JP7494909B2 - Data collection system, terminal, data collection method, and program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to sensing data collection in the Internet of Things (IoT).

It is a standardized lightweight communication protocol that does not require high performance to obtain network configuration information and device information of terminals and devices. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 reports a method using LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol).

In the IoT, it is necessary to connect many sensor terminals to a network and collect the data (sensing data) they generate. In addition, in data utilization in the IoT, the importance of not only the sensing data itself generated by the sensor terminals, but also data related to the sensing data, called metadata, has been reported (Non-Patent Document 2, etc.), and it is expected that users will be able to safely and easily utilize the sensing data by acquiring and distributing the sensing data together with the metadata. For example, by using the LLDP disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, metadata (device information) related to the sensing data, such as manufacturer name and model number, can be collected with an economical system configuration.

Yoshiyuki Mihara, Takefumi Yamazaki, Manabu Okamoto, Atsushi Sato, "Design of Home Network Map Identification Protocol HTIP and Its Application to Diagnostic Tools," Transactions on Consumer Devices and Systems, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 34-45, December 2012. Toshihiko Oda, Hiroshi Imai, Taketsugu Naito, and Hajime Takebayashi, "A method for defining, generating, and utilizing metadata in the sensing data distribution market," 2018 Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (32nd) National Conference, June 2012.

In actual IoT applications, wireless communication such as Wi-Fi that does not require wiring is often used. In these wireless communication environments, as in Non-Patent Document 1, there is a need to collect metadata (device information) such as manufacturer names and model numbers related to sensing data using standard protocols and an economical system configuration (Problem 1).

As described in Non-Patent Document 2, it is desirable that metadata include not only device information such as product name and model number, but also information related to installation conditions such as the installation location and installer of the sensor device, and information related to the target observed by the sensor. As a method for collecting metadata other than device information, it is possible to develop/construct a dedicated system and collect it, or to collect it manually and then associate it with separately collected sensing data, but there are the following difficulties (Problem 2).
(1) Developing and building multiple systems and manually managing them results in increased costs and complicated operations.
(2) Errors (e.g., human error) may occur when associating individually acquired sensing data with metadata.

A collection method that can solve these demands and difficulties is anticipated, but no specific means have been made clear. Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a data collection system, terminal, data collection method, and program that can collect various types of metadata via wireless communication and associate sensing data with the metadata without errors.

In order to solve the above problems, the data collection system of the present invention stores metadata in an extension area within a control system frame defined by a standardized and widely used wireless communication protocol.

Specifically, the data collection system according to the present invention is a data collection system that performs communication from a terminal to a data collection unit using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
the terminal stores metadata other than the sensing data detected by the sensor device in an extension area in a control frame defined by the wireless communication protocol;
The data collection unit is characterized in that it collects the metadata for each of the terminals based on information for identifying the terminal that is written in the control system frame.

The terminal according to the present invention is a terminal that communicates with a data collection unit using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
the terminal includes a storage processing unit that stores metadata other than the sensing data detected by the sensor device in an extension area of a control frame defined by the wireless communication protocol;
a wireless communication protocol operation unit that transmits the control frame to the data collection unit;
The present invention is characterized by comprising:

Furthermore, the data collection method according to the present invention is a data collection method in which communication from a terminal to a data collection unit is performed using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
The method is characterized in that the terminal stores metadata other than the sensing data detected by the sensor device in an extension area within a control system frame defined by the wireless communication protocol, and the data collection unit collects the metadata for each terminal based on information identifying the terminal described in the control system frame.

This data collection system uses, for example, Wi-Fi as a standardized and widely used wireless communication protocol. This data collection system utilizes the unique extension area of Wi-Fi control frames (management frames and control frames) to collect device information (metadata) such as the product name and model number of the sensor terminal. This data collection system can therefore solve problem 1.

Furthermore, in addition to the above device information, the data collection system can also store information such as the installation location and installer of the sensor device in a unique extension area, making it possible to collect various types of metadata all at once. This makes it possible for the data collection system to solve problem 2.

In other words, this data collection system utilizes standardized and widely used wireless communication protocols to collect not only device information such as the product name and model number of the sensor terminal, but also metadata other than device information all at once. As a result, this data collection system can avoid the issues of increased costs, complicated operations, and errors that occur when associating sensing data with metadata, realizing an economical and highly reliable IoT system using wireless communication.

Therefore, the present invention can provide a data collection system, terminal, and data collection method that can collect various metadata via wireless communication and associate sensing data with the metadata without error.

There is a limit to the size of the extension area in the control system frame of a standardized wireless communication protocol. For this reason, it is preferable for the terminal to divide the metadata so that it fits into the extension area and store it in multiple control system frames.

The terminal may also store as the metadata a record of information other than the sensing data accumulated over a certain period of time, or the results of performing specific calculations.

The terminal may change the transmission period of the control system frames either autonomously or upon instruction from the data collection unit.

For redundancy purposes, the collection of the metadata in the data collection system of the present invention is characterized in that it is performed via any one of the multiple data collection units or via another terminal.

The program according to the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as the terminal. The terminal of the present invention can also be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.

The present invention provides a data collection system, terminal, data collection method, and program that can collect sensing data and various metadata using a single communication protocol and associate the sensing data with the metadata without error.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a data collection system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a terminal included in the data collection system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data collector provided in the data collection system according to the present invention. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the data collection system according to the present invention stores metadata in a control system frame. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a data collection system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a data collection system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data collection method according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a data collection system according to the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiment described below is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. Note that components with the same reference numerals in this specification and drawings are mutually identical.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a diagram illustrating a data collection system 301 according to the present embodiment. The data collection system 301 is a data collection system that performs communication from a terminal 11 to a data collection unit 12 using a standardized wireless communication protocol.
The terminal 11 stores metadata other than the sensing data detected by the sensor device in an extension area in a control frame defined by the wireless communication protocol,
The data collection unit 12 is characterized in that it collects the metadata for each terminal 11 based on information for identifying the terminal 11 that is written in the control system frame.

The data collection network 15 is a network that connects the sensor terminals 11 located within a specific range to the data collection unit 12. The data collection network 15 is, for example, a local area network (LAN), a field area network (FAN), an IoT area network, etc.

The sensor terminal 11 senses the object to be observed and generates sensing data. There may be multiple sensor terminals 11 of the same type within the same data collection network 15, or multiple types of sensor terminals. The sensor terminal 11 uses a lightweight, standardized wireless communication protocol such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) to transmit the sensing data and various metadata such as device information such as product name/model number and network configuration information all at once to the data collection unit 12. Details of the sensor terminal 11 will be described later.

The data collection unit 12 is, for example, an IoT gateway, an access point, or any other type of storage device. The data collection unit 12 associates the collected sensing data and metadata with the sensor terminal 11 and passes it to the data analysis unit 13. Details of the data collection unit 12 will be described later.

The data analysis unit 13 stores the information passed from the data collection unit 12 and provides it for analysis. The data analysis unit 13 may be located in the same device as the data collection unit 12 or in a separate device. If it is located in a separate device, it may be located away from the data collection unit 12 via a network.

Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the sensor terminal 11. The sensor terminal 11 has a sensor device 11a, a device information storage processing unit 11b, a sensing data storage processing unit 11c, a protocol operation unit 11d, a detection unit 11e, and a metadata storage processing unit 11f. The sensor device 11a performs sensing of the observation target. The sensing data storage processing unit 11c stores the sensing data from the sensor device 11a in a predetermined position of the data frame (such as the payload portion defined by the wireless communication protocol).

The device information storage processing unit 11b collects device information of the observation target (e.g., the manufacturer name, model name, model number, etc. of the device) and stores the information in a predetermined position of the control system frame (an area that can be used for a unique purpose such as an "extension area" or "optional area" defined by the wireless communication protocol). Note that, if the wireless communication protocol is Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11), the control system frame is a management frame and a control frame other than a data frame.
In the management frame,
Beacon frame (a frame that reports network information),
Probe Request frame (a frame requesting network information),
Probe Response frame (response to Probe Request),
Association Request frame (a frame requesting a connection),
Association Response frame (response to Association Request),
Disassociation frame (a frame for disconnecting communication),
Authentication frame (a frame for authenticating the other party),
De-Authentication frame (a frame that disconnects (cancels authentication)),
Action frame (a frame for additional functions in general),
Includes:
In addition, the control frame includes
RTS frame (a frame confirming whether data can be sent now),
CTS frame (a frame indicating that data is about to be transmitted),
Ack frame (a confirmation frame that data was received correctly),
Block Ack Request frame (a frame requesting a Block Ack),
Block Ack frame (a collection of acknowledgement frames for multiple MAC frames),
Includes:

The detection unit 11e acquires information (metadata) other than device information. In this embodiment, the information other than device information is the position information, installer information, and environmental information of the detection target. However, the present invention does not limit the information other than device information to these. The detection unit 11e has a position information detection unit 11e ₁ , an installer detection unit 11e ₂ , and an environmental information detection unit 11e ₃ in order to acquire these pieces of information. The position information detection unit 11e ₁ is, for example, a GPS, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or an RSSI receiver for Wi-Fi signals and BLE beacon signals. The installer detection unit 11e ₂ is, for example, a fingerprint sensor, a vein sensor, a camera (face/iris recognition), or a microphone (voiceprint detection) when identifying the installer, and is a receiver that receives the output value (blood pressure, heart rate, moving speed, remarks, conversation, etc.) of a sensor worn by the installer when checking the installer's situation. The environmental information detector _11e3 is, for example, a camera (image information) or an environmental sensor for temperature, humidity, illuminance, air pressure, sound, infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, or the like.
The detector 11e may detect all of the multiple detection targets, or may detect any one of them.

The metadata storage processing unit 11f, like the device information storage processing unit 11b, stores the data detected by the detection unit 11e as metadata in an extended area or optional area in the control system frame set by the wireless communication protocol. Note that the metadata stored by the metadata storage processing unit 11f and the device information stored by the device information storage processing unit 11b may be stored in different control system frames, or the metadata and device information may be combined and stored in the same control system frame. Note that in this specification, both the metadata stored by the metadata storage processing unit 11f and the device information stored by the device information storage processing unit 11b may be collectively referred to as "metadata".

The metadata storage processing unit 11f and the device information storage processing unit 11b may process the metadata before storing it in the control system frame, for example by converting it into an abbreviated code and storing it, or by dividing it and storing it in multiple control system frames (fragmentation), so that it conforms to the format/restrictions of the unique extension area of the control system frame.

The metadata storage processing unit 11f can arbitrarily set the timing for storing metadata in the control system frame. For example, the storage timing can be each time the metadata is updated, or the metadata can be stored after it has been accumulated for a certain period of time rather than sequentially. Furthermore, when the metadata storage processing unit 11f has accumulated metadata for a certain period of time, it can store a record (log) of the metadata or the results of specific calculations/statistical processing in the control system frame.

The type of metadata stored in the frame and the storage timing may be fixed or variable. The type of metadata and the storage timing may be dynamically changed at the discretion of the sensor terminal 11 itself or in response to instructions from the data analysis unit 13 or the data collection unit 12.

The metadata storage processing unit 11f and the device information storage processing unit 11b may encrypt the metadata using instructions from the data analysis unit 13 or the collection unit 12 or an encryption key previously set on the terminal 11 side, and store it in the control system frame.

3 is a diagram explaining the data collection unit 12. The data collection unit 12 has a wireless communication protocol operation unit 12a, a collected data processing unit 12b, and a data bulk transmission unit 12c. The protocol operation unit 12a receives a data frame from the sensor terminal 11 and a control system frame in which metadata is stored in a unique extension area. The collected data processing unit 12b extracts metadata from the received control system frame and sensing data from the data frame, and organizes these in a database based on information that identifies the individual sensor terminal 11 (e.g., MAC address). The data bulk transmission unit 12c stores the data organized in the database in the payload portion of the frame at a predetermined timing and transmits the frame to the data analysis unit 13. The data bulk transmission unit 12c may transmit only a portion of the data in the database or all of the data according to the requirements of the data analysis unit 13.

Fig. 4 is an example for explaining an area in a control frame of an IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN where metadata is stored. Fig. 4(A) is an example where the control frame is a probe request frame. The metadata is stored in the "Vendor Specific" area EXP. Fig. 4(B) is an example where the control frame is a probe response frame. The metadata is stored in the "Vendor Specific" area EXP. The source of Fig. 4 is as follows:
IEEE Std 802.11-2016, p. 708-712,
IEEE Standard for Information Technology.
Local and Metropolitan Area Networks.
Specific Requirements,
Part 11: Wireless LAN MAC and PHY Specifications,

(Embodiment 2)
Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data collection system 302 of this embodiment. In the data collection system 302, the metadata is collected via one of a plurality of data collectors (12a, 12b), which is a difference from the data collection system 301 of Fig. 1. In this embodiment, the differences from the data collection system 301 of the first embodiment will be explained.

The data collection system 302 comprises a data collection network 15a and a data collection network 15b. Each data collection network is managed by a data collector 12a and a data collector 12b. A terminal 11 in the data collection network 15a transfers data frames to the data collection unit 12a with which a connection has been established via wireless communication Rm. On the other hand, unlike data frames, control system frames are broadcast. In other words, a control system frame from a terminal 11 in the data collection network 15a is also transferred to the data collection unit 12b via the broadcast wireless communication Rs.

In other words, the data collection system 302 can collect metadata via another data collection unit 12b (another Wi-Fi access point, another IoT-GW, etc.) different from the data collection unit 12a with which a connection is established and the main signal (data frame) is directly exchanged.

The data collection system 302 has the following advantages over the data collection system 301 of FIG.
(1) Even if one of the access points (data collection unit 12a) breaks down, the metadata can be received via the other access point (data collection unit 12b).
(2) Since multiple access points (data collectors) can receive metadata from the same terminal 11, it is possible to know that the terminal 11 is located within the coverage area of both access points.

(Embodiment 3)
Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining a data collection system 303 of this embodiment. The data collection system 303 differs from the data collection system 301 of Fig. 1 in that the metadata is collected via another terminal. In this embodiment, differences from the data collection system 301 of the first embodiment will be explained.

The terminal 11 of the data collection system 303 further includes a wireless communication device 11g in addition to the configuration of the terminal 11 described in Fig. 2. The wireless communication device 11g can wirelessly communicate with a terminal 11N outside the data collection network 15, and the terminal 11 can receive other metadata acquired by the terminal 11N. The wireless communication is, for example, infrared communication or Bluetooth.

Terminal 11 regards the metadata as including the other metadata received from other terminals 11N. In other words, the metadata storage processing unit 11f stores the other metadata from other terminals 11N in a unique extension area of the control system frame. Therefore, the data collection unit 12 can collect metadata of other terminals 11N via terminal 11.

(Embodiment 4)
7 is a flowchart for explaining a data collection method performed by the data collection system (301 to 303) described in the first to third embodiments. This data collection method is a data collection method in which communication from the terminal 11 to the data collection unit 12 is performed using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
The terminal 11 stores metadata other than the sensing data detected by the sensor device 11a in an extension area in a control frame defined by the wireless communication protocol (step S01), and the data collection unit 12 collects the metadata for each terminal 11 based on information identifying the terminal 11 described in the control frame (step S02).
It is characterized by:

In this data collection method, a sensor terminal device in an IoT system stores various metadata (information on the installation location of the sensor device, the installer, etc.) along with device information of the device in a unique extension area of a Wi-Fi control frame. This data collection method utilizes a standardized wireless communication protocol to collect device information of the sensor terminal as well as other metadata all at once.

(Embodiment 5)
The terminal 11 can also be realized by a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.
11 shows a block diagram of a system 100. The system 100 includes a computer 105 connected to a network 135.

Network 135 is a data communications network. Network 135 may be a private or public network and may include any or all of the following: (a) a personal area network, for example covering a room; (b) a local area network, for example covering a building; (c) a campus area network, for example covering a campus; (d) a metropolitan area network, for example covering a city; (e) a wide area network, for example covering an area that crosses city, region, or country boundaries; or (f) the Internet. Communications are conducted by electronic and optical signals over network 135.

Computer 105 includes processor 110 and memory 115 connected to processor 110. Although computer 105 is depicted herein as a stand-alone device, it is not limited to such, but rather may be connected to other devices not shown in a distributed processing system.

Processor 110 is an electronic device comprised of logic circuits that respond to and execute instructions.

The memory 115 is a tangible computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is encoded. In this regard, the memory 115 stores data and instructions, i.e., program code, that can be read and executed by the processor 110 to control the operation of the processor 110. The memory 115 can be implemented as a random access memory (RAM), a hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. One component of the memory 115 is the program module 120.

The program modules 120 include instructions for controlling the processor 110 to perform the processes described herein. Although operations are described herein as being performed by the computer 105 or a method or process or sub-process thereof, the operations are actually performed by the processor 110.

The term "module" is used herein to refer to a functional operation that may be embodied as either a stand-alone component or an integrated configuration of multiple subcomponents. Thus, program module 120 may be realized as a single module or as multiple modules operating in concert with one another. Furthermore, although program module 120 is described herein as being installed in memory 115 and thus implemented in software, it is possible for it to be implemented in either hardware (e.g., electronic circuitry), firmware, software, or a combination thereof.

Although the program module 120 is shown as already loaded into the memory 115, it may be configured to be located on the storage device 140 for later loading into the memory 115. The storage device 140 is a tangible computer-readable storage medium that stores the program module 120. Examples of the storage device 140 include compact disks, magnetic tapes, read-only memories, optical storage media, memory units consisting of a hard drive or multiple parallel hard drives, and universal serial bus (USB) flash drives. Alternatively, the storage device 140 may be a random access memory or other type of electronic storage device located in a remote storage system not shown and connected to the computer 105 via the network 135.

System 100 further includes data source 150A and data source 150B, collectively referred to herein as data sources 150, communicatively connected to network 135. In practice, data source 150 may include any number of data sources, i.e., one or more data sources. Data source 150 may include unstructured data and may include social media.

The system 100 further includes a user device 130 operated by the user 101 and connected to the computer 105 via a network 135. The user device 130 includes an input device, such as a keyboard or a voice recognition subsystem, to allow the user 101 to communicate information and command selections to the processor 110. The user device 130 further includes an output device, such as a display device or a printer or a voice synthesizer. A cursor control, such as a mouse, trackball, or touch-sensitive screen, allows the user 101 to manipulate a cursor on a display device to communicate further information and command selections to the processor 110.

The processor 110 outputs the results 122 of the execution of the program module 120 to the user device 130. Alternatively, the processor 110 can provide the output to a storage device 125, such as a database or memory, or via a network 135 to a remote device not shown.

For example, a program that performs the flowchart of FIG. 7 may be the program module 120. The system 100 may be operated as the terminal 11.

The terms "comprising" or "comprising" should be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, or components, but not excluding the presence of one or more other features, integers, steps, or components, or groups thereof. The terms "a" and "an" are indefinite articles and therefore do not exclude embodiments having a plurality thereof.

Other Embodiments
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In short, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the spirit of the present invention at the implementation stage.

In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all of the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components across different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

11: Sensor terminal 11a: Sensor device 11b: Sensing data storage unit 11c: Equipment information storage unit 11d: Wireless communication protocol operation unit 11e: Detection unit _11e1 : Position information detection unit _11e2 : Installer detection unit _11e3 : Environmental information detection unit 11f: Metadata storage processing unit 12: Data collection unit 12a: Wireless communication protocol operation unit 12b: Collection data processing unit 12c: Data batch transmission unit 13: Data analysis unit 15: Data collection networks 301 to 303: Data collection system

Claims (8)

A data collection system in which communication from a terminal to a data collection unit is performed using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
the terminal stores sensing data detected by a sensor device in a predetermined position of a data frame defined by the wireless communication protocol, and stores metadata other than the sensing data in an extension area of a control system frame defined by the wireless communication protocol;
A data collection system characterized in that the data collection unit collects the sensing data and the metadata in association with each other for each terminal based on information identifying the terminal described in the data frame and the control system frame. The data collection system according to claim 1, characterized in that the terminal divides the metadata so that it fits into the extended area and stores it in multiple control system frames. The data collection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the terminal stores, as the metadata, a record of information other than the sensing data accumulated for a certain period of time, or the results of performing a specific calculation. 4. The data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal changes the transmission cycle of the control frame spontaneously or in response to an instruction from the data collection unit. The collection of the metadata includes:
5. The data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the data collection is performed via any one of the plurality of data collection units or via another terminal. A terminal that communicates with a data collection unit using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
a storage processing unit, the terminal, configured to store sensing data detected by a sensor device in a predetermined position of a data frame defined by the wireless communication protocol, and to store metadata other than the sensing data in an extension area of a control frame defined by the wireless communication protocol;
a wireless communication protocol operation unit that transmits the data frame and the control system frame to the data collection unit;
A terminal comprising: A data collection method in which communication from a terminal to a data collection unit is performed using a standardized wireless communication protocol,
The data collection method is characterized in that, in the terminal, sensing data detected by a sensor device is stored in a predetermined position of a data frame defined by the wireless communication protocol, and metadata other than the sensing data is stored in an extension area of a control system frame defined by the wireless communication protocol; and, in the data collection unit, the sensing data and the metadata are associated and collected for each terminal based on information identifying the terminal described in the data frame and the control system frame. A program for causing a computer to function as the terminal according to claim 6.

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