Logical zones for IoT devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10972474-B2
Application number	US-201715490170-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 18, 2017
Priority date	Apr 18, 2017
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for logically grouping Internet of Things (IoT) devices. One or more logical zones are defined. Each logical zone includes one or more physical zones, one or more virtual zones, or a combination of physical and virtual zones. Each IoT device is associated with at least one logical zone. Communication between the IoT devices is restricted based on the zones with which the IoT devices are associated.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer program product for a group of Internet of Things enabled devices, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions when executed by a processor to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
defining, by the processor, one or more logical zones, wherein each logical zone of the one or more logical zones includes one or more physical zones and one or more virtual zones, and wherein the each logical zone of the one or more logical zones has associated semantics;
in response to the defining the one or more logical zones, associating, by the processor, the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the one or more logical zones by, for each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices:
determining, by the processor, through a semantic query, whether metadata associated with the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices is relevant to associated semantics of at least one logical zone of the one or more logical zones; and
in response to the determining that metadata associated with the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices is relevant to the associated semantics of the at least one logical zone of the one or more logical zones, associating, by the processor, the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the at least one logical zone; and
in response to the associating the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the one or more logical zones, restricting, by the processor, communication between Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices based on trusted communication profiles, wherein the trusted communication profiles include information about the one or more logical zones with which the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices are associated, and wherein communication is only allowed between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices that belong to a same logical zone of the one or more logical zones.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein a physical zone is a two-dimensional zone that is defined using one or more of: a geo-location boundary, geo-fencing using a global positioning system, a near-field wireless network, and a camera.

3. The computer program product of claim 2 , wherein a physical zone is a three-dimensional zone that includes two or more two-dimensional zones.

4. The computer program product of claim 2 , wherein a virtual zone includes one or more subsets of one or more physical zones.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the restricting of the communication between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices includes:
defining a particular trusted communication profile between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices for which communication is allowed; and
in response to determining that a particular Internet of Things enabled device does not match the particular trusted communication profile, refusing communication between the particular Internet of Things enabled device and other Internet of Things enabled devices.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the restricting of the communication between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices includes:
allowing communications from an Internet of Things enabled device at a higher hierarchy logical zone to an Internet of Things enabled device at a lower hierarchy logical zone.

7. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the restricting of the communication between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices includes:
in response to an Internet of Things enabled device moving from one logical zone to a new logical zone, allowing communications that were pending prior to the move to the new logical zone.

8. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the restricting of the communication between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices includes:
in response to an Internet of Things enabled device changing ownership, allowing only communications that were pending prior to the change of ownership.

9. A system for a group of Internet of Things enabled devices, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory containing instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
defining one or more logical zones, wherein each logical zone of the one or more logical zones includes one or more physical zones and one or more virtual zones, and wherein the each logical zone of the one or more logical zones has associated semantics;
in response to the defining the one or more logical zones, associating the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the one or more logical zones by, for each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices:
determining, through a semantic query, whether metadata associated with the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices is relevant to associated semantics of at least one logical zone of the one or more logical zones; and
in response to the determining that metadata associated with the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices is relevant to the associated semantics of the at least one logical zone of the one or more logical zones, associating the each Internet of Things enabled device in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the at least one logical zone; and
in response to the associating the group of Internet of Things enabled devices with the one or more logical zones, restricting communication between Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices based on trusted communication profiles, wherein the trusted communication profiles include information about the one or more logical zones with which the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices are associated, and wherein communication is only allowed between the Internet of Things enabled devices in the group of Internet of Things enabled devices that belong to a same logical zone of the one or more logical zones.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Achtermann Jeffrey M
• Kurtz Harrison
• Mukherjee Maharaj
• Ng Joanna W

Classifications

• H04L67/125

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title

• H04L63/102

  Entity profiles · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• H04L63/104 Primary

  Grouping of entities · CPC title

• H04L63/107

  wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals · CPC title