Data Proxy Management for IoT Scalability and Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) poses challenges related to resource efficiency, data privacy, and system security, particularly due to the high volume of data generated and the need for scalable, secure connectivity in IoT systems, which existing approaches fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for managing data proxies that digitally represent connected objects, allowing applications to communicate with these proxies rather than the objects themselves, dynamically calculating optimal sampling rates to minimize resource costs while ensuring data quality and security, using a proxy management system that includes a cognitive layer for message validation and a security layer for authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If direct connectivity architecture is used to connect applications with objects, then application can access object data directly, but system cannot scale efficiently when multiple applications query the same object frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a data proxy as an intermediary component between applications and IoT objects. The proxy manages subscriptions and data requests centrally, allowing multiple applications to access object data without direct connections to the objects themselves. This mediator architecture enables efficient scaling by consolidating data access patterns and avoiding redundant queries to the objects.
2Device complexity
If hub connectivity architecture is used with a master node to translate and moderate information flow, then system can manage data flow centrally, but hub has limited sampling intelligence resulting in limited data aggregation and pre-processing capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a data proxy that copies and replicates object data in a centralized location. This proxy maintains a representation of the object state and can perform intelligent sampling, aggregation, and pre-processing operations on the copied data. The copying mechanism enables the system to maintain centralized management while improving data aggregation quality through sophisticated sampling strategies and data transformation capabilities.
3Reliability
If security measures such as authentication and encryption are implemented to protect IoT data, then system security is improved, but computational overhead increases requiring processors with higher memory and speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts security functions from the IoT objects themselves and relocates them to the data proxy. Authentication, authorization, and data encryption/decryption operations are performed by the proxy rather than by resource-constrained objects. This extraction allows comprehensive security measures to be implemented without burdening the objects with computationally intensive security operations, thereby maintaining security while reducing the computational overhead on devices.
4Measurement precision
If data sampling rate is increased to improve data quality and accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but resource consumption for battery, bandwidth, and computation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic sampling rates that adapt to changing conditions and requirements. The data proxy adjusts the sampling frequency based on factors such as data freshness needs, network conditions, and computational resources available. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to maintain high measurement precision when needed while significantly reducing resource consumption during periods when lower precision is acceptable, thereby optimizing the trade-off between data quality and energy efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for managing data proxies. The systems and methods enable a proxy management system to store and manage data proxies that digitally represent real-world objects equipped with sensors. The data proxy of an object is made up of data sampled by the object's sensors and data estimated using the sampled data. The sampling rate at which the data is sampled can be optimized such that it conforms with target quality of data (QoD) requirements and/or target data acquisition costs. The QoD requirements can be based on requirements set by each of the applications associated with an object. The proxy management system can use the sampled data and estimated data to (1) ensure that incoming messages, if executed, would not have negative consequences; and (2) monitor objects to determine if and when they are expected to approach undesirable states, or if they have already reached such undesirable states.