Patent No. 7020701 Method for collecting and processing data using internetworked wireless integrated network sensors (WINS)

 

Patent No. 7020701

Method for collecting and processing data using internetworked wireless integrated network sensors (WINS) (Gelvin, et al., Mar 28, 2006) 

 Abstract

The Wireless Integrated Network Sensor Next Generation (WINS NG) nodes provide distributed network and Internet access to sensors, controls, and processors that are deeply embedded in equipment, facilities, and the environment. The WINS NG network is a new monitoring and control capability for applications in transportation, manufacturing, health care, environmental monitoring, and safety and security. The WINS NG nodes combine microsensor technology, low power distributed signal processing, low power computation, and low power, low cost wireless and/or wired networking capability in a compact system. The WINS NG networks provide sensing, local control, remote reconfigurability, and embedded intelligent systems in structures, materials, and environments.

Notes:

 

GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS

The United States Government may have certain rights in some aspects of the invention claimed herein, as the invention was made with United States Government support under award/contract number DAAD16-99-C-1024 issued by US AMCAC NATICK Contracting Division.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,013, filed Oct. 6, 1999, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/170,865, filed Dec. 15, 1999, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/208,397, filed May 30, 2000, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/210,296, filed Jun. 8, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,706, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/685,020, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,251, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/685,019, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,607, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,387, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,490, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,742, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/680,550, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,735,630, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/685,018, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,831, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,388, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/684,162, now abandoned, filed Oct. 4, 2000, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/680,608, filed Oct. 4, 2000, all of which are incorporated by reference.

 

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of intelligent networks that include connection to the physical world. In particular, the invention relates to providing distributed network and Internet access to sensors, controls, and processors that are embedded in equipment, facilities, and the environment.

2. Description of the Related Art

Sensor networks are a means of gathering information about the physical world and then, after computations based upon these measurements, potentially influencing the physical world. An example includes sensors embedded in a control system for providing information to a processor. The Wireless Integrated Network Sensor (WINS) development was initiated in 1993 under Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program support. The Low-power Wireless Integrated Microsensors (LWIM) program pioneered the development of WINS and provided support for the development of fundamental low power microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and low power electronics technology. The LWIM program supported the demonstration of the feasibility and applicability of WINS technology in defense systems. See: K. Bult, A. Burstein, D. Chang, M. Dong, M. Fielding, E. Kruglick, J. Ho, F. Lin, T.-H. Lin, W. J. Kaiser, H. Marcy, R. Mukai, P. Nelson, F. Newberg, K. S. J. Pister, G. Pottie, H. Sanchez, O. M. Stafsudd, K. B. Tan, C. M. Ward, S. Xue, J. Yao, "Low Power Systems for Wireless Microsensors", Proceedings of International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design, pp. 17 21, 1996; J. G. Ho, P. R. Nelson, F. H. Lin, D. T. Chang, W. J. Kaiser, and O. M. Stafsudd, "Sol-gel derived lead and calcium lead titanate pyroelectric detectors on silicon MEMS structures", Proceedings of the SPIE, vol. 2685, pp. 91 100, 1996; D. T. Chang, D. M. Chen, F. H. Lin, W. J. Kaiser, and O. M. Stafsudd "CMOS integrated infrared sensor", Proceedings of International Solid State Sensors and Actuators Conference (Transducers '97), vol. 2, pp. 1259 62, 1997; M. J. Dong, G. Yung, and W. J. Kaiser, "Low Power Signal Processing Architectures for Network Microsensors", Proceedings of 1997 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design, pp. 173 177, 1997; T.-H. Lin, H. Sanchez, R. Rofougaran, and W. J. Kaiser, "CMOS Front End Components for Micropower RF Wireless Systems", Proceedings of the 1998 International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design, pp. 11 15, 1998; T.-H. Lin, H. Sanchez, R. Rofougaran, W. J. Kaiser, "Micropower CMOS RF components for distributed wireless sensors", 1998 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium, Digest of Papers, pp. 157 60, 1998; (Invited) G. Asada, M. Dong, T. S. Lin, F. Newberg, G. Pottie, H. O. Marcy, and W. J. Kaiser, "Wireless Integrated Network Sensors: Low Power Systems on a Chip", Proceedings of the 24th IEEE European Solid-State Circuits Conference, 1998.

The first generation of field-ready WINS devices and software were fielded in 1996 and later in a series of live-fire exercises. The LWIM-II demonstrated the feasibility of multihop, self-assembled, wireless network nodes. This first network also demonstrated the feasibility of algorithms for operation of wireless sensor nodes and networks at micropower level. The original WINS architecture has been demonstrated in five live fire exercises with the US Marine Corps as a battlefield surveillance sensor system. In addition, this first generation architecture has been demonstrated as a condition based maintenance (CBM) sensor on board a Navy ship, the USS Rushmore.

Prior military sensor systems typically included sensors with manual controls on sensitivity and radio channel selection, and one-way communication of raw data to a network master. This is wasteful of energy resources and inflexible. In the LWIM network by contrast, two-way communication exists between the sensor nodes and the master, the nodes contain signal processing means to analyze the data and make decisions on what is to be communicated, and both the communications and signal processing parameters can be negotiated between the master and the sensor nodes. Further, two-way communications enables consideration of more energy-efficient network topologies such as multi-hopping. The architecture is envisioned so that fusion of data across multiple types of sensors is possible in one node, and further, so that the signal processing can be layered between special purpose devices and the general-purpose processor to conserve power. The LWIM approach to WINS represented a radical departure from past industrial and military sensor network practice. By exploiting signal processing capability at the location of the sensor, communications energy and bandwidth costs are greatly reduced, allowing the possibility of scalably large networks.

The DARPA sponsored a second program involving both UCLA and the Rockwell Science Center called Adaptive Wireless Arrays for Interactive Reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in Small unit operations (AWAIRS), whose genesis was in 1995. Its focus has been upon the development of algorithms for self-assembly of the network and energy efficient routing without the need for masters, cooperative signal processing including beamforming and data fusion across nodes, distributed self-location of nodes, and development of supporting hardware. A self-assembling network has been demonstrated. Moreover, the AWAIRS program includes notions such as layered signal processing of signals (including use of multiple processors within nodes, as in LWIM), and data aggregation to allow scaling of the network. A symposium was held in 1998 to discuss the implications of such sensor networks for a wide variety of applications, including military, health care, scientific exploration, and consumer applications. The AWAIRS nodes have also been used in condition based maintenance applications, and have a modular design for enabling various sensor, processing, and radio boards to be swapped in and out. There is now a confirmed set of WINS applications within the Department of Defense for battlefield surveillance and condition based maintenance on land, sea and air vehicles, and WINS technology is being considered as a primary land mine replacement technology. See: J. R. Agre, L. P. Clare, G. J. Pottie, N. P. Romanov, "Development Platform for Self-Organizing Wireless Sensor Networks," Aerosense '99, Orlando, Fla., 1999; K. Sohrabi, J. Gao, V. Ailawadhi, G. Pottie, "A Self-Organizing Sensor Network," Proc. 37th Allerton Conf. on Comm., Control, and Computing, Monticello, Ill., September 1999; University of California Los Angeles Electrical Engineering Department Annual Research Symposium, 1998; K. Yao, R. E. Hudson, C. W. Reed, D. Chen, F. Lorenzelli, "Blind Beamforming on a Randomly Distributed Sensor Array System," IEEE J. Select. Areas in Comm., vol. 16, no. 8, October 1998, pp. 1555 1567.

There are also a number of commercial sensor technologies that are related to WINS, in that they include some combination of sensing, remote signal processing, and communications. Some of these technologies are described herein, along with some expansion upon the specific features of LWIM and AWAIRS.

SUMMARY

The Wireless Integrated Network Sensor Next Generation (WINS NG) sensors and nodes provide distributed network and Internet access to sensors, controls, and processors that are deeply embedded in equipment, facilities, and the environment. The WINS NG network is a new monitoring and control capability for applications in such sectors as transportation, manufacturing, health care, environmental monitoring, and safety and security. Wireless Integrated Network Sensors combine microsensor technology, low power signal processing, low power computation, and low power, low cost wireless (and/or wired) networking capability in a compact system. The WINS NG networks provide sensing, local control, and embedded intelligent systems in structures, materials, and environments.

The WINS NG networks provide a more efficient means of connecting the physical and computer worlds. Sensor nodes self-organize to form a network, and seamlessly link to the Internet or other external network via a gateway node, which can be of the same type or different from the sensor nodes. The sensor nodes can themselves be of the same type or a variety of types. Network resources such as databases are available to the sensor network and the remote user through the Internet or other external network.

The sensor nodes are constructed in a layered fashion, both with respect to signal processing and network protocols, to enable use of standard tools, ease real-time operating systems issues, promote adaptability to unknown environments, simplify reconfiguration, and enable lower-power, continuously vigilant operation. High reliability access to remote WINS NG nodes and networks enables remote interrogation and control of the sensor network; this reliability is achieved using a plurality of couplings, with automatic adjustment of the processing and communications to deal with failures of any of these couplings. Linkage to databases enables extra resources to be brought to bear in analysis and archiving of events, and database methods can be used to control the entire network in a more transparent manner, to enable more efficient control and design.

The WINS NG technology incorporates low-energy circuitry and components to provide secure communication that is robust against deliberate and unintentional interference, by means for example of new algorithms and antenna designs. The network can further include distributed position location functionality that takes advantage of the communications and sensing components of the individual nodes, to simplify deployment and enable location of targets.

The sensor nodes can be of a variety of types, including very simple nodes that may, for example, serve as tags. These nodes can be constructed on flexible polymer substrates, a material that may be used for a wide variety of synergistic uses. This construction results in more compact and capable systems, providing sensors, actuators, photo-cells and structural properties. Compact antennas for such packages have been developed. The network includes both wireless and wired communications capability, using a common protocol and automatically choosing the more secure or lower power mode when it is available, providing more robust and long-lived operation in potentially hostile environments. The network enables a wide variety of users with different data rate and power requirements to coexist as, for example, in wired or wireless mode vehicular applications. The flexibility of the design opens a wide variety of applications.

In another aspect, the layering of the WINS nodes with respect to processing and signal processing facilitates the rapid design of new applications. Layering further facilitates self-organization of complete applications, from network connections through to interoperation with remote databases accessed through external networks such as the Internet. With this layering, the cost of deployment is radically reduced even while remote operation is enabled.