The role of groups in smart camera networks

Recent research in sensor networks has made it possible to deploy networks of sensors with significant local processing. These sensor networks are revolutionising information collection and processing in many different environments. Often the amount of local data produced by these devices, and their sheer number, makes centralised data processing infeasible. Smart camera networks represent a particular challenge in this regard, partly because of the amount of data produced by each camera, but also because many high level vision algorithms require data from more than one camera. Many distributed algorithms exist that work locally to produce results from a collection of nodes, but as this number grows the algorithm's performance is quickly crippled by the resulting exponential increase in communication overhead. This thesis examines the limits this puts on peer-to-peer cooperation between nodes, and demonstrates how for large networks these can only be circumvented by locally formed organisations of nodes. A local group forming protocol is described that provides a method for nodes to create a bottom-up organisation based purely on local conditions. This allows the formation of a dynamic information network of cooperating nodes, in which a distributed algorithm can organise the communications of its nodes using purely local knowledge to maintain its global network performance.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Mallett, Jacky, 1963-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• V. Michael Bove, Jr.

• Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34180
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34180

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34180