Fundamentals of Large Sensor Networks: Connectivity, Capacity, Clocks and Computation

Sensor networks potentially feature large numbers of nodes that can sense their environment over time, communicate with each other over a wireless network, and process information. They differ from data networks in that the network as a whole may be designed for a specific application. We study the theoretical foundations of such large scale sensor networks, addressing four fundamental issues- connectivity, capacity, clocks and function computation. To begin with, a sensor network must be connected so that information can indeed be exchanged between nodes. The connectivity graph of an ad-hoc network is modeled as a random graph and the critical range for asymptotic connectivity is determined, as well as the critical number of neighbors that a node needs to connect to. Next, given connectivity, we address the issue of how much data can be transported over the sensor network. We present fundamental bounds on capacity under several models, as well as architectural implications for how wireless communication should be organized. Temporal information is important both for the applications of sensor networks as well as their operation.We present fundamental bounds on the synchronizability of clocks in networks, and also present and analyze algorithms for clock synchronization. Finally we turn to the issue of gathering relevant information, that sensor networks are designed to do. One needs to study optimal strategies for in-network aggregation of data, in order to reliably compute a composite function of sensor measurements, as well as the complexity of doing so. We address the issue of how such computation can be performed efficiently in a sensor network and the algorithms for doing so, for some classes of functions.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, Submitted to the Proceedings of the IEE

Connectivity-Aware UAV Path Planning with Aerial Coverage Maps

Cellular networks are promising to support effective wireless communications for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which will help to enable various long-range UAV applications. However, these networks are optimized for terrestrial users, and thus do not guarantee seamless aerial coverage. In this paper, we propose to overcome this difficulty by exploiting controllable mobility of UAVs, and investigate connectivity-aware UAV path planning. To explicitly impose communication requirements on UAV path planning, we introduce two new metrics to quantify the cellular connectivity quality of a UAV path. Moreover, aerial coverage maps are used to provide accurate locations of scattered coverage holes in the complicated propagation environment. We formulate the UAV path planning problem as finding the shortest path subject to connectivity constraints. Based on graph search methods, a novel connectivity-aware path planning algorithm with low complexity is proposed. The effectiveness and superiority of our proposed algorithm are demonstrated using the aerial coverage map of an urban section in Virginia, which is built by ray tracing. Simulation results also illustrate a tradeoff between the path length and connectivity quality of UAVs.Comment: This paper has been accepted by IEEE WCNC 201

On Connectivity of Wireless Sensor Networks with Directional Antennas.

In this paper, we investigate the network connectivity of wireless sensor networks with directional antennas. In particular, we establish a general framework to analyze the network connectivity while considering various antenna models and the channel randomness. Since existing directional antenna models have their pros and cons in the accuracy of reflecting realistic antennas and the computational complexity, we propose a new analytical directional antenna model called the iris model to balance the accuracy against the complexity. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the analytical framework. Our results show that our proposed analytical model on the network connectivity is accurate, and our iris antenna model can provide a better approximation to realistic directional antennas than other existing antenna models

Performance of wireless network coding: motivating small encoding numbers

This paper focuses on a particular transmission scheme called local network coding, which has been reported to provide significant performance gains in practical wireless networks. The performance of this scheme strongly depends on the network topology and thus on the locations of the wireless nodes. Also, it has been shown previously that finding the encoding strategy, which achieves maximum performance, requires complex calculations to be undertaken by the wireless node in real-time. Both deterministic and random point pattern are explored and using the Boolean connectivity model we provide upper bounds for the maximum coding number, i.e., the number of packets that can be combined such that the corresponding receivers are able to decode. For the models studied, this upper bound is of order of $\sqrt{N}$, where $N$ denotes the (mean) number of neighbors. Moreover, achievable coding numbers are provided for grid-like networks. We also calculate the multiplicative constants that determine the gain in case of a small network. Building on the above results, we provide an analytic expression for the upper bound of the efficiency of local network coding. The conveyed message is that it is favorable to reduce computational complexity by relying only on small encoding numbers since the resulting expected throughput loss is negligible.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure

A Key Pre-Distribution Scheme based on Multiple Block Codes for Wireless Sensor Networks

A key pre-distribution scheme (KPS) based on multiple codewords of block codes is presented for wireless sensor networks. The connectivity and security of the proposed KPS, quantified in terms of probabilities of sharing common keys for communications of pairs of nodes and their resilience against colluding nodes, are analytically assessed. The analysis is applicable to both linear and nonlinear codes and is simplified in the case of maximum distance separable codes. It is shown that the multiplicity of codes significantly enhances the security and connectivity of KPS at the cost of a modest increase of the nodes storage. Numerical and simulation results are provided, which sheds light on the effect of system parameters of the proposed KPS on its complexity and performance. Specifically, it is shown that the probability of resilience of secure pairs against collusion of other nodes only reduces slowly as the number of colluding nodes increase

Resource Allocation in Mobile WiMAX Network: An Optimal Approach

In the last few years there has been significant growth in the area of wireless communication. IEEE 802.16/WiMAX is the network which is designed for providing high speed wide area broadband wireless access; WiMAX is an emerging wireless technology for creating multi-hop Mesh network. Future generation networks will be characterized by variable and high data rates, Quality of Services (QoS), seamless mobility both within a network and between networks of different technologies and service providers. A technology is developed to accomplish these necessities is regular by IEEE, is 802.16, also called as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). This architecture aims to apply Long range connectivity, High data rates, High security, Low power utilization and Excellent Quality of Services and squat deployment costs to a wireless access technology on a metropolitan level. In this paper we have observed the performance analysis of location based resource allocation for WiMAX and WLAN-WiMAX client and in second phase we observed the rate-adaptive algorithms. We know that base station (BS) is observed the ranging first for all subscribers then established the link between them and in final phase they will allocate the resource with Subcarriers allocation according to the demand (UL) i.e. video, voice and data application. We propose linear approach, Active-Set optimization and Genetic Algorithm for Resource Allocation in downlink Mobile WiMAX networks. Purpose of proposed algorithms is to optimize total throughput. Simulation results show that Genetic Algorithm and Active-Set algorithm performs better than previous methods in terms of higher capacities but GA have high complexity then active set

Improved Interference in Wireless Sensor Networks

Given a set ${\cal V}$ of $n$ sensor node distributed on a 2-dimensional plane and a source node $s \in {\cal V}$, the {\it interference problem} deals with assigning transmission range to each $v \in {\cal V}$ such that the members in ${\cal V}$ maintain connectivity predicate ${\cal P}$, and the maximum/total interference is minimum. We propose algorithm for both {\it minimizing maximum interference} and {\it minimizing total interference} of the networks. For minimizing maximum interference we present optimum solution with running time $O(({\cal P}_n + n^2) \log n)$ for connectivity predicate ${\cal P}$ like strong connectivity, broadcast ($s$ is the source), $k$-edge(vertex) connectivity, spanner, where $O({\cal P}_n)$ is the time complexity for checking the connectivity predicate ${\cal P}$. The running time of the previous best known solution was $O({\cal P}_n \times n^2)$ [Bil$\grave{o}$ and Proietti, 2008]. For the minimizing total interference we propose optimum algorithm for the connectivity predicate broadcast. The running time of the propose algorithm is O(n). For the same problem, the previous best known result was $2(1 + \ln (n-1))$-factor approximation algorithm [Bil$\grave{o}$ and Proietti, 2008]. We also propose a heuristic for minimizing total interference in the case of strongly connected predicate and compare our result with the best result available in the literature. Experimental results demonstrate that our heuristic outperform existing result.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

A Connectivity-Aware Approximation Algorithm for Relay Node Placement in Wireless Sensor Networks

In two-tiered Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) relay node placement is one of the key factors impacting the network energy consumption and the system overhead. In this paper, a novel connectivity-aware approximation algorithm for relay node placement in WSNs is proposed to offer a major step forward in saving system overhead. Specifically, a unique Local Search Approximation Algorithm (LSAA) is introduced to solve the Relay Node Single Cover (RNSC) problem. In this proposed LSAA approach, the sensor nodes are allocated into groups and then a local Set Cover (SC) for each group is achieved by a local search algorithm. The union set of all local SCs constitutes a SC of the RNSC problem. The approximation ratio and the time complexity of the LSAA are analyzed by rigorous proof. Additionally, the LSAA approach has been extended to solve the relay node double cover problem. Then, a Relay Location Selection Algorithm (RLSA) is proposed to utilize the resulting SC from LSAA in combining RLSA with the minimum spanning tree heuristic to build the high-tier connectivity. As the RLSA searches for a nearest location to the sink node for each relay node, the high-tier network built by RLSA becomes denser than that by existing works. As a result, the number of added relay nodes for building the connectivity of the high-tier WSN can be significantly saved. Simulation results clearly demonstrate that the proposed LSAA outperforms the approaches reported in literature and the RLSA-based algorithm can noticeably save relay nodes newly deployed for the high-tier connectivity.Comment: 14 pages, 24 figure

A time dependent performance model for multihop wireless networks with CBR traffic

In this paper, we develop a performance modeling technique for analyzing the time varying network layer queueing behavior of multihop wireless networks with constant bit rate traffic. Our approach is a hybrid of fluid flow queueing modeling and a time varying connectivity matrix. Network queues are modeled using fluid-flow based differential equation models which are solved using numerical methods, while node mobility is modeled using deterministic or stochastic modeling of adjacency matrix elements. Numerical and simulation experiments show that the new approach can provide reasonably accurate results with significant improvements in the computation time compared to standard simulation tools. © 2010 IEEE

Leveraging Physical Layer Capabilites: Distributed Scheduling in Interference Networks with Local Views

In most wireless networks, nodes have only limited local information about the state of the network, which includes connectivity and channel state information. With limited local information about the network, each node's knowledge is mismatched; therefore, they must make distributed decisions. In this paper, we pose the following question - if every node has network state information only about a small neighborhood, how and when should nodes choose to transmit? While link scheduling answers the above question for point-to-point physical layers which are designed for an interference-avoidance paradigm, we look for answers in cases when interference can be embraced by advanced PHY layer design, as suggested by results in network information theory. To make progress on this challenging problem, we propose a constructive distributed algorithm that achieves rates higher than link scheduling based on interference avoidance, especially if each node knows more than one hop of network state information. We compare our new aggressive algorithm to a conservative algorithm we have presented in [1]. Both algorithms schedule sub-networks such that each sub-network can employ advanced interference-embracing coding schemes to achieve higher rates. Our innovation is in the identification, selection and scheduling of sub-networks, especially when sub-networks are larger than a single link.Comment: 14 pages, Submitted to IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, October 201