Sensing as a Service - Architectures for Closed-loop Sensor Network Virtualization

Abstract:

The goal of this project is to demonstrate that new cyber physical architectures will enable closed-loop sensor networks to be shared among multiple applications. This aids in dynamically allocating sensing and computing resources necessary to analyze sensor data and perform sensor actuation. Existing closed-loop sensor networks are based on dedicated, ``stove-pipe'' architectures, that prevent the sharing of these networks. Sensor networks are traditionally designed and implemented for one specific application and require dedicated sensing and computational resources. Data generated by closed-loop sensor networks are playing an increasingly critical role in public safety and security. These cyber-physical systems tightly connect computation elements with the control of physical elements by establishing a closedloop between the two. They are called ``closed-loop'' because data generated by the sensors is subsequently analyzed and used to determine future actuation of the sensors. This approach allows sensor networks to adapt to changing conditions of the sensed environment. The sharing of sensor network infrastructures will make data provisioning (e.g., weather information) more cost efficient, thus resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of sensor networks available for use. The proposed architectures will introduce a new paradigm, which we call Sensing-as-a-Service, in which users can obtain sensing and computational resources to generate the required data for their sensing applications