WO2022052109A1

WO2022052109A1 - Methods, apparatuses and computer medium for wireless communication

Info

Publication number: WO2022052109A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/115097
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel BOVENSIEPEN; Mattias Lampe
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft; Siemens Ltd., China
Priority date: 2020-09-14
Filing date: 2020-09-14
Publication date: 2022-03-17
Also published as: CN116724538A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to methods, apparatuses and computer medium for wireless communication. A method for wireless communication comprises: deploying an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link; connecting the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link; establishing, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections; determining whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices; if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, determining a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices, the final location satisfying the location criterion.

Description

METHODS, APPARATUSES AND COMPUTER MEDIUM FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to methods, apparatuses and computer medium for wireless communication.

BACKGROUND

With the improvement of wireless technologies like 802.11 and 5G, radio-based communication systems are becoming a reasonable alternative to wired-based communication systems in more and more areas. Already today AGVs (Automated guided vehicle) , HMIs (Human machine interface) and machine tools are connected wirelessly to monitor their states and perform control tasks. Nevertheless, some wireless communication systems usually require an extraordinarily large wired communication system as a backbone. For example, it is typical that a regular metro with a wireless signaling system requires around 200km of fiber optical cables to establish the necessary communication backbone for the wireless system.

One common approach to remove the wired backbone to simplify the deployment of a wireless communication system is to adopt a wireless mesh network. A wireless mesh network creates a backbone via a wireless connection between two wireless devices using either the same radio and frequency used by the application itself or adopts a more complex strategy like using an additional radio with a different frequency for the meshed backbone link. Wireless mesh networks are available as standards in many different technologies. For example, the 802.11 family provides 802.11s, for Bluetooth a standard called Bluetooth Mesh Networking is available and some systems like Zigbee provide mesh support out of the box as an important part of the wireless technology itself. However, these mesh technologies are usually used to build backbones which do not provide high performance but to include many devices and hops between these devices (for simple deployment and a certain degree of redundancy) .

Another approach to remove the wired backbone is to adopt point-to-point wireless links. It is often adopted to connect just two locations (e.g., office locations or base stations) where a wired connection is not feasible for cost or performance reasons. For example, it is quite typical to adopt a wireless link if a low-latency connection is required over a long-distance where the installation of a straight cable would not be possible due to geographic obstacles. However, this approach is not flexible in case that wireless devices itself are mobile.

SUMMARY

Although the conventional approaches are able to remove the wired backbone to simplify the deployment of a wireless communication system, they are usually used to build backbones which do not provide high performance but to include many wireless devices and hops between these wireless devices, or not flexible in case that wireless devices itself are mobile.

In view of the above, a first exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides a method for wireless communication. The method comprises: deploying an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link; connecting the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link; establishing, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections; determining whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices; if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, determining a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices, the final location satisfying the location criterion.

A second exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides a method for wireless communication. The method comprises: dividing a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link; for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks: deploying a respective initial broker at a respective initial location in the each subnetwork; connecting the respective plurality of wireless network devices to the respective initial broker via the wireless link; establishing, via the respective initial broker, virtual connections between the respective plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the respective plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections; determining whether the respective initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices; and if the respective initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, determining a respective final location for deploying a respective final broker in replace of the respective initial broker based on the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices, the respective final location satisfying the location criterion; and establishing connections between the respective final brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks can communicate with each other via the respective final brokers for the different subnetworks.

A third exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus comprises: a deploying module configured to deploy an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link; a connecting module configured to connect the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link; an establishing module configured to establish, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections; a first determining module configured to determine whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices; and a second determining module configured to determine a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, the final location satisfying the location criterion.

A fourth exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus comprises: a dividing module configured to divide a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link; a deploying module configured to deploy a respective broker for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks, a location of the respective broker satisfying a location criterion; an establishing module configured to establish connections between the respective brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks are capable of communicating with each other via the respective brokers for the different subnetworks.

A fifth exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus comprises a processor and a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to perform a method according to the first or second exemplary aspects described above.

A sixth exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions to perform a method according to the first or second exemplary aspects described above.

A seventh exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides a computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage medium and comprising instructions to perform a method according to the first or second exemplary aspects described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the text which follows, the disclosure will be explained in greater detail, without restricting the general concept of the disclosure, on the basis of example embodiments and with reference to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an architecture for a wireless backbone in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating further sub-steps of the method of FIG. 2 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4 to 8 illustrate an example process to implement the method of FIGS. 2 and 3 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another example method for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating further sub-steps of the method of FIG. 9 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example scenario for implementing the method of FIGS. 9 and 10 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example apparatus for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example apparatus for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example apparatus for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure will be further described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the particular embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate the disclosure but not to limit the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example architecture 100 for a wireless backbone in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The architecture 100 includes a wireless network 101 (e.g., a stationary or mobile wireless communication network) having a plurality of

wireless network devices

102a, 102b, 102c and 102d connected thereto via a wireless link (e.g., 3G, 4G, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , 5G, or so on) . The wireless network device 102a to 102d may be for example, but not limited to, machines, AGVs, HMIs, servers, or so on. In an example, even devices without the need for wireless operations (e.g., servers, machines) are using wireless connectivity to become part of the wireless network. For example, the wireless network devices 102a to 102d may be connected to the wireless network 101 through wireless accessing devices, such as

wireless accessing devices

103a, 103b and 103c that provide access to the wireless network 101. The wireless accessing devices 103a to 103c may be for example, but not limited to, routers, switches, hubs or base stations of the wireless network. Brokers such as

brokers

104a and 104b (e.g., a VPN (Virtual Private Network) broker) are deployed in the wireless network 101 to establish a dedicated network over the wireless network 101 to enable communication between the wireless network devices through the dedicated network. Unlike common approaches to providing the best possible QoS (Quality of Service) for all involved wireless devices (e.g., a centralized VPN solution somewhere in the internet (which would potentially result in large latencies) or an on-premise VPN setup (which is potentially very costly) ) , an approach in the disclosure enables the broker to roam to an optimal location which optimizes the latency with low cost.

It should be noted that the number of wireless devices, brokers and wireless access devices shown in FIG. 1 are provided as an illustrative example and is not intended to be limiting on all embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 200 for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The method 200 can be implemented in an architecture 100 of FIG. 1. The method 200 includes steps 201 to 205 to deploy a broker at a preferred location in a wireless network.

At step 201, the method 200 deploys an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link. The broker as described herein may be a VPN broker or any other broker that can provide communication and virtual connections between the wireless network devices. The method 200 is applicable to a system with security requirements or without security requirements. In an example, the broker can provide secure communication between the wireless network devices to meet security requirements of a system. In another example, the broker do not need to provide secure communication between the wireless network devices for a system without security requirements.

At step 202, the method 200 connects the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link. For example, the plurality of wireless network devices connect via their wireless interface to the initial broker using a standardized addressing mechanism like IPv4, IPv6, DNS, etc.

At step 203, the method 200 establishes, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices can communicate with each other via the virtual connections. In this step, the plurality of wireless network devices can communicate with each other via a dedicated virtual backbone after virtual connections between them are established.

At step 204, the method 200 determines whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices.

At step 205, the method 200 determines a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, wherein the final location satisfying the location criterion.

In an embodiment, the method 200 further acquires the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices. For example, the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices may be acquired by at least one of: the plurality of wireless network devices providing individual locations of the plurality of wireless network devices at specified intervals (e.g., via mechanisms like GPS, WiFi Beacons, other network information, etc. ) ; the broker acquiring individual locations of the plurality of wireless network devices via network functions (e.g., MEC-based access to the 5G Core locating data) .

In an embodiment, the location criterion may comprise one of: a closest location to a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices; or an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices. The certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices may be half, two thirds, three fourth or any other proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices. Preferably, the certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices may be the majority of the wireless network devices. Either a closest location to a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices or an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices may provide suitable average latency in communications between the broker and the wireless network devices.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 300 illustrating further sub-steps of step 205 of the method 200 of FIG. 2 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, wherein a current location is initially set to the initial location and a current broker is initially set to the initial broker. The step 205 includes sub-steps 301 to 306.

At sub-step 301, the step 205 finds a subsequent location better than the current location based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices and the location criterion. The better subsequent location may be closer to the certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices or have better received signal behaviour from the certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices. In an example, the subsequent location may be determined by selecting the subsequent location from predetermined locations (e.g., different data-center or different MEC location) . In another example, the subsequent location may be determined by finding a next location with genetic algorithm or any other heuristic search algorithm based on the current broker location and the locations of the wireless devices.

At sub-step 302, the step 205 deploys a subsequent broker at the subsequent location.

At sub-step 303, the step 205 establishes connections between the current broker and the subsequent broker. The current broker may obtain the network address of the subsequent broker.

At sub-step 304, the step 205 causes, via the current broker, the plurality of wireless network devices to roam to the subsequent broker. For example, the current broker may trigger roaming function of each of the wireless network devices by providing the network address of the subsequent broker to them to cause the wireless network devices to roam to the subsequent broker.

At sub-step 305, the step 205 terminates the current broker if the plurality of wireless network devices are roamed to the subsequent broker. Both of the current broker and the subsequent broker can continue to provide temporary routing between both broker locations for the wireless network devices before all wireless network devices are roamed to the subsequent broker. If all wireless network devices are roamed to the subsequent broker, the current broker will be terminated.

At sub-step 306, the step 205 updates the current location and the current broker using the subsequent location and the subsequent broker.

The sub-steps 301 to 306 are repeatedly executed until the subsequent location for the subsequent broker satisfies the location criterion as the final location for the final broker.

FIGS. 4 to 8 illustrate an example process to implement the method 200 of FIGS. 2 and 3 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating deployment of an initial broker in a wireless network. FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating deployment of a subsequent broker in the wireless network. FIG. 6 is a diagram 600 illustrating communication between the initial broker and the subsequent broker. FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating transition from the initial broker to the subsequent broker. FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 illustrating termination of the initial broker.

Referring to FIG. 4, an initial broker M1 ₁ is deployed at an initial location in a wireless network having three wireless network devices M2 ₁, M2 ₂ and M2 ₃ connected thereto via a wireless link. The wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ connect via their wireless interface to the initial broker M1 ₁. The initial broker M1 ₁ establishes virtual connections between all incoming streams from all wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ over the wireless network such that all wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ can communicate with each other via a dedicated virtual backbone.

Referring to FIG. 5, if the initial broker M1 ₁ detects that its location does not satisfy a location criterion based on locations of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃, then a subsequent (or new) broker M1 ₂ at a subsequent (or new) location will be deployed. In an example, if the broker M1 ₁ detects that a certain proportion of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ (e.g., a majority (M2 ₂, M2 ₃) ) is not located in close proximity, a new broker M1 ₂ is spawned which is in close proximity to the certain proportion of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃. In another example, if the broker M1 ₁ detects that it is placed at an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ (e.g., a majority (M2 ₂, M2 ₃) ) , a new broker M1 ₂ is spawned which can provide better received signal behaviour from the certain proportion of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃.

Referring to FIG. 6, a connection is established between the initial (or old) broker M1 ₁ and the new broker M1 ₂. The old broker M1 ₁ may obtain the network address of the new broker M1 ₂.

Referring to FIG. 7, the old broker M1 ₁ may trigger roaming function of each of the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ by providing the network address of the newer broker M1 ₂ to them to cause the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ to roam to the new broker M1 ₂. Both of the old broker M1 ₁ and the new broker M1 ₂ can continue to provide temporary routing between both broker locations for the wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ before all wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ are roamed to the new broker M1 ₂.

Referring to FIG. 8, the older broker M1 ₁ will be terminated if all wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ are roamed to the new broker M1 ₂.

If the location of the new broker satisfies the location criterion, the process ends, otherwise it can be repeatedly executed until the location of the new broker M1 _i (e.g., i = 3, 4, …) satisfies the location criterion.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example method 900 for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The method 900 can be implemented in an architecture 100 of FIG. 1. The method 900 includes steps 901 to 903 to deploy a plurality broker at preferred locations in a wireless network.

At step 901, the method 900 divides a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link.

At step 902, the method 900 deploys a respective broker for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks, wherein a location of the respective broker satisfies a location criterion.

At step 903, the method 900 establishes connections between the respective brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks can communicate with each other via the respective brokers for the different subnetworks.

In an embodiment, the step 901 further divides the wireless network into the plurality of subnetworks based on at least one of: locations of wireless network devices, closeness of communication between wireless network devices, and threshold of wireless network devices at locations. Due to a certain threshold of wireless network devices at some locations (e.g., two, three or four devices) , a new broker is spawn, i.e., the wireless network is divided into subnetworks served by a corresponding broker. For example. this setup would provide the lowest latency between wireless network devices which are by themselves close to each other on the basis of a location criterion. However, the disadvantage is that the worst-case latency is slightly increased due to the fact that one additional hop is introduced in the backbone to communicate between wireless network devices which are assigned to different brokers. This disadvantage could be compensated by considering not only locations of wireless network devices and threshold of wireless network devices at locations but also closeness of communication between wireless network devices. For example, the closeness of communication between wireless network devices may be determined by the application data flow (e.g., which device is more likely to communicate with another device) or historical communication between the devices. Based on this closeness of communication, certain devices could be relocated even though that they are not close, to improve the worst-case latency.

In an embodiment, the method 900 further acquires the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices. For example, the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices may be acquired by at least one of: the respective plurality of wireless network devices providing individual locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices at specified intervals (e.g., via mechanisms like GPS, WiFi Beacons, other network information, etc. ) ; the respective broker acquiring individual locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices via network functions (e.g., MEC-based access to the 5G Core locating data) .

In an embodiment, the location criterion may comprise one of: a closest location to a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices; or an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices. The certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices may be half, two thirds, three fourth or any other proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices. Preferably, the certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices may be the majority of the wireless network devices. Either a closest location to a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices or an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices may provide suitable average latency in communications between the broker and the wireless network devices.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart 1000 illustrating further sub-steps of step 902 of the method 900 of FIG. 9 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The step 902 includes sub-steps 1001 to 1005 that are similar to steps 201 to 205 of the method 200.

At sub-step 1001, the step 902 deploys a respective initial broker at a respective initial location in the each subnetwork.

At sub-step 1002, the step 902 connects the respective plurality of wireless network devices to the respective initial broker via the wireless link.

At sub-step 1003, the step 902 establishes, via the respective initial broker, virtual connections between the respective plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the respective plurality of wireless network devices can communicate with each other via the virtual connections.

At sub-step 1004, the step 902 determines whether the respective initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices.

At sub-step 1005, the step 902 determines a respective final location for deploying a respective final broker in replace of the respective initial broker based on the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices, wherein the respective final location satisfies the location criterion.

The sub-step 1005 may include further sub-steps similar to sub-steps 301 to 306 of step 205 of the method 200. For the sake of brevity, they are no more described in detail.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example scenario 1100 for implementing the method of FIGS. 9 and 10 in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The scenario 1100 may be an example of the architecture 100 of FIG. 1.

The scenario 1100 includes a wireless network 1101 having a plurality of wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₉ connected thereto via a wireless link. The wireless network 1101 may be divided into a plurality of subnetworks 1111 to 1113 each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link. The subnetwork 1111 has three wireless network devices M2 ₁ to M2 ₃ connected thereto. The subnetwork 1112 has two wireless network devices M2 ₄ to M2 ₅ connected thereto. The subnetwork 1113 has four wireless network devices M2 ₆ to M2 ₉ connected thereto. The dividing of the wireless network 1101 into the plurality of subnetworks 1111 to 1113 may be based on at least one of: locations of wireless network devices, closeness of communication between wireless network devices, and threshold of wireless network devices at locations.

A respective broker (e.g., M1 ₁, M1 ₂, M1 ₃) is deployed is for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks 1111 to 1113, wherein a location of the respective broker satisfies a location criterion. The deploying of a respective broker for each subnetwork is similar to the example process of FIGS. 4 to 8. For the sake of brevity, they are no more described in detail.

Connections between the respective brokers M1 ₁, M1 ₂ and M1 ₃ for the plurality of subnetworks 1111 to 1113 can be established such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks 1111 to 1113 can communicate with each other via the respective brokers for the different subnetworks.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The apparatus 1200 includes a deploying module 1201, a connecting module 1202, an establishing module 1203, a first determining module 1204 and a second determining module 1205 to implement the method 200 of FIGS. 2 and 3.

The deploying module 1201 may be configured to deploy an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link.

The connecting module 1202 may be configured to connect the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link.

The establishing module 1203 may be configured to establish, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices can communicate with each other via the virtual connections.

The first determining module 1204 may be configured to determine whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices.

The second determining module 1205 may be configured to determine a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, the final location satisfying the location criterion.

In further embodiments, the deploying module 1201, the connecting module 1202, the establishing module 1203, the first determining module 1204 and the second determining module 1205 of the apparatus 1200 may be further configured to perform respective steps or sub-steps of the method 200 as described above. For the sake of brevity, they are no more described in detail.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example apparatus 1300 for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The apparatus 1300 includes a dividing module 1301, a deploying module 1302 and an establishing module 1303 to implement the method 900 of FIGS. 9 and 10.

The dividing module 1301 may be configured to divide a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link.

The deploying module 1302 may be configured to deploy a respective broker for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks, a location of the respective broker satisfying a location criterion.

The establishing module 1303 may be configured to establish connections between the respective brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks can communicate with each other via the respective brokers for the different subnetworks.

In further embodiments, the dividing module 1301, the deploying module 1302 and the establishing module 1303 of the apparatus 1300 may be further configured to perform respective steps or sub-steps of the method 900 as described above. For the sake of brevity, they are no more described in detail.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example apparatus 1400 for wireless communication in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. The apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1401 and a memory 1402 coupled to the processor 1401. The processor 1401 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The memory 1402 may include random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM) . The memory 1402 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor 1401 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., any or all steps or sub-steps of the method 200 of FIGS. 2 and 3, the example process of FIGS. 4 to 8, any or all steps or sub-steps of the method 900 of FIGS. 9 and 10) .

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration) . Thus, the functions described herein may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores) , on at least one integrated circuit (IC) . In various examples, different types of ICs may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, an FPGA, or another semi-custom IC) , which may be programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unit may also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) , compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a non-transitory computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) , or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes /flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes /flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various blocks in a sample order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

For example, embodiments of the disclosure can be applied to a wireless network like a 5G wireless network where a ubiquitous wireless infrastructure is available. A so-called Mobile Edge Access Cloud (MEC) is now introduced in the area of 5G. These MEC systems would be widely spread inside the 5G network operator’s system and there would always be a MEC in close proximity of an end-user. This fact would enable deployment of brokers at MEC locations inside the 5G network and provide always the optimal performance between two or more devices based on their locations.

Compared to existing mesh or point to point wireless solutions, methods and apparatuses as described in the disclosure can provide a highly flexible and performant industrial wireless backbone with low cost and reduced hops between end-devices (e.g., wireless network devices) . Further, unlike approaches such as static broker setup having a static distance between end-devices and brokers, methods and apparatuses as described in the disclosure enable the broker to roam to an optimal location which optimizes the latency based on the location of the end-devices itself. It can be flexible and useful in case that the end-devices itself are mobile.

While the foregoing is directed to some embodiments of the disclosure, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the disclosure can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all aspects to be illustrative and not restricted. The scope of the disclosure is indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and the range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

A method for wireless communication, comprising:

deploying an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link;

connecting the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link;

establishing, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections;

determining whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices; and

if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, determining a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices, the final location satisfying the location criterion.
The method of claim 1, wherein the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices are acquired by at least one of:

the plurality of wireless network devices providing individual locations of the plurality of wireless network devices at specified intervals;

the broker acquiring individual locations of the plurality of wireless network devices via network functions.
The method of claim 2, wherein the location criterion comprises one of:

a closest location to a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices; or

an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the plurality of wireless network devices.
The method of claim 1, wherein a current location is initially set to the initial location and a current broker is initially set to the initial broker, and

wherein determining a final location for deploying a final broker comprises:

a step of finding a subsequent location better than the current location based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices and the location criterion;

a step of deploying a subsequent broker at the subsequent location;

a step of establishing connections between the current broker and the subsequent broker;

a step of causing, via the current broker, the plurality of wireless network devices to roam to the subsequent broker;

a step of terminating the current broker if the plurality of wireless network devices are roamed to the subsequent broker;

a step of updating the current location and the current broker using the subsequent location and the subsequent broker;

wherein the step of finding, the step of deploying, the step of establishing, the step of causing, the step of terminating and the step of updating are repeatedly executed until the subsequent location for the subsequent broker satisfies the location criterion as the final location for the final broker.
The method of claim 1, wherein the step of finding a subsequent location better than the current location comprises selecting the subsequent location from predetermined locations.
A method for wireless communication, comprising:

dividing a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link;

for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks:

deploying a respective initial broker at a respective initial location in the each subnetwork;

connecting the respective plurality of wireless network devices to the respective initial broker via the wireless link;

establishing, via the respective initial broker, virtual connections between the respective plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the respective plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections;

determining whether the respective initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices; and

if the respective initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, determining a respective final location for deploying a respective final broker in replace of the respective initial broker based on the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices, the respective final location satisfying the location criterion; and

establishing connections between the respective final brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks are capable of communicating with each other via the respective final brokers for the different subnetworks.
The method of claim 6, wherein dividing the wireless network into the plurality of subnetworks is based on at least one of: locations of wireless network devices, closeness of communication between wireless network devices, and threshold of wireless network devices at locations.
The method of claim 6, wherein the locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices are acquired by at least one of:

the respective plurality of wireless network devices providing individual locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices at specified intervals;

the respective broker acquiring individual locations of the respective plurality of wireless network devices via network functions.
The method of claim 6, wherein the location criterion comprises one of:

a closest location to a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices; or

an optimum location for receiving wireless signals from a certain proportion of the respective plurality of wireless network devices.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a deploying module configured to deploy an initial broker at an initial location in a wireless network having a plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link;

a connecting module configured to connect the plurality of wireless network devices to the initial broker via the wireless link;

an establishing module configured to establish, via the initial broker, virtual connections between the plurality of wireless network devices over the wireless network such that the plurality of wireless network devices are capable of communicating with each other via the virtual connections;

a first determining module configured to determine whether the initial location satisfies a location criterion based on locations of the plurality of wireless network devices; and

a second determining module configured to determine a final location for deploying a final broker in replace of the initial broker based on the locations of the plurality of wireless network devices if the initial location does not satisfy the location criterion, the final location satisfying the location criterion.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a dividing module configured to divide a wireless network into a plurality of subnetworks each of which having a respective plurality of wireless network devices connected thereto via a wireless link;

a deploying module configured to deploy a respective broker for each subnetwork of the plurality of subnetworks, a location of the respective broker satisfying a location criterion; and

an establishing module configured to establish connections between the respective brokers for the plurality of subnetworks such that wireless network devices from different subnetworks of the plurality of subnetworks are capable of communicating with each other via the respective brokers for the different subnetworks.
An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

a processor;

a memory storing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to perform the method defined in any one of claims 1 to 9.
A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions to perform the method defined in any one of claims 1 to 9.
A computer program product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable storage medium and comprising instructions to perform the method defined in any one of claims 1 to 9.