Overlapping Wireless Mesh Networks for Power and Latency Trade-offs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless mesh network protocols face challenges in balancing power consumption and latency, particularly in battery-powered devices with complex routing hierarchies, where global duty-cycling schedules do not allow for local optimization, leading to increased latency and reduced battery life.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of overlapping wireless mesh networks with separate gateways and nodes that are members of multiple networks, enabling local optimization of communication schedules and reducing power consumption by allowing flexible pathway establishment across networks, thereby minimizing latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If global duty-cycling schedules are used to save power in wireless mesh networks, then power consumption is reduced, but latency increases and local optimization is prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The network is segmented into multiple overlapping mesh networks, each with its own gateway and independent duty-cycling schedule. Nodes can belong to multiple networks and choose the most appropriate schedule for each, allowing local optimization rather than a single global schedule. This segmentation enables nodes to participate in different networks with different latency requirements and power constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically allows nodes to switch between different mesh networks and their associated duty-cycling schedules based on current communication needs. Nodes can adaptively select which network to participate in and which schedule to follow, enabling dynamic adjustment of power consumption and latency trade-offs rather than being locked into a fixed global schedule.
2Adaptability or versatility
If nodes are assigned to multiple mesh networks with separate gateways, then flexibility and local optimization are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Nodes are designed with multi-functionality to participate in multiple mesh networks simultaneously. Each node maintains the capability to communicate with multiple gateways and follow multiple duty-cycling schedules, making the node universally applicable across different network contexts. This multi-functionality is achieved through standardized protocols that allow nodes to join and leave networks dynamically without requiring specialized hardware for each network type.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless network system includes overlapping wireless mesh networks. Nodes that are members of more than one mesh network are capable of communicating with the gateways of each of those mesh networks, which allows sharing information between interrelated control systems through the wireless network system.