IoT Bridge Configuration Updates Without ACK/NACK
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current IoT systems lack reliable methods for ensuring constant power charging and error-free communication for battery-less IoT devices, particularly in networks of IoT devices.
Innovation Solution
A method for updating the configuration of a bridge in an IoT network using a protocol that does not support acknowledgement (ACK) or no acknowledgement (NACK) messages, involving a server, gateway, and bridge, where the server receives an indication of the bridge's current state, sets it to pending, sends a configure request, and updates the bridge configuration, with the bridge sending a completion message upon successful configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If battery-less IoT devices are used to reduce cost and complexity, then device complexity and manufacturing cost are reduced, but reliable power supply and constant charging cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge device autonomously manages power transfer to IoT tags by monitoring its own power levels and automatically initiating energy transfer when power thresholds are exceeded, eliminating the need for complex centralized power management systems while ensuring reliable power supply to battery-less devices
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the bridge monitors its power state and the power level of nearby IoT tags, using this information to dynamically adjust energy transfer operations, ensuring reliable power supply while maintaining low complexity at the device level
2Use of energy by moving object
If low power communication protocols are used to reduce energy consumption, then energy consumption is reduced, but reliable communication and error-free data transmission cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge acts as an intermediary between the low-power communication protocol and the requirement for reliable data transmission, implementing error detection and correction mechanisms that operate transparently to maintain communication reliability while preserving the low power consumption benefits of the underlying protocol
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs error detection and data validation before transmission, preparing checksums and verification codes in advance to ensure that even if low-power protocol limitations are encountered, data integrity is maintained without requiring additional energy-intensive retransmission protocols
3Device complexity
If configuration updates are performed without ACK/NACK messages to simplify the protocol, then device complexity is reduced, but error-free configuration transmission cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The bridge incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor configuration update status and send implicit confirmation signals to the controller, ensuring error-free configuration transmission without requiring complex explicit ACK/NACK message protocols, thus maintaining low device complexity while achieving reliable updates
Data Source
AI summary
A method for updating a configuration of a bridge in a network comprising at least the bridge, a gateway, and a server, the updating being performed using at least a portion of a protocol for wireless communication between the gateway and the bridge that does not support ACK/NACK messages, comprising: receiving by the server an indication of a current state of the bridge; when that is not a desired state: setting, in the server, the current state of the bridge to pending for the desired state; transmitting a configure request to update the bridge to the desired state; and when, within a predetermined period of time of transmitting the configure request, a completion message is received by the server from the bridge in response to updating the bridge configuration, setting the current state of the bridge to the desired state in the server.