Association-Based Asset Tracking in Hierarchical Mesh Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing asset tracking systems face challenges in efficiently managing battery-powered sensors that provide real-time information about environmental conditions and location, particularly in mesh networks, due to limited power and varying capabilities across different levels of tracking devices.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an association-based intelligent asset tracking system that organizes sensors into mesh networks with varying capabilities, including homogenous and hierarchical structures, to monitor and coordinate data collection and dissemination while optimizing battery usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If battery-powered sensors are used for asset tracking, then real-time monitoring capability is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments sensors into different levels (case level, pallet level, vehicle level) with varying capabilities. Lower-level sensors perform basic monitoring while higher-level sensors provide comprehensive tracking, enabling energy-efficient hierarchical monitoring that reduces overall power consumption while maintaining real-time awareness of asset status throughout the supply chain.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sensors at different levels are merged into a unified mesh network that shares communication resources and processing loads. The hierarchical structure allows lower-level sensors to aggregate data locally before transmitting to higher levels, reducing redundant transmissions and optimizing energy consumption across the entire sensor fleet.
2Measurement precision
If multiple levels of sensors are deployed, then tracking information quality is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into hierarchical levels (case level, pallet level, vehicle level) where each level handles specific tracking functions. This segmentation organizes complexity by assigning distinct roles to different sensor types, making the overall system more manageable while improving tracking information quality through multi-level data aggregation.
Solution Approach 2:
Higher-level sensors act as intermediaries that aggregate and process data from lower-level sensors. This intermediary structure simplifies the system architecture by centralizing processing functions at appropriate levels, reducing the complexity burden on individual sensors while maintaining comprehensive tracking capabilities.
3Productivity
If mesh network communication is implemented, then data collection efficiency is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mesh network is pre-configured with hierarchical routing protocols and data aggregation rules that determine which sensors transmit data and when. This preliminary setup optimizes communication patterns by predicting data transmission needs, reducing unnecessary wireless transmissions and associated energy consumption while maintaining efficient data collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The mesh network maintains continuous operational awareness through event-triggered communication rather than continuous polling. Sensors transmit data continuously when events occur (e.g., location changes, environmental threshold breaches) but remain in low-power states otherwise, ensuring continuous monitoring capability while optimizing energy consumption through event-driven architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques are described herein for association-based asset tracking. For instance, a computing device (e.g., an application server) can determine a plurality of associations among a plurality of assets. The computing device can monitor a plurality of messages being communicated corresponding to each association of the plurality of associations, detect an exception has occurred based upon the monitoring, and generate a notification based upon the detected exception. Each association of the plurality of associations can be created between two different assets of the plurality of assets. Each of the two different assets can be in a same mesh network or can be in different mesh networks.