Sensor virtualization through cloud storage and retrieval mechanisms

A method, in a data processing system, for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors, the method comprising:

• obtaining, in the data processing system, sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors;
• storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format;
• receiving, in the virtual sensor storage system, a request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data, wherein the request does not specify a particular physical sensor;
• retrieving, by the virtual sensor storage system, a portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system in response to receiving the request, wherein the portion of sensor data corresponds to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor;
• and
• returning, by the virtual sensor storage system, the retrieved portion of the sensor data to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data, wherein retrieving a portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system in response to receiving the request further comprises:
• determining if there is a constraint associated with the portion of the sensor data, wherein the constraint specifies a limitation on which requestors may be provided the portion of the sensor data;
• determining if the requestor satisfies a condition of the constraint;
• and
• retrieving the portion of the sensor data only in response to the requestor not satisfying a condition of the constraint.

A method, in a data processing system, for virtualizing physical sensors and providing sensor data to a requestor using the virtualized physical sensors, the method comprising:

• obtaining, in the data processing system, sensor data from a plurality of physical sensors;
• storing the sensor data in a virtual sensor storage system of the data processing system in at least one standardized format;
• receiving, in the virtual sensor storage system, a request from a requestor for a first type of sensor data, wherein the request does not specify a particular physical sensor;
• retrieving, by the virtual sensor storage system, a portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system in response to receiving the request, wherein the portion of sensor data corresponds to the type of sensor data requested in the request from the requestor;
• and
• returning, by the virtual sensor storage system, the retrieved portion of the sensor data to the requestor in a format corresponding to a physical sensor configured to provide the requested type of sensor data, wherein retrieving a portion of the sensor data stored in the virtual sensor storage system in response to receiving the request comprises:
• retrieving sensor data obtained from more than one physical sensor in the plurality of physical sensors based on the type of sensor data requested in the request and criteria specified in the request;
• and
• combining the sensor data from the more than one physical sensor into a single resultant set of sensor data representing a sensor output of a single virtual sensor, and wherein returning the retrieved portion of the sensor data to the requestor comprises returning the single resultant set of sensor data to the requestor as the sensor output of the single virtual sensor.