CAREER: Sensing as a Service - Architectures for Closed-Loop Sensor Network Virtualization

该项目的目标是展示新的网络物理架构，通过动态分配传感，网络和计算资源，允许在多个应用程序之间共享闭环传感器网络。传感器网络基础设施的共享使得数据的提供更具成本效益，并导致虚拟专用传感器网络（VPSN）架构，可以显着增加可供公众使用的传感器网络的数量。这些网络基础设施支持一种称为“传感即服务”的范式，用户可以获得传感和计算资源，以生成传感应用所需的数据。共享闭环传感器网络的挑战是一个应用程序的驱动请求可能会干扰另一个应用程序的请求。为了解决这一挑战，VPSN架构由三个组件组成：1）传感器虚拟化层，其确保用户在请求时获得对传感器数据的及时访问，并通过创建适当的调度算法将他们的请求与其他请求隔离; 2）计算虚拟化层，该计算虚拟化层使得能够为真实的用户分配计算资源。与传感器虚拟化层密切相关的时间数据密集型应用; 3）支持应用程序开发人员努力构建虚拟化应用程序的虚拟化工具包，闭环传感器网络的共享导致基础设施和维护成本的大量节省。所提出的VPSN架构使用户能够创建自己的应用程序，而无需详细了解传感技术，并使他们能够专注于应用程序的开发。VPSN将有助于建立一个全国性的共享传感网络基础设施，为公共安全提供关键信息。VPSN还将有助于彻底改变许多学科的本科生和研究生进行研究的方式。学生将免受传感器网络的一些复杂性，并允许专注于他们的核心研究。为了让马萨诸塞州大学电气和计算机工程（ECE）系的学生做好进行此类研究的准备，将提供集成系统工程和传感器网络虚拟化领域的新课程。

The goal of this project is to demonstrate new cyber-physical architectures that allow the sharing of closed-loop sensor networks among multiple applications through the dynamic allocation of sensing, networking, and computing resources. The sharing of sensor network infrastructures makes the provision of data more cost efficient and leads to virtual private sensor network (VPSN) architectures that can dramatically increase the number of sensor networks available for public use. These cyber infrastructures support a paradigm, called Sensing as a Service, in which users can obtain sensing and computational resources to generate the required data for their sensing applications. The challenge in sharing closed-loop sensor networks is that one application's actuation request might interfere with another's request. To address this challenge the VPSN architectures are comprised of three components: 1) a sensor virtualization layer that ensures that users obtain timely access to sensor data when requested and isolates their requests from others' through the creation of appropriate scheduling algorithms; 2) a computation virtualization layer that enables the allocation of computational resources for real-time data intensive applications which is closely tied to the sensor virtualization layer; 3) a virtualization toolkit that supports application developers in their efforts to build applications for virtualized, closed-loop sensor networks.The sharing of closed-loop sensor networks leads to substantial savings on infrastructure and maintenance costs. The proposed VPSN architectures enable users to create their own applications without having detailed knowledge of sensing technologies and allows them to focus on the development of applications. VPSNs will contribute to the creation of a nationwide, shared sensing cyber infrastructure, which will provide critical information for public safety and security. VPSNs will also help to revolutionize the way undergraduate and graduate students from many disciplines perform research. Students will be shielded from some of the complexities of sensor networks and allowed to focus on their core research. To prepare students from the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at the University of Massachusetts to perform this kind of research, new classes in the area of Integrative Systems Engineering and Sensor Network Virtualization will be offered.