Sensor Enumeration and Lifecycle Tracking for Reliable Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor management systems face challenges in accurately monitoring and managing the lifecycle of sensors, leading to issues such as faulty sensors providing erroneous data and unknown sensor connections, which can result in inappropriate actions and increased communication overhead.
Innovation Solution
A sensor lifecycle management system that includes a sensor controller to enumerate and monitor sensors, providing lifecycle information and capturing measurement data, using protocols like USB HID and I2C for communication, enabling recognition of previously unknown sensors and detection of faults, and facilitating configurable processing to ensure correct operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If sensor data is collected and processed without lifecycle management, then data collection coverage is increased, but data reliability deteriorates due to faulty sensors providing erroneous data
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by enumerating sensors and determining their lifecycle status (new, active, retired, unknown) before processing sensor data. This preliminary classification enables the system to identify and exclude data from faulty or retired sensors, ensuring data reliability while maintaining comprehensive coverage from valid sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring sensor lifecycle information and using this feedback to determine whether to process or discard sensor data. The lifecycle status feedback loop ensures that only data from sensors in appropriate operational states is processed, resolving the contradiction between coverage and reliability.
2Measurement precision
If all sensor connections are monitored and recognized, then sensor management accuracy is improved, but communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by treating different sensor connections differently based on their lifecycle status. Known sensors receive standard processing, while unknown sensors undergo additional enumeration and classification. This localized differentiation improves management accuracy for unknown sensors without applying unnecessary overhead to all sensor communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial monitoring by focusing communication efforts on sensors with unknown lifecycle status rather than continuously monitoring all sensors. This partial action approach maintains accurate tracking of critical sensors while reducing overall communication overhead by avoiding redundant checks on well-known sensors.
3Ease of operation
If sensor lifecycle information is tracked for each sensor, then operational control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by using a unified lifecycle classification framework (new, active, retired, unknown) that applies to all sensors regardless of type or location. This universal classification system simplifies operational control across diverse sensor arrays while avoiding the complexity of sensor-specific management protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system manages complexity by changing the state parameter of sensors from unclassified to classified through the enumeration process. Once a sensor's lifecycle status is determined, it transitions to a stable state requiring minimal ongoing management, thereby improving operational control without sustained complexity increases.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
One embodiment provides an apparatus. The apparatus includes a sensor module. The sensor module includes a sensor; and a sensor controller. The sensor controller is to enumerate the sensor to a sensor processing unit in response to being powered on. The enumerating includes communicating enumeration data to the sensor processing unit. The enumeration data includes one or more of a sensor name, a sensor manufacturer name, a sensor serial number, a hardware version, a firmware version, and/or one or more sensor characteristics. The sensor controller is further to monitor operation of the sensor and to provide sensor lifecycle information to the sensor processing unit over the lifecycle of the sensor.