High Accuracy Distributed Target Detection and Classification in Sensor Networks Based on Mobile Agent Framework

High-accuracy distributed information exploitation plays an important role in sensor networks. This dissertation describes a mobile-agent-based framework for target detection and classification in sensor networks. Specifically, we tackle the challenging problems of multiple- target detection, high-fidelity target classification, and unknown-target identification. In this dissertation, we present a progressive multiple-target detection approach to estimate the number of targets sequentially and implement it using a mobile-agent framework. To further improve the performance, we present a cluster-based distributed approach where the estimated results from different clusters are fused. Experimental results show that the distributed scheme with the Bayesian fusion method have better performance in the sense that they have the highest detection probability and the most stable performance. In addition, the progressive intra-cluster estimation can reduce data transmission by 83.22% and conserve energy by 81.64% compared to the centralized scheme. For collaborative target classification, we develop a general purpose multi-modality, multi-sensor fusion hierarchy for information integration in sensor networks. The hierarchy is com- posed of four levels of enabling algorithms: local signal processing, temporal fusion, multi-modality fusion, and multi-sensor fusion using a mobile-agent-based framework. The fusion hierarchy ensures fault tolerance and thus generates robust results. In the meanwhile, it also takes into account energy efficiency. Experimental results based on two field demos show constant improvement of classification accuracy over different levels of the hierarchy. Unknown target identification in sensor networks corresponds to the capability of detecting targets without any a priori information, and of modifying the knowledge base dynamically. In this dissertation, we present a collaborative method to solve this problem among multiple sensors. When applied to the military vehicles data set collected in a field demo, about 80% unknown target samples can be recognized correctly, while the known target classification ac- curacy stays above 95%

The Sensing Capacity of Sensor Networks

This paper demonstrates fundamental limits of sensor networks for detection problems where the number of hypotheses is exponentially large. Such problems characterize many important applications including detection and classification of targets in a geographical area using a network of sensors, and detecting complex substances with a chemical sensor array. We refer to such applications as largescale detection problems. Using the insight that these problems share fundamental similarities with the problem of communicating over a noisy channel, we define a quantity called the sensing capacity and lower bound it for a number of sensor network models. The sensing capacity expression differs significantly from the channel capacity due to the fact that a fixed sensor configuration encodes all states of the environment. As a result, codewords are dependent and non-identically distributed. The sensing capacity provides a bound on the minimal number of sensors required to detect the state of an environment to within a desired accuracy. The results differ significantly from classical detection theory, and provide an ntriguing connection between sensor networks and communications. In addition, we discuss the insight that sensing capacity provides for the problem of sensor selection.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, November 200

Measurements and analysis of multistatic and multimodal micro-Doppler signatures for automatic target classification

The purpose of this paper is to present an experimental trial carried out at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom to measure simultaneous multistatic and multimodal micro-Doppler signatures of various targets, including humans and flying UAVs. ewline Signatures were gathered using a network of sensors consisting of a CW monostatic radar operating at 10 GHz (X-band) and an ultrasound radar with a monostatic and a bistatic channel operating at 45 kHz and 35 kHz, respectively. A preliminary analysis of automatic target classification performance and a comparison with the radar monostatic case is also presented

Development of mobile agent framework in wireless sensor networks for multi-sensor collaborative processing

Recent advances in processor, memory and radio technology have enabled production of tiny, low-power, low-cost sensor nodes capable of sensing, communication and computation. Although a single node is resource constrained with limited power, limited computation and limited communication bandwidth, these nodes deployed in large number form a new type of network called the wireless sensor network (WSN). One of the challenges brought by WSNs is an efficient computing paradigm to support the distributed nature of the applications built on these networks considering the resource limitations of the sensor nodes. Collaborative processing between multiple sensor nodes is essential to generate fault-tolerant, reliable information from the densely-spatial sensing phenomenon. The typical model used in distributed computing is the client/server model. However, this computing model is not appropriate in the context of sensor networks. This thesis develops an energy-efficient, scalable and real-time computing model for collaborative processing in sensor networks called the mobile agent computing paradigm. In this paradigm, instead of each sensor node sending data or result to a central server which is typical in the client/server model, the information processing code is moved to the nodes using mobile agents. These agents carry the execution code and migrate from one node to another integrating result at each node. This thesis develops the mobile agent framework on top of an energy-efficient routing protocol called directed diffusion. The mobile agent framework described has been mapped to collaborative target classification application. This application has been tested in three field demos conducted at Twentynine palms, CA; BAE Austin, TX; and BBN Waltham, MA

Sensing Capacity for Markov Random Fields

This paper computes the sensing capacity of a sensor network, with sensors of limited range, sensing a two-dimensional Markov random field, by modeling the sensing operation as an encoder. Sensor observations are dependent across sensors, and the sensor network output across different states of the environment is neither identically nor independently distributed. Using a random coding argument, based on the theory of types, we prove a lower bound on the sensing capacity of the network, which characterizes the ability of the sensor network to distinguish among environments with Markov structure, to within a desired accuracy.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory, Adelaide, Australia, September 4-9, 200

Decision-Making with Heterogeneous Sensors - A Copula Based Approach

Statistical decision making has wide ranging applications, from communications and signal processing to econometrics and finance. In contrast to the classical one source-one receiver paradigm, several applications have been identified in the recent past that require acquiring data from multiple sources or sensors. Information from the multiple sensors are transmitted to a remotely located receiver known as the fusion center which makes a global decision. Past work has largely focused on fusion of information from homogeneous sensors. This dissertation extends the formulation to the case when the local sensors may possess disparate sensing modalities. Both the theoretical and practical aspects of multimodal signal processing are considered. The first and foremost challenge is to \u27adequately\u27 model the joint statistics of such heterogeneous sensors. We propose the use of copula theory for this purpose. Copula models are general descriptors of dependence. They provide a way to characterize the nonlinear functional relationships between the multiple modalities, which are otherwise difficult to formalize. The important problem of selecting the `best\u27 copula function from a given set of valid copula densities is addressed, especially in the context of binary hypothesis testing problems. Both, the training-testing paradigm, where a training set is assumed to be available for learning the copula models prior to system deployment, as well as generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) based fusion rule for the online selection and estimation of copula parameters are considered. The developed theory is corroborated with extensive computer simulations as well as results on real-world data. Sensor observations (or features extracted thereof) are most often quantized before their transmission to the fusion center for bandwidth and power conservation. A detection scheme is proposed for this problem assuming unifom scalar quantizers at each sensor. The designed rule is applicable for both binary and multibit local sensor decisions. An alternative suboptimal but computationally efficient fusion rule is also designed which involves injecting a deliberate disturbance to the local sensor decisions before fusion. The rule is based on Widrow\u27s statistical theory of quantization. Addition of controlled noise helps to \u27linearize\u27 the higly nonlinear quantization process thus resulting in computational savings. It is shown that although the introduction of external noise does cause a reduction in the received signal to noise ratio, the proposed approach can be highly accurate when the input signals have bandlimited characteristic functions, and the number of quantization levels is large. The problem of quantifying neural synchrony using copula functions is also investigated. It has been widely accepted that multiple simultaneously recorded electroencephalographic signals exhibit nonlinear and non-Gaussian statistics. While the existing and popular measures such as correlation coefficient, corr-entropy coefficient, coh-entropy and mutual information are limited to being bivariate and hence applicable only to pairs of channels, measures such as Granger causality, even though multivariate, fail to account for any nonlinear inter-channel dependence. The application of copula theory helps alleviate both these limitations. The problem of distinguishing patients with mild cognitive impairment from the age-matched control subjects is also considered. Results show that the copula derived synchrony measures when used in conjunction with other synchrony measures improve the detection of Alzheimer\u27s disease onset

Heterogeneous Sensor Signal Processing for Inference with Nonlinear Dependence

Inferring events of interest by fusing data from multiple heterogeneous sources has been an interesting and important topic in recent years. Several issues related to inference using heterogeneous data with complex and nonlinear dependence are investigated in this dissertation. We apply copula theory to characterize the dependence among heterogeneous data. In centralized detection, where sensor observations are available at the fusion center (FC), we study copula-based fusion. We design detection algorithms based on sample-wise copula selection and mixture of copulas model in different scenarios of the true dependence. The proposed approaches are theoretically justified and perform well when applied to fuse acoustic and seismic sensor data for personnel detection. Besides traditional sensors, the access to the massive amount of social media data provides a unique opportunity for extracting information about unfolding events. We further study how sensor networks and social media complement each other in facilitating the data-to-decision making process. We propose a copula-based joint characterization of multiple dependent time series from sensors and social media. As a proof-of-concept, this model is applied to the fusion of Google Trends (GT) data and stock/flu data for prediction, where the stock/flu data serves as a surrogate for sensor data. In energy constrained networks, local observations are compressed before they are transmitted to the FC. In these cases, conditional dependence and heterogeneity complicate the system design particularly. We consider the classification of discrete random signals in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), where, for communication efficiency, only local decisions are transmitted. We derive the necessary conditions for the optimal decision rules at the sensors and the FC by introducing a hidden random variable. An iterative algorithm is designed to search for the optimal decision rules. Its convergence and asymptotical optimality are also proved. The performance of the proposed scheme is illustrated for the distributed Automatic Modulation Classification (AMC) problem. Censoring is another communication efficient strategy, in which sensors transmit only informative observations to the FC, and censor those deemed uninformative . We design the detectors that take into account the spatial dependence among observations. Fusion rules for censored data are proposed with continuous and discrete local messages, respectively. Their computationally efficient counterparts based on the key idea of injecting controlled noise at the FC before fusion are also investigated. In this thesis, with heterogeneous and dependent sensor observations, we consider not only inference in parallel frameworks but also the problem of collaborative inference where collaboration exists among local sensors. Each sensor forms coalition with other sensors and shares information within the coalition, to maximize its inference performance. The collaboration strategy is investigated under a communication constraint. To characterize the influence of inter-sensor dependence on inference performance and thus collaboration strategy, we quantify the gain and loss in forming a coalition by introducing the copula-based definitions of diversity gain and redundancy loss for both estimation and detection problems. A coalition formation game is proposed for the distributed inference problem, through which the information contained in the inter-sensor dependence is fully explored and utilized for improved inference performance