Data collection system, mobile base station device, and data collection method

Abstract

The purpose of the present disclosure is to decrease the total time required for data collection and improve data collection efficiency.　The present disclosure provides a data collection system in which a mobile base station device collects data from a plurality of terminal devices disposed in a scattered manner, wherein the mobile base station device collects flag information, which indicates that there is data to be collected, from each terminal device using a control signal prior to establishing communication with the terminal devices, uses the flag information to calculate a data collection path for collecting data from the terminal devices, and moves along the calculated data collection path to collect data from the terminal devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to data collection technology.

Background Art

[0002] As a system for collecting sensing data in IoT (Internet of Thing), a system has been proposed in which a mobile node moves in a sensing area and directly collects data from each sensor terminal (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In Non-Patent Document 1, in order to maximize the data collection amount, information is collected from one sensor terminal, and based on the collected data, the data of surrounding sensor terminals is predicted.

[0003] In the system of Non-Patent Document 1, it is necessary to install a base station for sensing, and it is difficult to deploy sensor terminals widely and dispersedly from the viewpoint of cost. Further, in a wide-area communication system, from the viewpoint of frequency, since the data rate is relatively small, it is not suitable for collecting large-capacity data or collecting data in a batch.

[0004] On the other hand, as described in Non-Patent Document 1, when using a mobile base station, the mobile base station moves at a certain moving speed, and data collection omission is likely to occur. When trying to collect data from all sensor terminals in a short time, the number of sensor terminals that can actually collect data is limited, and it is assumed that data cannot be collected from sensor terminals that should originally be collected.

[0005] In order to avoid data collection omission and ensure sufficient data collection time, it is necessary to reduce the speed of the mobile base station and increase the time allocated to each sensor terminal. However, when implementing it for all sensor terminals, the time for data collection increases dramatically, and when assuming a mobile base station such as an aircraft, there is concern about the impact on the battery and the like.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0006]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The present disclosure aims to reduce the total time required for data collection and improve data collection efficiency.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The data collection system of the present disclosure includes the mobile base station device of the present disclosure, and the plurality of terminal devices, and is provided with them.

[0009] The mobile base station device of the present disclosure executes a data collection method in which the mobile base station device collects data from a plurality of terminal devices distributedly arranged.

[0010] The data collection method of the present disclosure is a data collection method in which a mobile base station device collects data from a plurality of terminal devices distributedly arranged, and the mobile base station device Using a control signal before establishing communication with the terminal device, collect flag information indicating that the data to be collected is available from each terminal device. Using the flag information, calculate a data collection path for collecting data from the terminal device. Move along the calculated data collection path to collect data from the terminal device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present disclosure, the total time required for data collection can be reduced, and the data collection efficiency can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown below. These examples are merely illustrative, and the present disclosure can be implemented in various modified forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. In the present specification and drawings, components with the same reference numerals indicate the same components as each other.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an example of the system configuration of the present disclosure. The data collection system of the present disclosure includes a plurality of sensor terminals 10 and a mobile base station 20 that collects sensing data from the sensor terminals 10. The sensor terminal 10 functions as a terminal device according to the present disclosure, and the mobile base station 20 functions as a mobile base station device according to the present disclosure. The mobile base station 20 is an arbitrary device that can move on land or in the air, and for example, a manned or unmanned aircraft can be exemplified.

[0015] In the present embodiment, there is no facility such as a base station around the sensor terminal 10, and it is assumed that the sensor terminals 10 are distributed in a predetermined sensor distribution area A 10 inside. The sensor distribution area A 10 includes a wide area case such as several km to several tens of km. Also, in the present embodiment, each sensor terminal 10 is set to transmit sensing data to a higher level only when an event occurs and the sensing data has a large capacity such as several days or several hours before and after the event. In the present embodiment, in order to collect aggregated sensing data, when the mobile base station 20 collects sensing data, after establishing data communication with the sensor terminal 10 using TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), the mobile base station 20 performs the uplink of the sensing data.

[0016] (1) The first feature of the present disclosure In the data collection system of the present disclosure, flag determination for collecting sensing data is performed for each sensor terminal 10. For example, among the group of sensor terminals 10, if there is sensing data to be transmitted to a higher level, the mobile base station 20 determines that the sensor terminal 10 is a "sensor with flag". On the other hand, if there is no sensing data to be transmitted to a higher level, it is determined to be a "sensor without flag".

[0017] In FIG. 1, when the sensor terminals 10 for collecting sensing data are sensor terminals 10#3, 10#7, 10#9, 10#10, the mobile base station 20 determines that the sensor terminals 10#3, 10#7, 10#9, 10#10 are sensors with flag. When there is no sensing data collected by the sensor terminals 10#1 to 10#2, 10#4 to 10#6, 10#8, 10#11 to 10#16, the mobile base station 20 determines that the sensor terminals 10#1 to 10#2, 10#4 to 10#6, 10#8, 10#11 to 10#16 are sensors without flag.

[0018] (2) The second feature of the present disclosure The sensor terminal 10 transmits to the mobile base station 20 using a control signal of a wireless communication protocol for transmitting and receiving before establishing data communication with the mobile base station 20 that it is a sensor with flag.

[0019] FIG. 2 shows an example of the frame structure of the control signal. In the present disclosure, the sensor terminal 10 and the mobile base station 20 perform data communication using wireless communication. In this case, the control signal can use a Probe Request frame defined in IEEE802.11 (see Non-Patent Document 2). The storage location of the flag information indicating that it is a sensor with flag is arbitrary, but for example, it can be inserted into a unique extension area such as the Vender specific area of the Probe Request.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows an example of the circuit path for collecting flag information. The mobile base station 20 is in the sensor distribution area A 10It moves along the tour route R1 that can collect flag information from all the sensor terminals 10. As a result, the mobile base station 20 can receive the flag information transmitted from the sensor terminals 10#3, 10#7, 10#9, 10#10, which are flag-equipped sensors, using a control signal.

[0021] Here, the collection of flag information only needs to be through the transmission and reception of control signals of the wireless communication protocol. Therefore, the mobile base station 20 can move along the predetermined tour route R1 as fast as possible. The mobile base station 20 can receive only the flag information even in a situation where TCP / IP communication is not established by receiving the flag information via the control signal transmitted from the flag-equipped sensor.

[0022] The mobile base station 20 stores any information that can identify the position where the flag information was received. For example, the mobile base station 20 may capture the time when the flag information was received and the position information on the tour route R1 at the received time. By obtaining the reception time, the identification accuracy of the sensor terminal 10 that transmitted the flag information can be improved. In that case, the transmission time of the flag information from the sensor terminal 10 and the reception time of the flag information by the mobile base station 20 can be matched to identify the sensor terminal 10 of the flag-equipped sensor.

[0023] (3) The third feature of the present disclosure The mobile base station 20 aggregates the flag information from each sensor terminal 10 and calculates the shortest path passing through the position where the flag information was received as the tour data collection route R2. As a result, the mobile base station 20 uses the data collection route R2 where the mobile base station 20 approaches the necessary sensor terminals 10 along the shortest path, establishes data communication, and then collects the data to be collected in a batch.

[0024] FIG. 4 shows an example of a data collection route for collecting sensing data. The mobile base station 20 is at the positions P 03 , P 07 , P 09 , P10 Using 10 , the shortest path connecting position P 03 , P 07 , P 09 , P 10 is calculated. For example, the mobile base station 20 arranges positions P 03 , P 07 , P 09 , P 10 in ascending order of proximity to its own device, and calculates the path connecting positions P 03 , P 07 , P 09 , P 10 in ascending order of proximity to its own device. Then, the mobile base station 20 approaches the sensor terminals 10#3, 10#7, 10#9, 10#10 using the calculated path.

[0025] As described above, in the system of the present disclosure, for the sensor terminal 10 that performs data communication, the mobile base station 20 extracts flag information without waiting for the establishment of data communication, and moves only to the vicinity of the sensor terminal 10 where sensing data to be collected exists in the shortest possible time, and can collect the sensing data. Therefore, the system of the present disclosure can reduce the total time required for collecting sensing data and improve the collection efficiency of sensing data per unit time. Along with this, since the total time required for collecting sensing data can be reduced, the system of the present disclosure can reduce the consumption batteries of the sensor terminal 10 and the mobile base station 20.

[0026] (First Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the sensor terminal 10 of the present embodiment. The sensor terminal 10 includes a wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11, a communication protocol operation processing unit 12, a sensor device 13, a detection unit 14, a sensing data storage processing unit 15, a metadata detection unit 16, a flag information generation unit 17, and a flag information storage processing unit 18.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the mobile base station 20 of the present embodiment. The mobile base station 20 includes a communication processing unit 21, a communication protocol operation processing unit 22, a flag information extraction processing unit 23, a flag information collection unit 24, an optimal tour path calculation processing unit 25, and a movement operation processing unit 26.

[0028] The wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11 is a functional unit that communicates with the mobile base station 20. The communication protocol operation processing unit 12 controls the information transmitted and received by the wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11 according to the communication protocol. The communication processing unit 21 is a functional unit that communicates with the sensor terminal 10. The communication protocol operation processing unit 22 controls the information transmitted and received by the communication processing unit 21 according to the communication protocol.

[0029] The sensor device 13 is a functional unit that acquires sensing data. The detection unit 14 detects an event occurring in each sensor device 13, and transmits information such as the sensor device information and time information of the detected event to the flag information generation unit 17. The sensing data storage processing unit 15 stores the sensing data acquired by the sensor device 13 in a data frame.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11 transmits the flag information and the sensing data to the mobile base station 20. Regarding the flag information, the wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11 stores and transmits device information and various metadata in the control signal. Regarding the sensing data, the wireless transmission / reception processing unit 11 stores and transmits it in the payload area of the data frame.

[0031] The flag information generation unit 17 generates flag information based on the sensor device information, time information, etc. of the detected event transmitted from the detection unit 14. In addition to the Mac address of the sensor device 13, the event detection time, etc., the flag information may also include metadata such as location information, installer, and environmental information, which are separate from the information collected from the sensor device 13. The metadata detection unit 16 is a functional unit that detects any data other than the sensing data.

[0032] The flag information storage processing unit 18 stores the generated flag information in the control signal of the wireless communication protocol. The flag information storage processing unit 18 may process the data, such as converting it into a certain shortened code or dividing it into multiple frames (fragmentation), so as to conform to the format and restrictions of the unique extended area, and then store it. The storage timing may be sequential storage each time the data is updated, or the result of recording (logging) after accumulating for a certain period, or storing the result of specific processing such as calculation or integration. Also, the flag information to be stored may be encrypted and stored using an encryption key preset on the sensor terminal 10 side.

[0033] The flag information extraction processing unit 23 extracts the flag information stored in the control signal and transmits it to the flag information collection unit 24. The flag information collection unit 24 stores the collected flag information as a table. The flag information collection unit 24 delivers the necessary flag information in response to a request from the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25.

[0034] The optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 acquires flag information from the table stored in the flag information collection unit 24 and calculates the shortest data collection route R2 that passes through the reception positions of the flag information from all flag-present sensors. The movement operation processing unit 26 controls the movement of the mobile base station 20 based on the data collection route R2 calculated by the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25.

[0035] FIG. 7 shows an example of a flow for collecting flag information. The mobile base station 20 transmits a beacon signal while moving along the tour route R1 shown in FIG. 3 (S111). The sensor terminals 10#1 to 10#16 sequentially receive the beacon signal (S112). When the sensor terminal 10 receives the beacon signal, it determines whether there is flag information in the flag information storage processing unit 18 (S113). If there is no flag information to be transmitted (No in S113), the sensor terminal 10 does not transmit the flag information. If there is flag information to be transmitted (Yes in S113), the sensor terminal 10 transmits the flag information (S114), and the mobile base station 20 receives the flag information (S115).

[0036] The mobile base station 20 determines whether or not the tour of the tour route R1 for collecting flag information has been completed (S116). If the tour of the tour route R1 has not been completed (No in S116), the mobile base station 20 executes steps S111 to S115 until the tour of the tour route R1 is completed.

[0037] When the tour of the tour route is completed (Yes in S116), the mobile base station 20 specifies the position where the flag information was received (S117) and stores the specification result (S118). Then, the mobile base station 20 calculates a data collection route R2 for collecting sensing data (S119).

[0038] FIG. 8 shows an example of a flow for collecting sensing data. The mobile base station 20 starts moving to the data collection route R2 in order to collect sensing data (S211). When the mobile base station 20 approaches a sensor with a flag, it performs an Association for establishing communication with the sensor terminal 10 (S122). When the connection for data communication with the sensor terminal 10 is established (S123), the mobile base station 20 receives sensing data (S124).

[0039] The mobile base station 20 determines whether or not the collection of sensing data from all the sensors with flags has been completed. If the collection of sensing data from all the sensors with flags has not been completed (No in S125), steps S122 to S124 are repeated. When the collection of sensing data from all the sensors with flags is completed (Yes in S125), the collection process of the sensing data is terminated (S126).

[0040] (Second Embodiment) FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of the sensor terminal 10 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, instead of the metadata detection unit 16, the flag information generation unit 17, and the flag information storage processing unit 18 in the first embodiment, a metadata detection unit 31 and a metadata storage processing unit 32 are provided.

[0041] FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of the mobile base station 20 of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, instead of the flag information extraction processing unit 23 and the flag information collection unit 24 in the first embodiment, a metadata extraction processing unit 43 and a metadata collection unit 44 are provided.

[0042] The detection unit 14 detects an event generated in each sensor device 13, and transmits sensor device information and time information of the sensor device that detected the event to the metadata detection unit 31.

[0043] The metadata detection unit 31 acquires information (such as sensor device information and time information of the sensor device that detected the event in each sensor device) transmitted from the detection unit 14 as part of the metadata, and passes it to the metadata storage processing unit 32. The metadata passed to the metadata storage processing unit 32 includes flag information indicating that it is a flagged sensor. In addition to the above sensor device information (such as Mac address) and event detection time, other metadata such as location information, installer, and environmental information may also be included.

[0044] The metadata storage processing unit 32 stores the metadata acquired from the metadata detection unit 31 in the control signal of the wireless communication protocol. At this time, the data may be processed such as converting it into a certain short code or dividing it into a plurality of frames (fragmentation) so as to conform to the format and limitations of the unique extension area, and then stored.

[0045] Note that the storage timing in the metadata storage processing unit 32 is arbitrary. However, it may be stored sequentially each time the data is updated, or the result of a specific process such as recording (logging) after accumulating for a certain period, calculation, or integration may be stored. The type and timing of the metadata to be stored are not limited to being fixed, and may be dynamically changed according to an instruction from the mobile base station 20. Further, the metadata to be stored may be encrypted and stored using an instruction from the mobile base station 20 or an encryption key preset on the sensor terminal 10 side.

[0046] The metadata extraction processing unit 43 extracts the metadata stored in the control signal. The metadata collection unit 44 stores the metadata extracted by the metadata extraction processing unit 43 as a table. The metadata collection unit 24 delivers the necessary metadata in response to a request from the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25.

[0047] The optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 acquires the metadata from the table stored in the metadata collection unit 44, and determines the flagged sensors among the sensor terminals 10#1 to 10#16 based on the metadata. Then, the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 calculates the shortest data collection route R2 that passes through all the flagged sensors. The movement operation processing unit 26 controls the movement of the mobile base station 20 based on the data collection route R2 calculated by the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25.

[0048] In this embodiment, the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 calculates the data collection route R2 based on the metadata. When the position information of the sensor terminal 10 is included in the metadata, the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 calculates the data collection route R2 using the position information of the flagged sensors included in the metadata. When the position information of the sensor terminal is not included in the metadata, the optimal tour route calculation processing unit 25 identifies the sensor device information such as the Mac address of the flagged sensors included in the metadata, and calculates the data collection route R2 using the predetermined positions for each sensor device information.

[0049] This embodiment transmits metadata instead of the flag information in the first embodiment. Accordingly, the flow of collecting metadata is different from that in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 shows an example of the flow of collecting metadata.

[0050] The mobile base station 20 transmits a beacon signal while moving along the tour route R1 shown in FIG. 3 (S211). The sensor terminals 10#1 to 10#16 sequentially receive the beacon signal (S212). The sensor terminal 10 that has received the beacon signal transmits metadata (S213), and the mobile base station 20 receives the metadata (S214). The mobile base station 20 determines whether or not the tour of the tour route R1 for collecting metadata has been completed (S215). If the tour of the tour route R1 has not been completed (No in S215), the mobile base station 20 executes steps S211 to S214 until the tour of the tour route R1 is completed.

[0051] When the tour of the tour route is completed (Yes in S215), the mobile base station 20 determines whether there is a sensor with a flag based on the metadata of each sensor terminal 10 (S216). If there is no sensor with a flag (No in S216), the process ends. If there is a sensor with a flag (Yes in S216), steps S217 to S219 are executed.

[0052] The mobile base station 20 uses the metadata of the sensor with a flag to identify the position of the sensor with a flag (S217) and stores the identification result (S218). Then, the mobile base station 20 calculates the shortest path passing through the position of the sensor terminal 10 having the data to be collected as the data collection route R2 for collecting sensing data (S219).

[0053] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, an example in which the terminal device is the sensor terminal 10 is shown, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the present disclosure can be applied to any terminal device that emits any data instead of the sensor terminal 10.

[0054] In addition, the sensor terminal 10 and the mobile base station 20 of the present disclosure can also be realized by a computer and a program. It is also possible to record the program on a recording medium or provide it through a network. The program of the present disclosure is a program for realizing a computer as each functional unit provided in the device according to the present disclosure, and is a program for causing a computer to execute each step included in the method executed by the device according to the present disclosure.

Industrial Applicability

[0055] The present disclosure can be applied to the information and communication industry.

Description of Symbols

[0056] 10: Sensor terminal 11: Wireless transmission / reception processing unit 12: Communication protocol operation processing unit 13: Sensor device 14: Detection unit 15: Sensing data storage processing unit 16: Metadata detection unit 17: Flag information generation unit 18: Flag information storage processing unit 20: Mobile base station 20 21: Communication processing unit 22: Communication protocol operation processing unit 23: Flag information extraction processing unit 24: Flag information collection unit 25: Optimal tour route calculation processing unit 26: Movement operation processing unit 31: Tadata detection unit 32: Metadata storage processing unit 43: Metadata extraction processing unit 44: Metadata collection unit

Claims

1. A mobile base station device that collects data from a plurality of terminal devices arranged dispersedly, collects flag information indicating that there is data to be collected from each terminal device by using a control signal before establishing communication with the terminal device, wherein the control signal is stored in a probe request frame, calculates a data collection path for collecting data from the terminal device by using the flag information, when collecting data from the terminal device, moves along the calculated data collection path and collects the data stored in the payload area of the data frame of the terminal device with which communication has been established, A mobile base station device.

2. The control signal is stored in a unique extension area of the probe request frame. The mobile base station device according to Claim 1.

3. Calculates the shortest path passing through the position where the flag information is received as the data collection path. The mobile base station device according to Claim 1.

4. Collects the flag information from each terminal device by using a predetermined tour path capable of receiving the flag information from each terminal device, Identifies the position where the flag information is received by using the time when the flag information on the tour path is received during movement. The mobile base station device according to Claim 1 or 2.

5. Collects metadata including the flag information and the position information of the terminal device from each terminal device, Calculates the shortest path passing through the position of the terminal device having the data to be collected as the data collection path. The mobile base station device according to Claim 1.

6. A data collection system comprising the mobile base station device according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, and the plurality of terminal devices.

7. A data collection method in which a mobile base station device collects data from a plurality of terminal devices arranged dispersedly, wherein the mobile base station device collects flag information indicating that there is data to be collected from each terminal device by using a control signal before establishing communication with the terminal device, wherein the control signal is stored in a probe request frame, calculates a data collection path for collecting data from the terminal device by using the flag information, when collecting data from the terminal device, moves along the calculated data collection path and collects the data stored in the payload area of the data frame of the terminal device with which communication has been established, A data collection method.

8. The control signal is stored in a unique extension area of the probe request frame. The data collection method according to claim 7.

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