireless network, wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.

[0036] In a preferred option, ephemeral router nodes are automatically pre-selected according to predefined rules. This automatic process can be performed by multiple nodes themselves. For example, each node can have a unique identifier, and each node can independently determine whether it should be an ephemeral router node based on the characteristics of that unique identifier. Such a unique identifier can be a long address, such as a Media Access Control (MAC) address according to the IEEE 802 standard. According to the predefined rules, certain nodes whose MAC addresses satisfy the predefined rules select themselves as ephemeral router nodes. As an example, the predefined rules could specify that nodes with MAC addresses ending in one or two or more zero bits become ephemeral router nodes, or the MAC address could be a number... Divisibility. By changing the predefined rules, the ratio of the number of temporary router nodes to the number of other nodes can be adjusted accordingly.

[0037] Temporary router nodes can also be automatically pre-selected by the network initialization device via a point-to-point wireless connection. As an example, the network initialization device can periodically and automatically send beacons at fixed intervals via a point-to-point connection to invite nearby nodes to become temporary router nodes. Along with the beacon messages, proximity requirements can be imposed, such as by setting a strict RSSI threshold. Therefore, at any given time, only one nearby node may meet the requirements and be registered as a temporary router node. Temporary router nodes are also selected as the network initialization engineer moves around the area with the network initialization device, without further monitoring by the engineer.

[0038] Alternatively, ephemeral router nodes can be automatically pre-selected by a central controller or gateway device on the wireless network. In this case, multiple nodes or a subset of multiple nodes can initially connect to the network according to the described automatic joining process. Then, the central controller or gateway device can assign nodes as ephemeral router nodes based on the sequence or order in which the nodes are connected, or based on the ephemeral network address assigned to the node. As an example, the central controller or gateway device can assign one ephemeral router node for every ten nodes connected to the network. In another example, similar to the method disclosed above for MAC addresses, the central controller or gateway device can also assign an ephemeral router node if the node's ephemeral network address meets a predefined criterion.

[0039] Advantageously, the wireless point-to-point connection operates according to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.

[0040] In one example, a point-to-point connection according to the second communication protocol can also be a point-to-multipoint connection. In a preferred configuration, the second wireless communication protocol is based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard. It is advantageous for the network initialization device to establish a link with nearby nodes using a simple setup of point-to-point or point-to-multipoint connections (such as BLE beacons).

[0041] Preferably, the adjacency relationship is an adjacency table that includes a list of adjacent nodes among multiple nodes within the direct communication range, and each node in the list is identified by a predefined unique identifier for that node.

[0042] Neighborhood relationships can be obtained via a wireless network according to a first wireless communication protocol or via a point-to-point connection according to a second wireless communication protocol.

[0043] As an option for obtaining neighbor relationships via a wireless network, multiple nodes can first join the wireless network opened by the central controller or gateway device according to the automatic joining process described above. Then, each node can broadcast a message to request address information of nodes within its direct communication range or single-hop distance, and establish neighbor relationships based on responses received from nearby neighboring nodes.

[0044] As a second option, adjacency relationships can be obtained directly via point-to-point connections without joining a wireless network. Each node capable of supporting a second communication protocol can send messages, such as BLE beacons, to its neighbors within one-hop direct communication range. Nodes can then create adjacency tables by recording responses from their neighbors. One advantage of establishing adjacency tables via point-to-point connections is flexibility, as the process can be performed independently of the wireless network, or even before the wireless network is created.

[0045] These two options can also be implemented more efficiently through the pre-selection of ephemeral router nodes. Instead of having each of the multiple nodes build a local adjacency table, the ephemeral router nodes are only instructed to collect such information, such as when pre-selected as an ephemeral router node or when querying to provide adjacency relationships to network initiation devices or central controller / gateway devices.

[0046] Advantageously, the adjacent table also includes the signal characteristics of each node in the list, which are quantified to be close to the corresponding adjacent node.

[0047] The neighbor table can include more information than just a unique identifier for each neighboring node. For example, proximity information reflected by signal characteristics can be very useful. Signal characteristics could be RSSI or another link quality indicator of responses received from neighboring nodes. Such proximity information is particularly beneficial in dense networks where each node can have a considerable number of neighboring nodes within direct communication range. Router nodes can be selected more intelligently based on further proximity information. For example, a node with more neighbors may not always be a better candidate for a router node compared to another node with fewer neighbors but better link quality to its neighbors.

[0048] In the preferred configuration, the wireless network operates according to the Zigbee protocol.

[0049] The Zigbee standard is widely used in home automation and lighting control applications. The Zigbee network layer itself supports both star and tree topologies, as well as general mesh networking. Robust topology control provides great flexibility in control systems, especially for reaching target nodes far from the source node when there is no direct link.

[0050] However, in large, dense networks, allowing each node to act as a router node to relay messages can lead to significant performance degradation due to frequent packet collisions and excessive redundancy. Dividing large, dense networks into a sparse core network (including router nodes with multi-hop capabilities) and numerous small, local star networks (including non-router nodes surrounding each router node) according to the Zigbee protocol can greatly improve the efficiency of wireless systems in terms of more available bandwidth, less interference, and reduced latency.

[0051] Benefically, the selection of router nodes and non-router nodes also includes an address assignment scheme, which includes:

[0052] - Assign a network address for operation on the wireless network to each of the plurality of nodes, wherein the network address includes a first subfield and a second subfield; and

[0053] Specifically, a first subfield is set to a first value to uniquely distinguish a router node from another router node, and this first value is shared by the router node and one or more non-router nodes associated with it; and a second subfield is set to a second value to uniquely distinguish the router node and the one or more associated non-router nodes from each other; and

[0054] The first subfield of the network address is used to reach the router node via multi-hop relay addressing when the unicast message has a router node or a router node associated with the router node as its expected destination; and the second subfield of the network address is used to identify the router node and the expected destination among one or more non-router nodes associated with the router node.

[0055] Given the significant challenges of routing in large-scale networks, the exposed addressing scheme can be combined with the assignment of router nodes to non-router nodes to facilitate efficient routing to non-router nodes. The network address assigned to each of the multiple nodes includes a first subfield and a second subfield. The first subfield is set to a first unique value to uniquely identify the router node and one or more non-router nodes associated with it from all other nodes in the system. The second subfield is set to a second unique value to further uniquely identify the router node and one or more non-router nodes associated with it. By using such an addressing scheme, routing becomes more straightforward and efficient. Router nodes in the central controller or gateway device or system do not need to store very large routing tables because the routing table only needs to store routing information to the router node, not to all nodes. It also helps reduce the overhead in unicast messages imposed by source-based routing methods.

[0056] In a preferred system setup, the wireless system is used for lighting control and / or for controlling sensors and collecting sensing data.

[0057] In a preferred configuration, the wireless system is used for lighting control, and it can also be used to collect status information and sensing data from actuators and sensors placed alongside or near the light. In another example, the wireless system could also be a control system for building automation in an office or home, or for industrial control in a factory.

[0058] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a wireless system is provided. The wireless system includes:

[0059] - Multiple nodes; and

[0060] - The central controller is configured to open the wireless network and initialize multiple nodes to join the wireless network according to the present invention.

[0061] The wireless system includes a central controller that activates a wireless network operating according to a first communication protocol. As described above, the central controller may also be a gateway device that communicates with multiple nodes via the wireless network and establishes connections between these nodes and external networks. The central controller or gateway device allows multiple nodes to join the network randomly via automatic joining. Multiple nodes can detect neighbor information in a distributed manner via the wireless network according to the first communication protocol or via point-to-point connections. Preferably, temporary router nodes can be automatically pre-selected according to predefined rules to expedite the collection of one or more neighbor relationships. By establishing neighbor relationships, the central controller or gateway device can select a subset of nodes as router nodes to establish a sparse core mesh network based on neighbor relationships, and assign other nodes as non-router nodes by disabling routing capabilities when present. Therefore, configuring multiple nodes as router nodes and non-router nodes is under the control of the central controller or gateway device.

[0062] According to another aspect of the present invention, a different wireless system is provided. The wireless system includes:

[0063] - Multiple nodes;

[0064] - Central controller, configured to enable wireless network; and

[0065] - Network initialization device, configured to initialize multiple nodes to the wireless network according to the present invention.

[0066] In another setup, the wireless system also includes a network initialization device, which enables more efficient configuration. The network initialization device can connect to nodes in the system via a point-to-point connection or via a network. The simplicity of a point-to-point connection provides greater flexibility. The network initialization device can use a point-to-point connection to provide network credentials to a nearby node, allowing that node to join the network more selectively. The network initialization device can also use a point-to-point connection to read neighbor information from a node, thus manually or automatically collecting neighbor relationships. It can also perform neighbor-based calculations to deduce a subset of router nodes. Therefore, configuring multiple nodes as router nodes and non-router nodes is under the control of the network initialization device.

[0067] The present invention can be embodied in a distributed computer program including code means, which, when executed by multiple nodes, each including a processing means, causes the processing means included in the multiple nodes to execute the method according to the invention in a common manner.

[0068] The present invention can be further embodied in a computer program including code means, which, when executed by a node including a processing means, causes the processing means to perform the method according to the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0069] In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally refer to the same parts in different drawings. Furthermore, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but generally focus on illustrating the principles of the invention.

[0070] Figure 1 A wireless system with multiple nodes distributed at a high density was demonstrated;

[0071] Figure 2 A wireless system with multi-hop communication on a sparse network according to a first communication protocol is demonstrated;

[0072] Figure 3 A wireless system was demonstrated that temporary router nodes were assigned from multiple nodes;

[0073] Figure 4 The basic components of one node in a wireless system are schematically depicted.

[0074] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating a method for initializing multiple nodes to join a wireless network is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0075] like Figure 1As shown, various embodiments of the invention will now be described based on a wireless network 100 comprising multiple nodes 500. This network may be a local network serving a specific control purpose under the control of a local coordinator 600. The network may also be connected to a cloud or backbone network via a gateway, bridge, or router device 600. In a lighting environment, nodes 500 may be included in lighting equipment, illuminators, sensors, or switches to serve the communication functions of the lighting equipment, illuminators, sensors, or switches. In a broader building / home automation environment, nodes 500 may also be included in HVAC systems, smart refrigerators, smart ovens, other smart large appliances, or remote controllers.

[0076] Given that a system can include a large number of nodes, transmissions from those nodes may conflict with each other, especially when they are deployed at a high density. It is worth noting that a high-density network here refers to a network where most nodes see more than one neighbor node, and there may be two or more nodes within one-hop direct communication range of a single node in the network. This invention aims to improve the efficiency of initializing such large, dense networks into a combination of a sparse mesh network and numerous local star networks surrounding each router node in the mesh network.

[0077] To achieve this goal, such as Figure 2 The invention illustrated herein proposes selecting a subset of multiple nodes as router nodes, while the remainder remain non-router nodes. A node is configured as router node 200, which operates with routing capabilities enabled according to a first communication protocol. Router node 200 is operable to distribute control commands to multiple nodes 500 via multi-hop routing and forward status information from multiple nodes 500. Therefore, the router nodes establish a sparse multi-hop network according to the first communication protocol, which acts as a core network of the wireless system. Figure 2As shown by the dashed circles, a local star network is established around each router node 200 with a one-hop direct link. The local star network includes one or more non-router nodes 300. In an extreme case, some router nodes 200 may be associated with zero non-router nodes, for example, in certain areas with low density locally within the network. Non-router nodes 300 can be configured to operate according to a first communication protocol when routing capabilities are disabled. For broadcast messages, a non-router node can receive them directly from at least one nearby router node. Optionally, a non-router node can also be configured to operate primarily according to a second communication protocol, for example, supporting a second application in addition to the main application performed by the wireless network. In that scenario, to deliver messages to such a non-router node, it may be necessary for the router node to undertake additional work to switch to operation according to the second communication protocol on demand, or for the non-router node to periodically rotate between the two operating modes in order to be able to obtain messages from the wireless network using the first communication protocol.

[0078] Figure 2 This demonstrates bidirectional multi-hop communication on a sparse network according to a first communication protocol. The sparse multi-hop network includes router nodes and acts as the core network of the wireless system. Therefore, the router nodes are responsible for ensuring the connectivity of the entire system, especially for nodes far from the central controller or gateway. By making the wireless network sparse from a multi-hop routing perspective according to the first communication protocol, mutual interference between adjacent nodes is significantly suppressed. The reduced packet collisions and retransmissions also improve system efficiency in terms of power consumption, latency, and available network bandwidth.

[0079] The local star network surrounding each router node can operate according to a first communication protocol by disabling multi-hop routing capabilities, or according to a second communication protocol via a point-to-point connection as described above.

[0080] The first wireless communication protocol primarily enables large-scale information distribution and collection in wireless control systems with multiple nodes, which can be used for lighting control and / or building automation. Importantly, the first wireless communication protocol supports multi-hop routing, which can be Zigbee, Thread, Bluetooth Mesh, Wi-Fi Mesh, WirelessHART, SmartRF, CityTouch, IP500, Z-wave, or any other mesh or tree-based technology.

[0081] Preferably, the second wireless communication protocol conforms to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard. It can also be Wi-Fi Direct, Zigbee Inter-PAN, Zigbee Touchlink, or another wireless communication standard that facilitates easy setup of point-to-point connections.

[0082] Given that two communication systems operating under the first and second communication protocols can use different frequency planning and time scheduling, a potential advantage of the local star network around each router node operating under the second communication protocol is that it can significantly reduce mutual interference compared to homogeneous networks.

[0083] The selection of router nodes is based on one or more established adjacency relationships. In the most basic setup, one or more adjacency relationships are collected from each of the multiple nodes 500 in system 100. Given the size of the system, such a process can be very time-consuming. The high density of the network can also lead to a large amount of redundant information being collected and processed, which further reduces the efficiency of the process. Therefore, the inventors recognized the advantages of pre-selecting a set of temporary router nodes to collect adjacency relationships in a more efficient manner.

[0084] Figure 3 A wireless system with ephemeral router nodes pre-selected from multiple nodes is demonstrated. As an option, the ephemeral router nodes are manually pre-selected by a network access initialization device 650, which can be controlled by a network access initialization engineer. While moving around an area where multiple nodes 500 are deployed, the network access initialization engineer can manually select a subset of nodes 500 as ephemeral router nodes 400 according to simple rules. For example, he can select a node near the entrance for each room as an ephemeral router node. He can also select a node from a certain number of nodes based on the node deployment density.

[0085] The network initiation device 650 can establish a point-to-point connection with a nearby individual node 500 according to a second communication protocol. The network initiation device 650 can also provide network credentials related to the wireless network to the individual node 500 via the point-to-point connection. Therefore, the joining method is based on out-of-band joining because the second communication protocol differs from the first communication protocol. In one example, network credentials and identifiers, such as Zigbee channel, Zigbee short PAN ID, Zigbee extended PAN ID, network key, link key, and Zigbee short address, are uploaded by the network initiation device 650 to the individual node 500 via a BLE connection.

[0086] The network initialization device 650 can also join the wireless network and communicate with nearby individual nodes according to the first communication protocol. This also means that individual nodes will first join the network according to the automatic joining process.

[0087] In another option, the temporary router node is selected by multiple nodes 500 themselves, or by the network initiation device 650 via a point-to-point wireless connection according to a second communication protocol, or by the central controller 600 on the wireless network 100 according to predefined rules. The predefined rules can be defined based on the unique identifier of the node 500, the short network address of the node 500, the sequence / order of joining the wireless network, or another randomly generated value based on an attribute or activity of the node 500.

[0088] Depending on the participation of the network access initialization device 650 and the capabilities of the node 500, such as whether it supports the second communication protocol, the disclosed invention can be implemented in several different scenarios. For ease of description, Zigbee is used as an example of the first communication protocol, and BLE is used as an example of the second communication protocol to illustrate the different scenarios.

[0089] Scenario 1. Zigbee only (manual selection on router node 200, automatic network joining on non-router node 300)

[0090] In the first phase of network initialization, after the central controller powers on the Zigbee network, it adds all nodes 500 or only temporary router nodes 400 to the Zigbee network. Temporary router nodes are selected individually, which can be performed via trigger-based joining, whereby the installer or network initialization engineer triggers only the nodes / devices 500 that need to be used as routers. This joining can be triggered by various methods, such as button press, specific power cycle, infrared (IR) pointing, laser pointing, or proximity detection via wireless signals assisted by the network initialization device 650.

[0091] Preferably, after the trigger-based joining process, the temporary router node 400 is assigned a short network address. It can be a random number or a number that follows certain rules, such as an integer. Multiples of. Additional rules may have the advantage of logically linking one or more non-router devices 300 to a specific router short address and guaranteeing the uniqueness of each short address for the non-router node 300 (which will be assigned...). The short address, of which ). Should be selected so that ,in This is the maximum expected number of router nodes in the system, and It should be greater than the total number of 300 non-router nodes that will be associated with each router node.

[0092] During the first phase of network initialization, temporary router nodes 400 need to be selected, such that each non-router node 300 preferably has multiple, but at least one, adjacent temporary router nodes 400. Therefore, there is sufficient redundancy in the network. After the temporary router nodes 400 have been added to the network, the network is shut down by the central controller.

[0093] In the second phase of the network initialization process, the temporary router node 400 is instructed (via unicast or broadcast) to send an InterPAN message containing instructions for each non-router node 300 to send a response InterPAN message, which includes its unique identifier, such as a Zigbee MAC address. The temporary router node 400 collects these response messages and uses RSSI information derived from them to build a neighbor table for nearby devices. The neighbor table includes identifier information for neighboring nodes and may also include signal characteristics or proximity information for each neighboring node, such as RSSI, LQI, or distance indicators. To appropriately support optimization processes at the central controller, the temporary router node 400 may store more information about non-router nodes 300 than is appropriate for its neighbor / sub-table, allowing non-router nodes 300 with weaker signals or located slightly further away from all temporary router nodes 400 to also be represented.

[0094] After a predetermined time period, the central controller or gateway device 600 queries each temporary router node 400 for its adjacency relationships or a list of neighboring nodes. Using the adjacency relationships collected from the different temporary router nodes 400, the central controller or gateway device 600 can use an optimization algorithm to determine which devices 500 should be configured as router devices 200, and for each router device 200, which are non-router devices 300 to be associated with. This assignment of non-router devices, such as a list of non-router devices identified by Zigbee long addresses or Zigbee MAC addresses, is sent by the central controller to each of the determined router nodes 200. Upon receiving this information from the central controller, the router node 200 sends a third InterPAN message to the designated non-router nodes 300, which triggers these devices to join the network via that router node 200 and begin associating with it. Subsequently, the router node 200 sends the respective Zigbee short addresses to these nodes via Zigbee unicast commands or, alternatively, a fourth InterPAN message.

[0095] Based on neighbor relationships, optimization algorithms are used to optimize the topology when selecting the set of routing nodes, minimizing the number of routing nodes as much as possible without affecting the overall network connectivity. Different algorithms can be employed here; for example, a set of algorithms based on graph theory has been developed to construct vertex coverage in wireless sensor networks.

[0096] Non-router node The network short address should preferably be given by the following formula.

[0097] , (1)

[0098] in It is the short address of the associated router node, which is preferably given by the following formula.

[0099] (2)

[0100] It is the maximum number of non-router nodes associated with each router node.

[0101] In this way, each non-router node 300 has a predictable short address directly bound to the short address of its associated router node 200. This significantly simplifies routing because a node or central controller 600 sending a unicast message to a non-router node 300 does not need to know the route to that node, but only the route to its associated router node 200. This can reduce the size of the routing table by (up to) approximately Factors.

[0102] Scenario 2. Zigbee + BLE (manually select router node 200, and automatically join the network on non-router node 300)

[0103] When multiple nodes 500 also support BLE communication, the above-described semi-automatic network entry initialization process can also be completed in an alternative manner. In this case, nodes 500 begin by issuing BLE advertisements indicating their existence and establishing adjacency relationships by sending connectable or non-connectable advertisements. Temporary router nodes 400 can be added to the network one by one by a network entry initialization device 650 (e.g., a mobile phone). The network entry initialization device 650 sends network credentials or identifiers (link key, network key, Zigbee channel, Zigbee short panID, Zigbee extended panID, Zigbee short address) to each temporary router node 400 and reads the Zigbee long address or Zigbee MAC address, or another unique identifier, through a point-to-point BLE connection from each temporary router node 400. At this time, each temporary router node 400 is assigned a Zigbee short address according to (2).

[0104] After selecting ephemeral router nodes 400, the central controller sends commands to all ephemeral router nodes 400 to begin scanning BLE advertisements from neighboring nodes, or to use results from earlier scans. Then, ephemeral router nodes 400 can stop their own BLE advertising and listen for advertisements from neighboring nodes. After a predetermined time, ephemeral router nodes 400 can create a BLE neighbor table based on the RSSI value of advertisements from neighboring devices (which are still advertising) or another signaling / link quality indicator. The central controller then queries this BLE neighbor table of each ephemeral router node 400 across the Zigbee network. The central controller 600 can calculate the optimal combination of assigned router nodes 200 and notify those router nodes 200 of the list of non-router nodes 300 to be associated with.

[0105] Upon receiving the list of non-router nodes 300, router device 200 establishes a BLE connection with each of the non-router nodes 300 and sends them network credentials, adapting their Zigbee short network addresses to the addresses specified in (1). Alternatively, Zigbee auto-join can be used, where each router node 200 allows only its intended non-router nodes to join by rejecting join requests from other nodes. In this approach, all nodes 500 should be in auto-join mode by default upon power-up (preferably at a low frequency), or auto-join mode should be triggered by a non-connectivity BLE beacon sent from each router node, which also contains some network credentials of the intended non-router device. After each device 500 is added to the Zigbee network 100, they should immediately configure themselves according to their assigned role, router node or non-router node.

[0106] Scenario 3. BLE+Zigbee (Automatic selection of router nodes)

[0107] Starting with the semi-automatic network entry initialization process in Scenario 2, the assignment of temporary router nodes 400 can also be completed automatically. In this case, nodes 500 again begin sending out BLE advertisements indicating whether they are connectable or not to indicate their presence. After power-on, each node 500 will also build its RSSI-ordered (BLE) neighbor table by scanning the BLE advertisements of other nearby nodes.

[0108] The network initiation device 650 then automatically establishes BLE connections to each node one by one. Through the BLE connections, the network initiation device 650 sends Zigbee network credentials to each device 500 and reads the BLE neighbor table of each device 500. Afterward, the network initiation device assigns temporary Zigbee short addresses to node 500. To avoid network overload at this point, it can be designed so that only one node out of every N nodes is selected as the temporary router node 400, and the remaining N-1 nodes are non-router nodes 300. After pre-selecting the temporary router nodes 400, the network initiation device or the network controller queries the BLE neighbor tables of all temporary router devices 400 (alternatively, this can be done by the network initiation device 650 when providing network parameters) and calculates an optimal set of router devices 200 and non-router devices 300, where each router and non-router device has enough neighboring router devices to establish a route to the central controller or to another node in the network. When the network initiation device 650 is used in this step, it can then establish a BLE connection to one of the nodes and use it as a proxy to send Zigbee commands throughout the network. Otherwise, the network initiation device may also need to join the Zigbee network. When using a central controller, it connects to the network to send Zigbee commands directly.

[0109] Using a temporary Zigbee short address for each node 500, the network initiation device 650 now uses a BLE-Zigbee tunnel, or alternatively it sends it directly from the central controller to each device 500 to deploy each device 500's role in the network, and to assign a final Zigbee short address to each device according to (1) and (2). Similar to Scenario 2, RSSI / neighbor information can also be obtained via the Zigbee network (e.g., according to link-state messages) once the Zigbee network has been established, for purposes such as future network updates.

[0110] Scenario 4. BLE+Zigbee (automatic selection of router nodes, with no need for manual addition)

[0111] In this scenario, the central controller 600 opens the Zigbee network 100, and all nodes 500 automatically join the Zigbee network one by one. Each newly joined node sends a device announcement. After receiving the announcement, the central controller 600 sends a Zigbee command to the new node, temporarily designating it as either router 400 or a non-router device 300. The controller can maintain a counter and designate the first and every nth device as a temporary router 400, and the remaining (n-1) devices as non-router devices 300.

[0112] After the entire network is formed in this way, the network controller 600 queries the BLE (and / or Zigbee) neighbor tables of all devices 500 or only temporary router devices 400, calculates the optimal set of router devices 200 and non-router devices 300, each router device and non-router device having enough neighboring router devices to be able to establish a route to the central controller 600. The controller sends a Zigbee unicast message to each of the nodes 500 using the temporary Zigbee short address of each node 500 to deploy the final role of each device 500 and assign the final Zigbee short address to each device 500, which may again reflect the rules according to (1) and (2).

[0113] The above scenario can also be accomplished using a network entry initialization device 650, which uses the first node as a proxy device and sends all Zigbee commands through a BLE-Zigbee tunnel. Alternatively, the above scenario can also use InterPAN messages instead of BLE advertisements to create the BLE neighbor table.

[0114] In some of the scenarios described above, selectively powering parts or subsets of the network and adding these parts one by one to the entire network can be beneficial. In this way, we avoid situations where we have more than 100-200 nodes, which are router nodes, during the entire network initialization process. It also avoids situations where 100-200 devices simultaneously begin sending beacon requests. This can be particularly useful when using automatic joining, as it will reduce the total time spent establishing the network.

[0115] Extensions applicable to all scenarios

[0116] When the central controller 600 needs to query the status of certain devices 200 and 300 in the network, the aforementioned (short) addressing scheme and router / non-router relationships, if consistent with the network topology / logical grouping, are highly beneficial. It can query only router device 200, instead of querying each device individually. Router device 200 can either preload status information by periodically querying its child / associated non-router devices 300 (via single-hop unicast), or do so on demand. In both cases, router device 200 will send status information on behalf of itself and all its child / associated non-router devices, significantly reducing the number of messages sent over multiple hops.

[0117] In addition, router node 200 can use this method to detect whether a child node has missed a broadcast message for some reason, and "fix" it by sending a unicast message to the affected child node.

[0118] Furthermore, if a router node and its associated non-router nodes are in the same Zigbee group, the Zigbee group assignment can benefit from the semi-automatic network entry initialization process described above. In such a scenario, Zigbee group assignment can be accomplished by assigning a router immediately after joining the network and having router device 200 assign the same Zigbee group number to its child nodes after they join the network. The same method can also be applied to selective power supply schemes.

[0119] Figure 4 The basic components of one of a plurality of nodes 200, 300, 400, and 500 in a wireless system 100 are schematically depicted. Nodes 200, 300, 400, and 500 include a radio unit 510 capable of operating according to at least one or both of a first communication protocol capable of supporting mesh or tree networks with multi-hop routing and a second communication protocol capable of supporting point-to-point connections. Radio unit 510 may be a combined device supporting both the first and second communication protocols and operating in a time-interleaved manner according to either of the two communication protocols. Radio unit 510 may include two separate single-mode transceivers 520 and 530, each supporting one communication protocol. Nodes 200, 300, 400, and 500 also include a controller 540 configured to control the node to operate as a router node or a non-router node, depending on the configuration.

[0120] Optionally, such as Figure 4 As indicated by 550, nodes 200, 300, 400, and 500 may also include application controllers and / or actuators. The application controllers or actuators may be related to the control functionality of the nodes in the lighting environment or the broader building automation environment. The application controllers and / or actuators can execute control commands received by the nodes. Furthermore, status information is provided by the application controllers and / or actuators as feedback to the control system.

[0121] In another option, such as Figure 4 As shown in 560, nodes 200, 300, 400, and 500 may also include sensors. Sensor 560 can be configured to detect presence and / or environmental information, such as temperature and humidity. Sensing data can be collected in addition to or independently of the status information of the nodes or application controllers and / or actuators.

[0122] Figure 5A flowchart of a method 700 for initializing multiple nodes to a wireless network is shown. In step S703, one or more adjacency relationships are established among the multiple nodes 500, and each of the multiple nodes 500 is found at least once from one of the one or more adjacency relationships. In step S704, a subset of nodes among the multiple nodes 500 is configured to operate as router nodes 200 by enabling multi-hop routing capabilities for relaying messages in the wireless network; and in step S705, the remaining nodes among the multiple nodes other than the router nodes are configured to operate as non-router nodes 300, which, when present, do not relay messages by disabling multi-hop routing capabilities; and wherein the router nodes 200 and non-router nodes 300 are configured based on one or more adjacency relationships such that at least one router node 200 exists within the direct communication range of the non-router nodes 300.

[0123] Optionally, method 700 includes additional step S706, wherein each of the non-router nodes is associated with a router node within direct communication range, and wherein sending a unicast message to a non-router node is performed via the corresponding router node.

[0124] In another example, the disclosed method 700 includes two additional steps: in step S701, a first subset of the plurality of nodes is preselected as temporary router nodes 400; and in step S702, each temporary router node 400 is queried to find its adjacency relationship.

[0125] The method according to the invention can be implemented on a computer as a computer-implemented method, or in dedicated hardware, or in a combination of both.

[0126] The executable code of the method according to the invention can be stored on a computer / machine-readable storage device. Examples of computer / machine-readable storage devices include non-volatile memory devices, optical storage media / devices, solid-state media, integrated circuits, servers, etc. Preferably, the computer program product includes non-transitory program code means stored on a computer-readable medium, as disclosed in the above embodiments, for executing the method according to the invention when the program product is executed on a computer or a processing device included in a node or network or network access initialization device.

[0127] Methods, systems, and computer-readable media (transitory and non-transitory) may also be provided to implement selected aspects of the embodiments described above.

[0128] The term "controller" is used herein to generally describe various means relating to the operation of one or more network devices or coordinators—among other functions. A controller can be implemented in a variety of ways (e.g., such as with dedicated hardware) to perform the various functions discussed herein. A "processor" is an example of a controller employing one or more microprocessors, which can be programmed using software (e.g., microcode) to perform the various functions discussed herein. A controller can be implemented with or without a processor, and can also be implemented as a combination of dedicated hardware performing some functions and a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry) performing other functions. Examples of controller components that can be employed in various embodiments of this disclosure include, but are not limited to, conventional microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0129] In various embodiments, the processor or controller may be associated with one or more storage media (collectively referred to herein as "memory," such as volatile and non-volatile computer memories, such as RAM, PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM, compact disks, optical disks, etc.). In some embodiments, the storage media may be encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more processors and / or controllers, perform at least some of the functions discussed herein. Various storage media may be fixed within the processor or controller, or may be transportable, such that one or more programs stored thereon may be loaded into the processor or controller to implement various aspects of the invention discussed herein. The terms "program" or "computer program" are used herein in a general sense to refer to any type of computer code (e.g., software or microcode) that can be used to program one or more processors or controllers.

[0130] As used herein, the term “network” refers to any interconnection of two or more devices (including controllers or processors) that facilitates the transport of information (e.g., for device control, data storage, data exchange, etc.) between any two or more devices coupled to the network.

[0131] Unless explicitly indicated otherwise, the indefinite articles “a” and “an” (“a” and “an”) used herein in the specification and claims shall be understood to mean “at least one”.

[0132] As used herein in the specification and claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and / or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and / or” should be interpreted as inclusive, i.e., including multiple elements or at least one of the elements in the list, but also including multiple elements or more than one of the elements in the list, and optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms that explicitly indicate the opposite, such as “only one of…” or “exact one of…”, or when used in a claim, “consisting of…” will refer to including multiple elements or exactly one of the elements in the list. In general, the term “or” as used herein, when preceded by an exclusive term such as “any,” “one of…,” “only one of…,” or “exact one of…”, should only be interpreted as indicating an exclusive alternative (i.e., “one or the other, but not both”). “Substantially consisting of…” when used in a claim should have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[0133] As used herein in the specification and claims, the phrase "at least one" referring to a list of one or more elements should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more elements in the list, but does not necessarily include at least one of every element specifically listed in the list, and does not exclude any combination of elements in the list. This definition also allows for the optional presence of elements other than those specifically identified in the list of elements referred to by the phrase "at least one," whether related to or unrelated to those specifically identified elements.

[0134] It should also be understood that, unless expressly indicated to the contrary, in any method claimed herein that includes more than one step or action, the order of the steps or actions of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which they are referenced. Furthermore, the reference numerals appearing between parentheses in the claims (if any) are provided merely for convenience and should not be construed as limiting the claims in any way.

[0135] In the claims, and in the description above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “accommodating,” “containing,” etc., shall be understood as open-ended, meaning including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting substantially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases.

Claims

1. A method (700) for initializing multiple nodes (500) to a wireless network (100) operating according to a first communication protocol, the method comprising the following steps: a) Establish (S703) one or more adjacency relationships between the plurality of nodes (500), and each of the plurality of nodes (500) exists in at least one of the one or more adjacency relationships; b) Configure (S704) a subset of nodes among the plurality of nodes (500) to operate as router nodes (200) by enabling multi-hop routing capability for relaying messages in the wireless network (100); as well as c) Configure (S705) the remaining nodes (500) other than the router node (200) as non-router nodes (300), which, when present, disable the multi-hop routing capability and do not relay messages; Furthermore, the router node (200) and the non-router node (300) are configured based on the one or more adjacency relationships such that at least one router node (200) exists within the direct communication range of the non-router node (300). And step a) further includes: - A first subset of the plurality of nodes (500) pre-selected (S701) as temporary router nodes (400); - Query (S702) for at least one adjacency relationship around each temporary router node (400); The temporary router node (400) is preselected in such a way that each of the plurality of nodes (500) is found at least once in one of the adjacency relationships queried from the temporary router node (400).

2. The method (700) according to claim 1, wherein, The method further includes the following steps: d) Associating each of the non-router nodes (300) with a router node (200) within direct communication range, wherein sending unicast messages to the non-router node (300) is performed via the corresponding router node (200).

3. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, In order to perform network maintenance after network initialization, the steps of the method (700) are repeated periodically or on the occasion of a triggering event, and the triggering event can be at least one of the following: a change in node location, a change in node power supply status, a change in traffic pattern, a change in system settings, and a change in link quality between two of the plurality of nodes (500).

4. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The temporary router nodes (400) are manually pre-selected one by one by the network initialization device (650) according to the second communication protocol via point-to-point wireless connection or via the wireless network (100), wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.

5. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The temporary router node (400) is formed by multiple nodes themselves or by the network access initialization device via a point-to-point wireless connection according to a second communication protocol, based on predefined rules, or by the central controller automatically pre-selecting it on the wireless network, wherein the second communication protocol is different from the first communication protocol.

6. The method (700) according to claim 4, wherein, The point-to-point wireless connection operates according to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.

7. The method (700) according to claim 5, wherein, The point-to-point wireless connection operates according to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol.

8. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the adjacency relationship is an adjacency table of a list of adjacent nodes among the plurality of nodes within the direct communication range, and each node in the list is identified by a predefined unique identifier of that node.

9. The method (700) according to claim 8, wherein the adjacent table further includes a signal feature of each node on the list, the signal feature being quantized to be close to the corresponding adjacent node.

10. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The wireless network (100) operates according to the Zigbee protocol.

11. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The selection of router nodes (200) and non-router nodes (300) also includes an address assignment scheme, which includes: - Assign a network address for operation on the wireless network (100) to each of the plurality of nodes (500), the network address including a first subfield and a second subfield; and Wherein, the first subfield is set to a first value to uniquely distinguish router node (200) from another router node (200), and the first value is shared by the router node (200) and one or more non-router nodes (300) associated with the router node (200), and the second subfield is set to a second value to uniquely distinguish the router node (200) and the one or more associated non-router nodes (300) from each other; and The first subfield of the network address is used to reach the router node (200) via multi-hop relay addressing when the unicast message has an expected destination of the router node (200) or a non-router node (300) associated with the router node; and the second subfield of the network address is used to identify the expected destination among the router node (200) and one or more non-router nodes (300) associated with the router node (200).

12. The method (700) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The wireless network (100) is used for lighting control and / or for controlling sensors and collecting sensing data.

13. A wireless system, the wireless system comprising: - Multiple nodes (500); as well as - A central controller (600) is configured to turn on the wireless network (100) and initialize the plurality of nodes (500) to the wireless network (100) according to the method of claim 1.

14. A wireless system, the wireless system comprising: - Multiple nodes (500); - The central controller (600) is configured to enable the wireless network (100); as well as - Network initialization device (650), configured to initialize the plurality of nodes (500) to the wireless network (100) according to the method of claim 1.

15. A computer program product comprising non-transitory program code means, wherein when the computer program product is executed by a plurality of nodes (500), each node (500) includes a processing means such that the processing means included in the plurality of nodes (500) perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12 in a common manner.

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