Self-healing lighting network

A lighting node in a lighting network, comprising:

• a transceiver, in the lighting node, configured to receive a command message from a central management system to measure a received link quality indication (LQI) of the command message received by the lighting node over aggregated network links between the lighting node and the central management system, and to return a status message including a measured value of the received link quality indication (LQI) to the central management system;
• the transceiver further configured to receive a disconnect command from the central management system to disconnect from the network and to disconnect from the network in response to the disconnect command;
• the transceiver further configured to enter a discovery mode and periodically broadcast a discovery message in the network in response to disconnecting from the network;
• a processor, in the lighting node, coupled to the transducer, configured to determine whether an acknowledgement has been received from a gateway of the central management system or from a repeater in the network, in response to the broadcasting of the discovery message, enabling the lighting node to rejoin the network;
• and
• the transceiver further configured to wirelessly connect the lighting node to the gateway of the central management system or to the repeater in the network and rejoin the network.

A method for operating a central management system for organizing lighting nodes in a lighting network, comprising:

• transmitting, by a central management system, a command message to a lighting node, to measure a received link quality indication (LQI) of the command message received by the lighting node over aggregated network links between the lighting node and the central management system, and receiving a status message including a measured value of the received link quality indication (LQI) from the lighting node;
• comparing, by the central management system, a statistical characterization of the measured value of the link quality indication (LQI) with a threshold link quality value, to determine whether there is degradation in quality of the aggregated links between the lighting node and the central management system;
• transmitting, by the central management system, a disconnect command to the lighting node to cause the lighting node to disconnect from the network, and to cause the lighting node to enter a discovery mode to find a better quality link and rejoin the network, when the degradation in quality of the aggregated links is determined;
• receiving by the central management system, a discovery message from the lighting node when the lighting node is within radio range, validating information from the discovery message, determining a best path for communication of messages between the lighting node and the central management system based on the information of the discovery message, and commissioning the lighting node;
• receiving by the central management system, a request message from at least one commissioned lighting node, including information from a discovery message of the lighting node, when the lighting node is not within radio range, the request message requesting to invoke a repeater function in the at least one commissioned lighting node, for forwarding messages from the lighting node to the central management system;
• and
• receiving by the central management system, a repeated discovery message through the at least one commissioned lighting node acting as a repeater for the lighting node when the lighting node not is within radio range, and determining a best path for communication of messages between the lighting node and the central management system through the at least one commissioned lighting node acting as a repeater for the lighting node.

A method for operating a lighting node in a lighting network, comprising:

• receiving by the lighting node, a command message from a central management system to measure a received link quality indication (LQI) of the command message received by the lighting node over aggregated network links between the lighting node and the central management system, and to return a status message including a measured value of the received link quality indication (LQI) to the central management system;
• receiving by the lighting node, a disconnect command from the central management system to disconnect from the network and to disconnect from the network in response to the disconnect command;
• entering by the lighting node, a discovery mode and periodically broadcast a discovery message in the network in response to disconnecting from the network;
• determining by the lighting node, whether an acknowledgement has been received from a gateway of the central management system or from a repeater in the network, in response to the broadcasting of the discovery message, enabling the lighting node to rejoin the network;
• and
• wirelessly connecting by the lighting node, to the gateway of the central management system or to the repeater in the network and rejoining the network.