KR20100073889A - Rfid system and sensor networks integrated middleware - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An integration middleware apparatus of a sensor network and an RFID system for utilizing the collected data of the heterogeneous sensor networks are provided to share various resources in open environment by supplying common functions for ubiquitous sensor network application services. CONSTITUTION: A sensor network common interface unit(301) offers interface between a sensor network and an RFID(Radio Frequency Identification System) system. An open application interface unit(101) supports the interface between applications and a middleware. A query processing unit(105) processes sensor data request from application services. A context-aware processing unit(102) supports the decision making of applications. A directory service unit(104) searches the sensor network and services coping with specific application.

Description

Integrated middleware device of wireless recognition system and sensor network {RFID SYSTEM AND SENSOR NETWORKS INTEGRATED MIDDLEWARE}

The present invention relates to an integrated middleware device of a radio recognition (RFID) system and a sensor network. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sensor network support platform for supporting a sensor network and an RFID system and an application support platform for supporting various application services. The present invention relates to an RFID system and an integrated middleware device of a sensor network that can utilize data collected from various RFID readers and heterogeneous sensor networks in an application environment in an open environment.

The sensor network collects sensing data such as temperature, humidity, pressure, movement, and acceleration from various sensor nodes constituting the sensor network, analyzes and processes the collected sensing data, and provides information services to users through applications. Means network. In addition, the RFID system refers to a system that tracks the movement of an object by recognizing a tag attached to a moving object such as an object through a reader or collects information about the moving object to provide an information service to a user.

Middleware for each of these sensor networks and RFID systems has been proposed and developed in the past. In particular, the middleware of the RFID system defines the structure of the middleware in related standardization organizations. In addition, for sensor network systems, we are currently developing middleware that relies on specific applications for actual applications.

However, the structure of integrated middleware supporting both RFID system and sensor network has not been proposed. In the future, as the necessity of jointly utilizing RFID tag data and large-scale sensor network data in various applications in the integrated environment of the RFID system and sensor network increases, the demand for integrated middleware of the RFID system and sensor network will increase. It is expected.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems of the prior art, and consists of a sensor network support platform for supporting a sensor network and an RFID system and an application support platform for supporting various application services in an open environment. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an integrated middleware device of a RFID network and a sensor network so that data collected from various RFID readers and heterogeneous sensor networks can be utilized in application services.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it will be readily appreciated that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

In order to achieve the above object, an integrated middleware device of an RFID system and a sensor network includes a sensor network support platform supporting a sensor network and an RFID system, and the sensor network support platform and a transport network connected to each other through various types of sensors. An application support platform for supporting application programs of a network, the sensor network support platform comprising: data processing means for performing data filtering or error processing to reduce RFID data and sensor data; Network management means for monitoring the status of the sensor network and the RFID system and managing the elements of the network; And a sensor network common interface means for providing an interface with a sensor network and an RFID system, wherein the application support platform comprises: an open application interface means for supporting an interface between the application programs and middleware; Query processing means for processing sensor data requests from the application services; Event processing means for generating and processing a user-defined event for changing an environmental condition by controlling the actuator; Context aware processing means to support decision making of applications; And directory service means for searching for a sensor network or a service providing a specific function.

As described above, the present invention provides an integrated middleware that provides common functions required for various ubiquitous sensor network application services that provide services by sharing a heterogeneous sensor network and an RFID system. Applications or RFID system applications can eliminate the inefficiency of using independent sensor networks or RFID systems, can share various resources in an open environment, and provide the functions commonly required by various ubiquitous application services. By eliminating the need for individual application services to implement separate functions.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: There will be. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The integrated middleware device of the RFID system and the sensor network according to the present invention is divided into a sensor network support platform supporting the wired / wireless sensor network and the RFID system and an application support platform supporting the application services of various ubiquitous sensor networks.

The sensor network support platform is a data processing function block that performs data filtering or error processing to reduce a large amount of RFID data and sensor data, and network management that monitors and reports the status of wired / wireless sensor networks and RFID systems and manages network elements. Functional blocks, heterogeneous wired and wireless sensor networks, and sensor network common interface functional blocks that support secure and standardized communication between RFID systems and middleware.

The application support platform also provides an open application interface (API) function block to support secure and standardized communication between a variety of ubiquitous sensor network application services and middleware, and irregular sensor data requests and rules from application services. Query processing function block for processing typical sensor data request, event processing function block for creating and processing user-defined event to change the environmental condition by controlling the actuator, and context-aware processing function to support application decision making Block, and a directory service function block for searching for a sensor network or a service providing a specific function.

The present invention may not only support the RFID system and the sensor network at the same time, but may support only one of the RFID system and the sensor network. In addition, the present invention may support one application requiring a specific sensor network, but may basically support multiple applications for heterogeneous sensor networks and RFID systems installed in an open environment.

1 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an RFID system and a heterogeneous sensor network based information service providing system to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information service providing system collects information from a tag attached to an object and the like, and transmits the RFID reader 30 to the applications 50 through the RFID / USN integrated middleware. A sensor node 10 for sensing environmental information, a sensor network for connecting sensor nodes to wirelessly transfer data sensed in real time by the sensor node 10 between the sensor nodes, and sensing in one sensor network Collected data and delivered to the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40, and sensing data and RFID of a plurality of heterogeneous sensor networks delivered through each of the plurality of gateways 20 and the RFID reader 30. The object and environment information is extracted by storing, refining, classifying and integrating tag data, and the situation recognition information (environmental situation information) Application for providing RFID tag information and sensor network information to a user using information of the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 and the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 for providing information services through content generation. And 50.

In such an information service providing system, a plurality of sensor nodes 10 having one or more sensing capabilities such as ambient temperature, ambient humidity, vibration, light, pressure, and movement are installed. The sensor nodes 10 form a sensor network through short-range wireless communication, and enable the gateway 20 to collect data collected by each sensor node 10 through sensing.

The gateway 20 transmits the sensing data to the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 through data communication based on the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 and TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol). In addition, the RFID reader 30 transmits the RFID tag data to the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 by using the RFID / USN integrated middleware device 40 and TCP / IP-based data communication. Then, the RFID / USN middleware device 40 may monitor the environment in which the sensor network is constructed and control the sensor network using the sensing data. In addition, the sensing data and RFID tag data is processed to generate event and environmental situation information desired by the application 50 to provide an information service as an application.

2 is a block diagram of an RFID / USN integrated middleware according to the present invention.

In order to provide a ubiquitous sensor network (USN) service, as shown in FIG. 2, the USN application, the RFID / USN integrated middleware, the delivery network 200, and the sensor networks must cooperate with each other to perform their roles. USN applications use sensor data or RFID tag data and control specific actuators to provide environmental information or change environmental conditions.

RFID / USN integrated middleware works with heterogeneous sensor networks to perform common functions on behalf of various USN applications. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the RFID / USN integrated middleware is roughly divided into an application support platform 100 and a sensor network support platform 300. The delivery network 200 includes an access network and a backbone network, and serves to deliver a message or data through middleware between an application and a sensor network. The sensor network includes various heterogeneous wired sensor networks, wireless sensor networks, and RFID networks, and collects sensor data or RFID tag data or controls actuators.

RFID / USN integrated middleware provides a common interface between USN applications, middleware, and middleware and heterogeneous sensor networks, and acts as a common application platform that provides the functionality needed in a variety of applications. Through this interface, USN applications access the sensor network such as to obtain sensor data and RFID tag data or to control actuators. In addition, RFID / USN integrated middleware collects and integrates sensor data from heterogeneous sensor networks, performs situation-aware rule processing, event generation, and various management functions.

The detailed configuration of the RFID / USN integrated middleware device will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The RFID / USN integrated middleware is roughly divided into an application support platform 100 and a sensor network support platform 300. Platforms are generally separated by transport networks, but can be configured in various ways in actual implementation.

The application support platform includes an open application interface (API) function block 101, a context aware processing function block 102, an event processing function block 103, a directory service function block 104, and a query processing function block ( 105).

The open application interface function block 101 provides a standard interface for applications to access RFID / USN integrated middleware, and provides functions such as authentication, security, and application session management for applications utilizing AAA services.

The context aware processing function block 102 performs context aware rule processing, application level RFID tag data filtering, high level sensor data aggregation, fusion and integration, and the like.

The query processing function block 105 performs query scheduling for various applications and heterogeneous sensor networks and query routing to designated sensor networks and sensor nodes.

The event processing function block 103 performs event generation, such as generating an event using a result from situational awareness rule processing or the like, or generating an alert to an application or necessary stakeholders.

The directory service function block 104 performs functions such as registration of USN metadata, inquiry of necessary sensor networks and sensor network states, registration and discovery of middleware services or application services, and the like.

The sensor network support platform 300 includes a data processing function block 302, a network management function block 303, and a sensor network common interface function block 301.

The data processing function block 302 performs functions such as filtering of sensor data and RFID tag data, data error processing, and the like. The network management function block 303 performs sensor network component management, sensor node remote management, sensor network topology (connection) management, etc., including a sensor network gateway or RFID reader. The sensor network common interface function block 301 provides an interface between a safe and standardized sensor network and middleware, generates an event for filtering redundant RFID tag data, and authenticates or protects a channel of the sensor network.

In order to explain the operation of the RFID / USN integrated middleware according to the present invention, a middleware service scenario for the refrigerated food distribution management application in the integrated environment will be described as an example.

The refrigerated food distribution management system uses the temperature sensor and RFID system for the distribution of foods where the temperature must be kept constant and operates in the following service scenario steps.

1. To identify abnormal conditions, refrigerated distribution applications should create appropriate situational awareness rules based on their knowledge of food control.

2. Sensor nodes (sensor networks) equipped with sensors and RFID readers should be mounted in transport vehicles and storage warehouses in order to recognize temperature and the products carried. RFID tags are attached to the packaging of each product.

3. To provide sensed sensor data and RFID tag data, the sensor network and RFID reader must be connected to the integrated middleware through the sensor network common interface. At the time of connection, the integrated middleware must perform authentication procedures for the sensor network and the RFID reader.

4. In order to receive the sensed sensor data and RFID tag data, the refrigerated distribution application must be connected to the integrated middleware through an open application interface. At the time of connection, the integrated middleware must perform the authentication procedure for the application.

5. To find the required sensor networks, and to determine the current state of such sensor networks, refrigeration applications use directory services to find matching sensor network metadata.

6. When the refrigerated distribution application requests sensor data and RFID tag data from the integrated middleware, the integrated middleware delivers the data collection request to the relevant sensor network and RFID reader. On the other hand, refrigerated distribution applications can also obtain the necessary data on a regular basis. This requires sensor networks and RFID readers to periodically deliver the collected data to integrated middleware.

7. The sensor network senses the temperature and passes the temperature data to the integrated middleware, and the RFID reader collects the RFID tag data and passes it to the integrated middleware.

8. The integrated middleware collects and integrates sensor data and RFID tag data to generate data pairs in the form of "RFID tag data, sensor data" and provide them to the refrigerated distribution application. To reduce the amount of RFID tag data, the integrated middleware can filter out duplicate tag data. In addition, the integration middleware may perform aggregation or fusion of sensor data.

9. The refrigerated distribution application displays the current ambient conditions on the screen. The RFID tag data is converted into product identifiers and displayed in association with the relevant temperature data. If an abnormal condition is detected based on a situational awareness rule generated by the refrigeration application, for example, a higher temperature than expected, the refrigeration application sends a command to lower the temperature to the relevant sensor network via the integrated middleware. . The cooler or air conditioner in the relevant sensor network is then activated to lower the temperature.

10. Before the refrigeration application terminates, the refrigeration application may send a request to the integrated middleware to no longer collect data from the sensor network.

On the other hand, the method of the present invention as described above can be written in a computer program. And the code and code segments constituting the program can be easily inferred by a computer programmer in the art. In addition, the written program is stored in a computer-readable recording medium (information storage medium), and read and executed by a computer to implement the method of the present invention. The recording medium may include any type of computer readable recording medium.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is not limited by the drawings.

1 is an exemplary configuration of an integrated network of an RFID system and a sensor network to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a block diagram of an integrated middleware device of an RFID system and a sensor network according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: application support platform 101: open application interface function block

102: context aware processing function block 103: event processing function block

104: directory service function block 105: query processing function block

300: sensor network support platform 301: sensor network common interface function block

302: data processing function block 303: network management function block

Claims (7)

In the integrated middleware device of the RFID system and the sensor network, A sensor network support platform supporting a sensor network and an RFID system, and an application support platform connected to the sensor network support platform and a delivery network and supporting applications of various types of sensor networks; The sensor network support platform includes: data processing means for performing data filtering or error processing to reduce RFID data and sensor data; Network management means for monitoring the status of the sensor network and the RFID system and managing the elements of the network; And a sensor network common interface means for providing an interface with the sensor network and the RFID system. The application support platform may include: an open application interface means for supporting an interface between the application programs and middleware; Query processing means for processing sensor data requests from the application services; Event processing means for generating and processing a user-defined event for changing an environmental condition by controlling the actuator; Context aware processing means to support decision making of applications; And directory service means for searching for a sensor network or a service providing a specific function. The method of claim 1, The open application interface means, An RFID / USN integrated middleware device that provides an interface between various applications and middleware, and performs authentication, security, and application session management functions for the applications. The method of claim 1, The query processing means, RFID / USN integrated middleware device that performs query scheduling for the application programs and heterogeneous sensor networks and query routing to sensor nodes in conjunction with the sensor network support platform. The method of claim 1, The event processing means, RFID / USN integrated middleware that generates an event using the result of the pre-generated situation awareness rule processing and processes the event by interworking with the sensor network supporting platform for the event generated and transmitted by the application program Device. The method of claim 1, The directory service means, RFID / USN integrated middleware device that performs metadata registration of sensor network and inquiry of sensor network status by interworking with the sensor network supporting platform and discovery and registration of middleware service or application service by interworking with the open application interface means . The method of claim 1, The network management means, RFID / USN integrated middleware device for managing components of a network including a gateway or an RFID reader of a sensor network, remotely managing sensor nodes, and managing connection of a sensor network in association with the sensor network common interface means. The method of claim 1, The sensor network common interface means, An RFID / USN integrated middleware device that provides a common interface between the middleware and the sensor network and the RFID reader, generates an event for filtering duplicate RFID tag data, and performs authentication and channel protection for the sensor network.

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