Address Assignment in Indoor Wireless Networks Using Deterministic Channel Simulation

Abstract

A crucial step during commissioning of wireless sensor and automation networks is assigning high-level node addresses (e.g., floor/room/fixture) to nodes mounted at their respective location. This address assignment typically requires visiting every single node prior to, during, or after mounting. For large-scale networks it also presents a considerable logistical effort. This paper describes a new approach to automatically assign high-level addresses without visiting every node. First, the wireless channel is simulated using a deterministic channel simulation in order to obtain node-to-node estimates of path loss. Next, the channel is measured by a precommissioning test procedure on the live network. In a third step, results from measurements and simulation are condensed into graphs and matched against each other. The resulting problem, identified as weighted graph matching, is solved heuristically. Viability of the approach and its performance is demonstrated by means of a publicly available test data set, which the algorithm is able to solve flawlessly. Further points of interest are the conditions that lead to high quality address assignments.