An adaptive sensor network architecture for multi-scale communication

Sensor networking has emerged as a promising tool for monitoring and actuating the devices of the physical world, employing self-organizing networks of battery-powered wireless sensors that can sense, process, and communicate. Such networks can be rapidly deployed at low cost, enabling large-scale, on-demand monitoring and tracking over a wide area. Energy is the most crucial and scarce resource for such networks. However, since sensor network applications generally exhibit specific limited behaviors, there is both a need and an opportunity for adapting the network architecture to match the application in order to optimize resource utilization. Many applications-such as large-scale collaborative sensing, distributed signal processing, and distributed data assimilation-require sensor data to be available at multiple resolutions, or allow fidelity to be traded-off for energy efficiency. In this thesis, I develop an adaptive cross-layered sensor network architecture that enables multi-scale collaboration and communication. Analyzing the unique characteristics of sensor networks, I identify cross-layering and adaptability to applications as the primary design principles needed to build three closely coupled-protocols: (1) a self-organizing adaptive hierarchical data service for multi-scale communication, together with communication primitives to simplify application design; (2) a medium scheduling protocol tailored for this hierarchical data service, to take advantage of the communication and routing characteristics to achieve close to optimal latency and energy usage; and (3) an adaptive clock synchronization service, which provides an analytical framework for mapping clock synchronization requirements to actual protocol parameters, to provide required synchronization. I have analyzed as well as simulated the performance of these protocols to show optimized energy utilization.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• PalChaudhuri, Santashil

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Johnson, David B.

• Computer science

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/18954

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/18954