Patent Publication Number: US-10764836-B2

Title: Broadcast message transmission

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a method, system and computer program product for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address. 
     Bluetooth® communication protocol, which operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, is known as a short-range radio network communication protocol. Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) protocol is a supplement to the Bluetooth® communication protocol directed to optimize power consumption of devices while being connected to other devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Example embodiments of the present disclosure include method, system, and computer program product for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address. 
     In an embodiment, a method is disclosed. According to the method, one or more processors on a first device may receive a first broadcast message, which is from a second wireless-enabled device on a Low Energy (LE) advertising channel, where the first broadcast message includes at least transmission power related information of the second device, transmission data, and a destination address. And then the one or more processors may determine Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) of the first device. At last, the one or more processors may determine whether to send the transmission data to the destination address based on at least the RSSI and the transmission power related information. 
     In another embodiment, a computer-implemented system is disclosed. The system may include a computer processor coupled to a computer-readable memory unit, said memory unit including instructions that when executed by the computer processor implements the above method. 
     In yet another embodiment, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith. When executed on one or more processors, the instructions may cause the one or more processors to perform the above method. 
     It is to be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the description below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The following detailed description, given by way of example and not intended to limit the invention solely thereto, will best be appreciated in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a cloud computing node, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a cloud computing environment, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  depicts abstraction model layers, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4A  depicts an exemplary network environment, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4B  is an example of different transmitter output powers (P) and different transmission power from the transmitter to a place located one (1) meter away in different output power levels of a device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flow diagram illustrating a method for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIGS. 6A-6B  depict a flowchart illustrating a method for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosed herein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may be embodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. In the description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments. 
     It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed. 
     Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four deployment models. 
     Characteristics are as follows: 
     On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service&#39;s provider. 
     Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). 
     Resource pooling: the provider&#39;s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). 
     Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. 
     Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. 
     Service Models are as follows: 
     Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider&#39;s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. 
     Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. 
     Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls). 
     Deployment Models are as follows: 
     Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. 
     Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). 
     A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes a network of interconnected nodes. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a schematic of an exemplary cloud computing node is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Cloud computing node  10  is only one example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, cloud computing node  10  is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove. 
     In cloud computing node  10  there is a computer system/server  12  or a portable electronic device such as a communication device, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer system/server  12  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. 
     Computer system/server  12  may be described in the general context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer system/server  12  may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , computer system/server  12  in cloud computing node  10  is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computer system/server  12  may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units  16 , a system memory  28 , and a bus  18  that couples various system components including system memory  28  to processor  16 . 
     Bus  18  represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. 
     Computer system/server  12  typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer system/server  12 , and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. 
     System memory  28  can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)  30  and/or cache memory  32 . Computer system/server  12  may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of example only, storage system  34  can be provided for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to bus  18  by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below, memory  28  may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention. 
     Program/utility  40 , having a set (at least one) of program modules  42 , may be stored in memory  28  by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. Program modules  42  generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein. 
     Computer system/server  12  may also communicate with one or more external devices  14  such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display  24 , etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system/server  12 ; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server  12  to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces  22 . Still yet, computer system/server  12  can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter  20 . As depicted, network adapter  20  communicates with the other components of computer system/server  12  via bus  18 . It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used in conjunction with computer system/server  12 . Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an illustrative cloud computing environment  50  is depicted, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, cloud computing environment  50  includes one or more cloud computing nodes  10  with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone  54 A, desktop computer  54 B, laptop computer  54 C, and/or automobile computer system  54 N may communicate. Nodes  10  may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment  50  to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices  54 A-N shown in  FIG. 2  are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes  10  and cloud computing environment  50  can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment  50  ( FIG. 2 ) is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be understood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shown in  FIG. 3  are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided: 
     Hardware and software layer  60  includes hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes  61 ; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers  62 ; servers  63 ; blade servers  64 ; storage devices  65 ; and networks and networking components  66 . In some embodiments, software components include network application server software  67  and database software  68 . 
     Virtualization layer  70  provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers  71 ; virtual storage  72 ; virtual networks  73 , including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems  74 ; and virtual clients  75 . 
     In one example, management layer  80  may provide the functions described below. Resource provisioning  81  provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing  82  provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may include application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal  83  provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management  84  provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment  85  provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA. 
     Workloads layer  90  provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation  91 ; software development and lifecycle management  92 ; virtual classroom education delivery  93 ; data analytics processing  94 ; transaction processing  95 ; and low-energy (LE) wireless broadcast message processing  96 . 
     Low Energy (LE) wireless technology is designed for devices powered by batteries. These types of devices include watches, sports sensors, medical devices and the like. Existing LE wireless technologies include, for example, Bluetooth® LE protocol. The Bluetooth® LE protocol defines some advertising PDUs (protocol Data Unit) similar to a packet that can be received by all Bluetooth® devices in range. These advertising PDUs may carry some application data. For example, a PDU named ADV_IND can carry 31 bytes of application data at most, and a PDU ADV_EXT_IND can carry 255 bytes of application data at most. Low-energy, low-data-rate sensors of Bluetooth® LE, 820.15.4 and Zigbee can only communicate with their paired smartphones with short range radio, thus, data cannot be uploaded when they are disconnected from their paired smartphones (e.g., master devices). 
     For example, when a wireless-enabled health care device, which is a battery-powered sensor, is used to monitor the physical condition of a patient and transmit the monitored data to the patient&#39;s smartphone, the monitored data is transmitted to the patient&#39;s smartphone through a LE data channel in order to reduce power consumption of the battery-powered sensor. The monitored data is then transmitted via the patient&#39;s smartphone to a destination address associated with a server(s) provided, for example, by a health service provider or a data center hosting the health service provider. The health service provider is an entity indicated by the destination address. In a situation in which the patient does not have access to his/her smartphone and the monitored data indicates the patient is in an emergency, the monitored data cannot be transmitted to the destination address (e.g., health service provider). Such a situation could put at risk the life of the patient. 
     A potential solution for the above situation includes the battery-operated sensor advertising a tiny amount of data (e.g., monitored data) using a broadcast channel. The data is encrypted with the public key of a designated data center. The advertisements are picked up by strange smartphones around. Then, one or multiple smartphones upload the encrypted data to the data center, and the location information of smartphones is also uploaded. The data center decrypted the data, then forwards the decrypted information and the location information to a paired smartphone of the battery-operated sensor, or an application that utilizes the sensor information. 
     As such, a safe geographical area can be defined for some kinds of battery-operated sensors, such as locators, to reduce frequency of uploading data. Both the transmission power of battery-operated sensors and smartphones are controlled to reduce broadcast interference. In some cases, the same sensor data may be received by many smartphones. If all smartphones upload data, the data center will be overwhelmed. Therefore, a waiting-broadcasting is designed to enable smartphones to contest, and the smartphones with the largest receiving power of the sensor wins. Only the winner will upload data right away. The losing smartphones of the waiting-broadcasting cache the packet instead of uploading the packet immediately. Later, these smartphones report only the hash of each packet to the data center. In other cases, the same sensor data may still be sent to a data center by multiple smartphones. Then, the data center selects only the smartphone who has the largest receiving power of the sensor to broadcast a response. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a method, system and computer program product for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address. Specifically, the following described exemplary embodiments enable battery-operated sensors to upload data when they lost connection with their paired or master device(s). Therefore, the present embodiments have the capacity to improve the technical field of wireless communication by, at a minimum, transmitting a broadcast message from a low-energy wireless-enabled sensor using unpaired (smartphone) devices while controlling transmission power of both the battery-operated sensors and the devices to reduce broadcast interference and energy consumption. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4A  an exemplary network environment is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, a device  401  may be a remote controller, a healthcare monitor, a sports sensor, a token, a key fob, a watch, a wireless keyboard, a gaming pad, a body sensor, a toy, a health care equipment, a human interface device, an entertainment device, a wireless microphone, a GPS sensor, or the like. A plurality of devices (hereinafter “devices”)  402  may include, for example, a mobile phone, a PDA, a laptop or a palm top computer, or may be a Bluetooth® enabled stationary access point, an automotive dashboard interface, a home electronics interface or other stationary interface or device capable of wirelessly exchanging data and building personal area networks. According to an embodiment, the device  401  and the devices  402  can operate using a low-energy (LE) wireless protocol such as a Bluetooth® LE protocol. The device  401  sends a (first) broadcast message A (not shown) on a LE advertising channel  404 , the LE advertising channel  404  may include, for example, a Bluetooth® advertising channel. The broadcast message A is received by the devices  402 . The broadcast message A may be a multicast packet including two parts. A first part of the multicast packet may be a packet header on the physical layer and the link layer which may be defined by the LE wireless protocol. A second part of the multicast packet may be a packet body including information corresponding to transmission power of the device  401 , transmission data including, for example, processed monitored data, an ID of the device  401 , a time for sending the processed monitored data, etc., and a destination address. In some instances, the destination address is an IP address, or a network address where the transmission data is sent to. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4B , an example of different transmitter output powers (P) and different transmission power from the transmitter to a place located 1 meter away (M) in different output power levels of the device  401  (provided by a manufacturer of the device  401 ) is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. LE wireless protocols, including Bluetooth® LE protocol in Bluetooth® specification 5.0, has defined a transmitter minimum output power of 0.01 mW (−20 dBm) and a maximum output power of 100 mW (+20 dBm). For example, if the device  401  ( FIG. 4A ) decides to output its power in level 3, its transmission power (P) is −12 dBm, and the transmission power from the transmitter of the device  401  to a place located 1 meter away (M) is −77 dBm. Here, both the −12 dBm and the −77 dBm data can be used as the transmission power associated with the device  401 . It should be noted that the output power level of the device  401  may be adjusted according to a current location of the device  401 . For example, if the device  401  is located in a less populated area, a bigger output power level can be selected by the device  401 . Conversely, a smaller output power level can be selected by the device  401  if located in a densely populated area. In some instances, an owner or user of the device  401  can adjust its output power. 
     According to an embodiment, the original monitored data can be processed to protect the owner&#39;s privacy. For example, the original monitored data may be encrypted with a public key of the entity indicated by the destination address by the device  401  to form the transmission data. The transmission data can be decrypted with the private key of the entity indicated by the destination address at the server side. 
     According to another embodiment, the device  401  and the entity can negotiate a symmetric key in advance, then the original monitored data may be encrypted with the symmetric key by the device  401  to form the transmission data, and then the transmission data can be decrypted with the symmetric key at the server side. 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 4A , each of the devices  402  is in listen-mode and receives the broadcast message A from the device  401 , and then each of the devices  402  may determine a corresponding Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI). Each of the devices  402  can read its RSSI using command “HCI_Read_RSSI”. RSSI is an integer with the unit dBm. It should be noted that for a typical LE wireless device, the RSSI value ranges from approximately −127 dBm to approximately 20 dBm. 
     As may be understood by those skilled in the art, each of the devices  402  can send the transmission data to the destination address. However, the workload of the server(s) of the entity may be increased if the number of devices  402  is large. In an embodiment, each of the devices  402  can determine whether to send the transmission data to the destination address based on at least the determined RSSI and the received transmission power information, as will be described in detail below. One of the devices  402  may determine that it can send the transmission data to the destination address, so this device  402  may notify the remaining devices  402  by sending a (second) broadcast message B (not shown), and then send the transmission data to the destination address. The remaining devices  402  are still in determining mode when they receive the broadcast message B. Accordingly, by receiving the broadcast message B, the remaining devices  402  know that the transmission data will be sent by another device  402 . As such, the remaining devices  402  do not send the transmission data to the destination address, thereby reducing a workload of the entity&#39;s server(s). 
     According to an embodiment, the device  402  sending the transmission data to the destination address may have a positioning capability (such as a GPS positioning or Wi-Fi positioning) that allows including a location of the device  402  in the transmission data being sent to the destination address. Therefore, the final user of the transmission data, i.e. the health service provider in the above example, knows an approximate location of the device  401 , and may, for example, send ambulances to the specified location in case of an emergency. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5  a flow diagram illustrating a method for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The process begins at step S 510  where the device  401  sends the broadcast message A (not shown) on a LE advertising channel. As described above, the broadcast message A is a multicast packet that can be received by both the device  402 -A and the device  402 -B and includes information corresponding to transmission power of the device  401 , transmission data, and a destination address. For illustration purposes only, without intent of limitation, only two devices  402  are shown in  FIG. 5 , those skilled in the art may understand that it is possible to have more than two devices  402 . At step S 520 , both the device  402 -A and the device  402 -B determine their respective RSSI. Based on the determined RSSI and the received transmission power information, the device  402 -A and the device  402 -B, at step S 525 , independently determine whether the transmission data can be sent to the destination address. 
     According to an embodiment, each of the devices  402 -A,  402 -B may set a time for a first timer based on the determined RSSI and the received transmission power information. Then, each of the devices  402 -A,  402 -B has a corresponding first timer. The first timer of the device  402 -A may, for example, be timeout earlier than the first timer of the device  402 -B. Once the first timer of the device  402 -A is timeout, if it has not received a broadcast message B indicating that the transmission data will be sent to the destination address on the LE advertising channel, the device  402 -A may determine that it can send the transmission data. And, at step S 530 , the device  402 -A may send the broadcast message B to the remaining devices  402  (for example, the device  402 -B) on the LE advertising channel. The broadcast message B may also be a multicast packet including two parts, similar to the broadcast message A described above. A first part may include a packet header on the physical layer and the link layer which may be defined by a LE wireless protocol such as, for example, the Bluetooth® LE wireless protocol. A second part may be a packet body which includes an indicator indicating that the transmission data will be sent to the destination address. Optionally, the packet body may also include the ID of the device  401 , the time at which the broadcast message A is sent, an ID of the device  402 -A, the time at which the broadcast message B is sent, and the like. The remaining devices  402  (e.g., the device  402 -B) may know that a specific device  402 , in this case the device  402 -A, sent the transmission data to the destination address. Then, at step S 540 , the device  402 -A sends the transmission data to the destination address via an IP network or any other communication channel predefined by the two parties. At step S 550 , a notification indicating that the transmission data has been successfully received is sent from the destination address via an IP network or any other communication channel predefined by the two parties. At step S 560 , the device  402 -A may send a (third) broadcast message C to the device  402 -B and, if applicable, to other remaining devices  402  on the LE advertising channel. The broadcast message C, which may also be a multicast packet, includes two parts. A first part may include a packet header on the physical layer and the link layer which may be defined by a LE wireless protocol such as, for example, the Bluetooth® LE protocol. A second part may be a packet body including an indicator indicating that the transmission data has been successfully received. Optionally, the packet body may also include the ID of device  401 , the time at which the broadcast message A is sent, the ID of the device  402 -A, the time at which the broadcast message C is sent, and the like. Accordingly, the device  402 -B (and any other remaining device  402 ) know the transmission data has been successfully received. 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 5 , the device  402 -B, and any other remaining device  402 , may receive the broadcast message B before its associated first timer is timeout. For example, by receiving the broadcast message B, the device  402 -B knows that the device  402 -A has sent the transmission data before the first timer of the device  402 -B is timeout. Then, the device  402 -B may cache the broadcast message A, stop its first timer, and start a (new) second timer at step S 565 . At step S 570 , the device  402 -B may determine whether the device  402 -B receives the broadcast message C before the second timer of the device  402 -B is timeout. In other words, the device  402 -B waits, at step S 570 , for a successful notification of the transmission data being successfully received. It should be noted that in embodiments in which more than two devices  402  exist, second timers for each device  402 , including device  402 -B, may be set differently. At step S 580 , based on the time set by the second timer of the device  402 -B being shorter than the time set by the second timer of the remaining devices  402 , if the device  402 -B determines that it has not received the broadcast message C by the time that the second timer of the device  402 -B is timeout, the device  402 -B may assume that the specific device (i.e. the device  402 -A) has problems communicating with the destination address and the transmission data has not been received by the destination address. Accordingly, the device  402 -B may send the broadcast message B to the remaining devices  402  at step S 580  to notify that it will send the transmission data to the destination address. Subsequently, the device  402 -B sends the cached transmission data to the destination address at step S 590 . Upon receiving the notification indicating that the transmission data has been successfully received by the destination address at step S 595 , the device  402 -B may send the broadcast message C to the remaining devices  402 , including the device  402 -A, at step S 598  to notify that the transmission data has been successfully received by the destination address. 
     According to an embodiment, the devices  402 -A,  402 -B may set a time T 1  for their first timer, where T 1  is a function of the transmission power information including, for example, the transmission power information (P) of the device  401  and the RSSI (S) of the devices  402 -A,  402 -B. The relationship among T 1 , P and S follows the principle that the smaller P is, the smaller T 1  is, and the larger S is, the smaller T 1  is. As such, the devices  402  (e.g.,  402 -A or  402 -B) with the smallest P and the largest S has the smallest T 1  (indicating it is the closest device  402  to the device  401 ) and may capture the right to transmit the transmission data to the destination address. 
     In an embodiment, T 1  can be calculated by the following function:
 
 T 1= t   0 ( P−S )
 
     where P is the transmission power in dBm of the device  401  and S is the RSSI of the device  402  (e.g.,  402 -A,  402 -B), and t0 is a predefined time constant. 
     According to another embodiment, the devices  402  may first directly determine a rough distance (d) between the device  401  and the devices  402  based on at least the transmission power of the device  401  from the transmitter of device  401  to a place 1 meter away (M) and the RSSI(S) of the devices  402 , then determine the time T 1  based on the distance (d). The following provides an exemplary function to compute d: 
     
       
         
           
             d 
             = 
             
               10 
               
                 
                   M 
                   - 
                   S 
                 
                 
                   10 
                   ⁢ 
                   
                       
                   
                   ⁢ 
                   n 
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     where M is the transmission power of the device  401  from the transmitter of device  401  to a place 1 meter away and S is the RSSI of the devices  402 , and n is a path-loss exponent of the transmission path, which is a constant and may be predefined or sent by the device  401  in the broadcast message A by the device  401 . The time T 1  can be a linear or nonlinear function of d, and the smaller d is, the smaller T 1  is. 
     Then, the devices  402  can set a time T 2  for a second timer by adding the computed time T 1  to a predefined time T. 
     As may be understood by those skilled in the art, times T 1  and T 2  can be set in different ways, and the first and second timers of the devices  402  can be the same timer with different times T 1  and T 2 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B , a flow diagram illustrating a method for wireless transmission of a broadcast message to a destination address via a wireless-enabled device is shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. With reference to  FIG. 6A , the process  600  begins at step S 610  in which one or more processors on the device  402  may receive the broadcast message A on a LE advertising channel, and the broadcast message A, which may be a multicast packet, includes the transmission power information associated with the device  401 , the transmission data, and the destination address. At step S 620 , the one or more processors on the device  402  may determine its own RSSI, and then at step S 625 , the one or more processors on the device  402  can determine whether to send the transmission data to the destination address based on at least the determined RSSI and the received transmission power information. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, if the one or more processors on the device  402  send the transmission data to the destination address, at step S 630 , one or more processors on the device  402  may send the broadcast message B on the LE advertising channel to indicate that the transmission data would be sent to the destination address. Then, at step S 640 , one or more processors on the device  402  may send the transmission data to the destination address via an IP network or any other communication channel predefined by the two parties. At step S 650 , the one or more processors on the device  402  may receive a notification indicating that the transmission data has been successfully received from the destination address via the IP network or any other communication channel predefined by the two parties. At step S 660 , the one or more processors on the device  402  may send the broadcast message C to indicate that the transmission data has been successfully received by the destination address. 
     If the one or more processors on the device  402  receive the broadcast message B, one or more processors on the device  402  may determine not to send the transmission data to the destination address at step S 625 , as shown in  FIG. 6B . Then, the one or more processors on the device  402  may cache the broadcast message A, stop its first timer and start a second timer at step S 665 . At step S 670 , the one or more processors on the device  402  may determine whether it has received the broadcast message C by the time that its second timer is timeout. If the one or more processors on the device  402  determine that it has not received the broadcast message C by the time that its second timer is timeout at step S 670 , the one or more processors on the device  402 , may send the broadcast message B on a LE advertising channel at step S 680 . The cached transmission data is sent to the destination address at step S 690 . At step S 695 , the one or more processors on the device  402  may receive, from the destination address, a notification indicating that the transmission data has been successfully received by the destination address. Then, the one or more processors on the device  402  may send the broadcast message C on a LE advertising channel at step S 698 . The process ends at step S 699 . If the one or more processors on the device  402  determine that it has received the broadcast message C by the time that its second timer is timeout at step S 670 , the process is ended at step S 699 . 
     As may be understood by those skilled in the art, if a wired LE enabled Access Point (AP) is used as the device  402  and the AP may connect the server(s) of the entity indicated by the destination address via a reliable network, the one or more processors on the device  402  may not execute step S 650  and step S 660 , and also may not make a further determination on steps S 665 -S 698 . 
     Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure allows a broadcast message from a LE wireless-enabled sensor to be transmitted to its intended destination address via an unpaired mobile phone (e.g., smartphone), and reduce the workload of the server(s) of the entity indicated by the destination address. 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.