Sensor sockets enabling reliable communication using a context based grouping mechanism

Abstract

There are more sensors connected to the Internet today and corporations predict that there will be billions of sensors within the decade. With billions of sensors, there is an opportunity for new behavior from applications in mobile devices based on sensor input. But such applications require a mechanism to provide a manageable subset of sensors, relevant to the user's current situation; since no single device is capable of maintaining a list of billion sensors. By using a context enabled distributed storage of sensors; we can provide communication with a finite set of nodes that are deemed relevant to the user's current context. We introduce the notion of a sensor socket, that share API similarities to a TCP/IP socket, which provides communication with remote devices. We identify requirements on the grouping mechanism concerning connectivity to ensure reliable communication decoupled from location. We then provide a scenario for how sensor sockets could enable device connectivity. Finally, we demonstrate a subset of the scenario, with a proof of concept, by presenting ad-hoc association of a printing resource with a mobile device connected to the Internet via mobile broadband.