Contour Guided Dissemination for Networked Embedded Systems

Abstract

Networked Embedded Systems have come to occupy an important role in emerging applications. Nodes in such a system are interconnected by a mesh topology. Despite the availability of multiple shortest paths between pairs of nodes, simulation results revealed that these paths cannot be effectively exploited by spreading the messages over the paths in a uniform method. We define the union of all the shortest paths between a pair of nodes as a contour. We present results that characterize the structure of contours when each node communicates directly with eight immediate neighbors. Heuristic rules that effectively disseminate messages over the available paths are presented. Simulation results demonstrate that the new method for dissemination ensures that nodes in a contour, which are at the same distance from the source, handle roughly the same number of messages. In the future, such techniques can be extended to general topologies.

Keywords:

• Multipath Dissemination
• QoS
• Wireless Communication
• Routing Protocols
• Mesh Topology

The authors thank Professor S.S. Iyengar for stimulating this investigation through discussions and advice. Mr. Kranthi K. Mamidisetty helped with many discussions. This work was supported in part by a Research award from Ohio ICE, a consortium of Industries and Universities focused on advancing research in Instrumentation, Controls, and Electronics, for the year 2006–2007.

Notes

¹In addition to the sensors and actuators on the modules such an application would use additional devices such as cameras, RFID tags and scanners, weighing scales, etc., to inspect the entities that are being moved.

²Such communication can be achieved by designing a suitable Medium Access Control protocol, using low-power steerable antennas, or multiple frequencies.

³The assumption is that every monitoring station that wishes to receive monitoring messages from the networked embedded system will first register itself. This information is percolated through the network and every node is aware that there is a monitoring station that is interested in receiving messages.

⁴Only the light colored part of the contours are shown.