STMP — Sensor data transmission and management protocol

Abstract

Nowadays, networked sensors are deployed in various scenarios. To transmit sensor data like GPS, temperature, or vital signs data robust communication networks are needed. Different applications and sensor types may have specific requirements to the transmission of their data regarding loss-tolerance, timeliness, priority, or completeness. These requirements are typically met by appropriate transport protocols. At the lower layers, heterogeneous networks like wireless mesh networks or long thin networks lead to specific channel characteristics that may require the use of specifically adapted transport protocols. Additionally, the type of scenario can also affect the transport layer, e.g., a scenario with static nodes compared to moving nodes with high mobility. Of course, there are many variable requirements of different sensor data streams and applications. But there are also some basic functionalities that are common, such as registering sensors at a receiver, timestamping of sensor data as well as synchronization of all nodes. Thus, we specify a new protocol for sensor data transmission and management (STMP) that provides the basic functionalities required by many sensor data streams while at the same time allowing a flexible choice of the transport protocol to be used.