Sensor Network Virtual Profile Power Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless sensor networks are unable to compensate for partial network failures and low-power conditions, leading to diminished reliability and effectiveness, which jeopardizes safety and performance in mission-critical situations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that involves constructing a virtual sensor profile by comparing primary and secondary node sensor profiles to reduce redundant data gathering, and optimizing power consumption by determining and assigning a hardware configuration to sensor nodes, enabling collaborative operation and power management within the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensor nodes continuously gather and transmit data to ensure network reliability, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges sensor nodes into clusters with cluster heads that aggregate data from multiple nodes. This combining approach reduces the total number of transmissions needed while maintaining comprehensive monitoring coverage, thereby reducing overall power consumption while preserving network reliability through distributed redundancy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic data gathering and transmission schedules rather than continuous operation. Sensor nodes can enter low-power sleep modes between scheduled transmission periods, significantly reducing average power consumption while maintaining reliable detection capabilities when activated.
2Productivity
If all sensor nodes operate at full power to maintain network effectiveness, then productivity and reliability are improved, but energy depletes faster
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sensor network into hierarchical clusters with cluster heads and member nodes. This segmentation allows differentiated power management where cluster heads handle aggregation and communication tasks while member nodes can operate at lower power levels, extending overall network energy life while maintaining effective monitoring coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multi-functional cluster heads that perform data aggregation, routing, and local processing tasks. This universality reduces the need for every node to perform all functions at full power, allowing individual nodes to consume less energy while the collective network maintains full effectiveness through the multi-capable cluster heads.
3Reliability
If redundant sensor nodes are deployed to compensate for partial failures, then reliability is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-configures redundant sensor nodes within clusters before failures occur. These redundant nodes remain in a low-power state but are positioned and configured to immediately take over if a primary node fails, providing fault tolerance without requiring complex real-time reconfiguration or maintaining all nodes at high operational readiness.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for reducing sensor support power in a sensor network include a primary node locating a secondary node. The primary node has a primary node sensor profile, and the secondary node has a secondary node sensor profile. The secondary node sensor profile is compared to the primary node sensor profile. A virtual sensor profile is constructed based on the comparison between the primary and secondary sensor profiles. The virtual sensor profile reduces redundant sensor data gathering between the primary and secondary sensor nodes. A power consumption optimization hardware configuration for the secondary node is determined to provide sensor data for the virtual sensor profile, and the determined hardware configuration is assigned to the secondary node.