Self-* distributed query region covering in sensor networks

Wireless distributed sensor networks are used to monitor a multitude of environments for both civil and military applications. Sensors may be deployed to unreachable or inhospitable areas. Thus, they cannot be replaced easily. However, due to various factors, sensors\u27 internal memory, or the sensors themselves, can become corrupted. Hence, there is a need for more robust sensor networks. Sensors are most commonly densely deployed, but keeping all sensors continually active is not energy efficient. Our aim is to select the minimum number of sensors which can entirely cover a particular monitored area, while remaining strongly connected. This concept is called a Minimum Connected Cover of a query region in a sensor network. In this research, we have designed two fully distributed, robust, self-* solutions to the minimum connected cover of query regions that can cope with both transient faults and sensor crashes. We considered the most general case in which every sensor has a different sensing and communication radius. We have also designed extended versions of the algorithms that use multi-hop information to obtain better results utilizing small atomicity (i.e., each sensor reads only one of its neighbors\u27 variables at a time, instead of reading all neighbors\u27 variables). With this, we have proven self-* (self-configuration, self-stabilization, and self-healing) properties of our solutions, both analytically and experimentally. The simulation results show that our solutions provide better performance in terms of coverage than pre-existing self-stabilizing algorithms

Efficient self protection algorithms for static wireless sensor networks

Abstract—Wireless sensor networks have been widely used in many surveillance applications. Due to the importance of sensor nodes in such applications, certain level of protection needs to be provided to them. We study the self protection problem for static wireless sensor networks in this paper. Self protection problem focuses on using sensor nodes to provide protection to themselves instead of the target objects or certain target area, so that the sensor nodes can resist the attacks targeting on them directly. A wireless sensor network is p-self-protected, if for any wireless sensor there are at least p active sensors that can monitor it. The problem finding minimum p-self-protection is NP-complete and no efficient self protection algorithms have been proposed. In this paper, we provide efficient centralized and distributed algorithms with constant approximation ratio for minimum p-self-protection problem. In addition, we design efficient distributed algorithms to not only achieve p-self-protection but also maintain the connectivity of all active sensors. Our simulation confirms the performances of proposed algorithms. I

Distributed self-(star) minimum connected sensor cover algorithms

Wireless ad-hoc sensor networks are composed of a large number of tiny sensors with embedded microprocessors, that have very limited resources and yet must coordinate amongst themselves to form a connected network. Every sensor has a certain sensing radius, Rs, within which it is capable of covering a particular region by detecting or gathering certain data. Every sensor also has a communication radius, R c, within which it is capable of sending or receiving data; Given a query over a sensor network, the minimum connected sensor cover problem is to select a minimum, or nearly minimum, set of sensors, called a minimum connected sensor cover, such that the selected sensors cover the query region, and form a connected network amongst themselves. In this thesis, we use present three fully distributed, strictly localized, scalable, self-* solutions to the minimum connected sensor cover problem

Optimization strategies for two-tiered sensor networks.

Sensor nodes are tiny, low-powered and multi-functional devices operated by lightweight batteries. Replacing or recharging batteries of sensor nodes in a network is usually not feasible so that a sensor network fails when the battery power in critical node(s) is depleted. The limited transmission range and the battery power of sensor nodes affect the scalability and the lifetime of sensor networks. Recently, relay nodes, acting as cluster heads, have been proposed in hierarchical sensor networks. The placement of relay nodes in a sensor network, such that all the sensor nodes are covered using a minimum number of relay nodes is a NP-hard problem. We propose a simple strategy for the placement of relay nodes in a two-tiered network that ensures connectivity and fault tolerance. We also propose two ILP formulations for finding the routing strategy so that the lifetime of any relay node network may be maximized.Dept. of Computer Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2006 .B37. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, page: 0348. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2006

Application of advanced technology to space automation

Automated operations in space provide the key to optimized mission design and data acquisition at minimum cost for the future. The results of this study strongly accentuate this statement and should provide further incentive for immediate development of specific automtion technology as defined herein. Essential automation technology requirements were identified for future programs. The study was undertaken to address the future role of automation in the space program, the potential benefits to be derived, and the technology efforts that should be directed toward obtaining these benefits

Design of an integrated airframe/propulsion control system architecture

The design of an integrated airframe/propulsion control system architecture is described. The design is based on a prevalidation methodology that uses both reliability and performance. A detailed account is given for the testing associated with a subset of the architecture and concludes with general observations of applying the methodology to the architecture

Energy-Efficient Fault Tolerant Coverage for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks are generally deployed in harsh environments to perform sensing operations and communication between sensors to report the events in applications like military surveillance, environmental monitoring, and etc. Sensor networks are resource constrained and the tiny size of sensors limits transmission power, bandwidth, and memory space. Errors in sensor networks such as noise interference, signal fading, and terrain pose a challenge in detecting and reporting events. Events undetected or not reported reduce the quality of any coverage protocol. As sensors are battery operated and energy constrained, there is also a need to maintain energy efficiency of the network. Current coverage protocols only focus on the entire area being covered but not event reporting and energy efficiency. To ensure that a better quality of service is provided by coverage protocols, there is a need for providing fault tolerance and event reporting while maintaining energy efficiency of the network. This thesis proposes a fault tolerant coverage protocol that enhances event reporting with the help of additional support structure and energy efficiency by reducing the communication. To further reduce the energy consumption and congestion in the network, only a subset of nodes are chosen to perform sensing and communication. We implemented our coverage protocol using the ns2 simulator for evaluating its performance. Simulation results show that our protocol has better event reporting and energy savings

Connectivity, Coverage and Placement in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless communication between sensors allows the formation of flexible sensor networks, which can be deployed rapidly over wide or inaccessible areas. However, the need to gather data from all sensors in the network imposes constraints on the distances between sensors. This survey describes the state of the art in techniques for determining the minimum density and optimal locations of relay nodes and ordinary sensors to ensure connectivity, subject to various degrees of uncertainty in the locations of the nodes