State-Machine Data Broker for Selective Sensor Message Forwarding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional publish/subscribe architectures are unable to dynamically adjust the behavior of publisher clients due to their limited capabilities and intermittent connectivity, leading to undesired or unexpected behavior, which results in inefficient data transmission and processing.
Innovation Solution
A data broker system that maintains a state machine to monitor and manage publisher client behavior by updating its state based on received messages, allowing for the detection and mitigation of undesirable behavior, and performing actions such as data suppression, new data generation, or control message modification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a publish/subscribe architecture is used to enable data transmission between remote sensor clients and subscriber clients, then data communication efficiency is improved, but the ability to dynamically adjust publisher client behavior is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The data broker acts as an intermediary between publisher clients and subscriber clients. It maintains state machines that track publisher behavior and can dynamically adjust data transmission by suppressing, generating, or modifying data based on observed patterns, thus enabling adaptability while maintaining communication efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the data broker monitors publisher client behavior through state machines, detects undesirable patterns, and responds by adjusting data transmission. This closed-loop feedback enables dynamic behavior adjustment without requiring direct communication between publishers and subscribers
2Use of energy by moving object
If publisher clients operate with limited power and intermittent connectivity, then energy consumption is reduced, but data transmission reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The data broker maintains state machines that predict expected data transmission patterns in advance. When publishers go offline intermittently, the broker can generate predicted data based on historical patterns, ensuring continuous reliable data flow to subscribers without requiring constant publisher connectivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system cushions against unreliable transmission by maintaining local state information and predicted data at the broker. This pre-prepared data acts as a buffer that compensates for intermittent publisher connectivity, ensuring subscribers receive reliable data even when publishers are offline
3Loss of information
If all sensor data is forwarded to subscriber clients without processing, then data completeness is maintained, but processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The data broker performs partial processing by selectively suppressing redundant data based on state machine analysis. Instead of forwarding all raw data, it filters out predictable or duplicate transmissions, reducing processing load on subscribers while maintaining essential information completeness
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method performed at a data broker comprises receiving from a subscriber client a request for a subscription for sensor data transmitted by a sensor client, the request in accordance with a publish/subscribe messaging protocol, receiving sensor data from the sensor client, the sensor data published by the sensor client in accordance with the messaging protocol, and determining, in dependence on the sensor data and a current state of a state machine associated with the sensor client, whether the sensor data is to be subject to subscription processing. The method further comprises determining, in dependence on the receipt of the sensor data and the current state of the state machine, an updated state for the state machine, updating the state machine to the updated state, and if the data is to be subject to subscription processing, forwarding the data to the subscriber client in accordance with the messaging protocol.