Wireless Sensor Node Activation via Proactive Base Station Resource Preparation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In wireless sensor networks operating in cellular systems, existing methods face challenges in efficiently activating and deactivating nodes to minimize latency, improve reliability, and optimize resource allocation, especially in scenarios requiring proactive radio resource management and handling varying data loads, such as video surveillance and intruder detection, where resource inefficiencies and unnecessary signaling occur.

Innovation Solution

Involving a base station in the process, a source node identifies and communicates with the base station to prepare and activate target nodes in advance, using proactive radio resource management to allocate resources specifically for these nodes, allowing for efficient activation and deactivation based on predicted trajectories and resource needs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If nodes are activated on-demand without proactive resource management, then resource allocation appears simple, but latency increases and reliability deteriorates due to last-minute resource requests

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveactivation reliabilityVSAvoidactivation latency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The base station proactively identifies target nodes that will need activation in the future based on predicted trajectories, and prepares radio resources for these nodes in advance. This preliminary action ensures that when nodes are actually activated, resources are already allocated, eliminating latency and ensuring reliable activation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of time

If proactive resource management is implemented, then latency is reduced and reliability is improved, but device complexity and signaling overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveactivation latencyVSAvoidbase station complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Source nodes autonomously identify target nodes based on predicted trajectories and send activation requests to the base station. This self-service approach distributes the complexity from the base station to the nodes themselves, reducing base station complexity while maintaining proactive resource management benefits.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Reliability

If all nodes remain active to ensure immediate response, then reliability is maintained, but energy consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponse reliabilityVSAvoidnode energy consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Nodes remain in sleep mode with minimal energy consumption until they are identified as target nodes requiring activation. The base station proactively prepares resources for these nodes before activation, ensuring immediate response capability only when needed, thus maintaining reliability while minimizing overall energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Device complexity

If nodes are activated without proactive identification, then device complexity is reduced, but resource allocation efficiency deteriorates due to unnecessary activation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenode identification complexityVSAvoidresource allocation efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses feedback from source nodes about predicted trajectories and target node identification to guide base station resource allocation. This feedback mechanism enables efficient resource allocation by activating only the specific nodes that need to be activated based on actual network conditions and requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3141003B1Techniques allowing activation and deactivation of nodes in a network
Publication Date: 2022.05.25 NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • EP3141003B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3141003B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3141003B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

At a source node in a wireless network, it is determined that target node(s) should be one of activated or deactivated. Message(s) are sent from the source node toward a base station providing wireless access for nodes to the wireless network. The message(s) include an identification of the target node(s) and are configured to indicate that the at least one target node should be one of activated or deactivated. A base station receives the message(s) and sends a message toward each of the target node(s) indicating that the target node(s) should be the one of activated or deactivated. The source and target nodes may be sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network. Methods, apparatus, computer products, and a computer program are disclosed.