8,012 research outputs found
A Chemistry-Inspired Framework for Achieving Consensus in Wireless Sensor Networks
The aim of this paper is to show how simple interaction mechanisms, inspired
by chemical systems, can provide the basic tools to design and analyze a
mathematical model for achieving consensus in wireless sensor networks,
characterized by balanced directed graphs. The convergence and stability of the
model are first proven by using new mathematical tools, which are borrowed
directly from chemical theory, and then validated by means of simulation
results, for different network topologies and number of sensors. The underlying
chemical theory is also used to derive simple interaction rules that may
account for practical issues, such as the estimation of the number of neighbors
and the robustness against perturbations. Finally, the proposed chemical
solution is validated under real-world conditions by means of a four-node
hardware implementation where the exchange of information among nodes takes
place in a distributed manner (with no need for any admission control and
synchronism procedure), simply relying on the transmission of a pulse whose
rate is proportional to the state of each sensor.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to IEEE Sensors Journa
Computation-Communication Trade-offs and Sensor Selection in Real-time Estimation for Processing Networks
Recent advances in electronics are enabling substantial processing to be
performed at each node (robots, sensors) of a networked system. Local
processing enables data compression and may mitigate measurement noise, but it
is still slower compared to a central computer (it entails a larger
computational delay). However, while nodes can process the data in parallel,
the centralized computational is sequential in nature. On the other hand, if a
node sends raw data to a central computer for processing, it incurs
communication delay. This leads to a fundamental communication-computation
trade-off, where each node has to decide on the optimal amount of preprocessing
in order to maximize the network performance. We consider a network in charge
of estimating the state of a dynamical system and provide three contributions.
First, we provide a rigorous problem formulation for optimal real-time
estimation in processing networks in the presence of delays. Second, we show
that, in the case of a homogeneous network (where all sensors have the same
computation) that monitors a continuous-time scalar linear system, the optimal
amount of local preprocessing maximizing the network estimation performance can
be computed analytically. Third, we consider the realistic case of a
heterogeneous network monitoring a discrete-time multi-variate linear system
and provide algorithms to decide on suitable preprocessing at each node, and to
select a sensor subset when computational constraints make using all sensors
suboptimal. Numerical simulations show that selecting the sensors is crucial.
Moreover, we show that if the nodes apply the preprocessing policy suggested by
our algorithms, they can largely improve the network estimation performance.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures. Accepted journal versio
Decentralized Maximum Likelihood Estimation for Sensor Networks Composed of Nonlinearly Coupled Dynamical Systems
In this paper we propose a decentralized sensor network scheme capable to
reach a globally optimum maximum likelihood (ML) estimate through
self-synchronization of nonlinearly coupled dynamical systems. Each node of the
network is composed of a sensor and a first-order dynamical system initialized
with the local measurements. Nearby nodes interact with each other exchanging
their state value and the final estimate is associated to the state derivative
of each dynamical system. We derive the conditions on the coupling mechanism
guaranteeing that, if the network observes one common phenomenon, each node
converges to the globally optimal ML estimate. We prove that the synchronized
state is globally asymptotically stable if the coupling strength exceeds a
given threshold. Acting on a single parameter, the coupling strength, we show
how, in the case of nonlinear coupling, the network behavior can switch from a
global consensus system to a spatial clustering system. Finally, we show the
effect of the network topology on the scalability properties of the network and
we validate our theoretical findings with simulation results.Comment: Journal paper accepted on IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin
Distributed Detection and Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks
In this article we consider the problems of distributed detection and
estimation in wireless sensor networks. In the first part, we provide a general
framework aimed to show how an efficient design of a sensor network requires a
joint organization of in-network processing and communication. Then, we recall
the basic features of consensus algorithm, which is a basic tool to reach
globally optimal decisions through a distributed approach. The main part of the
paper starts addressing the distributed estimation problem. We show first an
entirely decentralized approach, where observations and estimations are
performed without the intervention of a fusion center. Then, we consider the
case where the estimation is performed at a fusion center, showing how to
allocate quantization bits and transmit powers in the links between the nodes
and the fusion center, in order to accommodate the requirement on the maximum
estimation variance, under a constraint on the global transmit power. We extend
the approach to the detection problem. Also in this case, we consider the
distributed approach, where every node can achieve a globally optimal decision,
and the case where the decision is taken at a central node. In the latter case,
we show how to allocate coding bits and transmit power in order to maximize the
detection probability, under constraints on the false alarm rate and the global
transmit power. Then, we generalize consensus algorithms illustrating a
distributed procedure that converges to the projection of the observation
vector onto a signal subspace. We then address the issue of energy consumption
in sensor networks, thus showing how to optimize the network topology in order
to minimize the energy necessary to achieve a global consensus. Finally, we
address the problem of matching the topology of the network to the graph
describing the statistical dependencies among the observed variables.Comment: 92 pages, 24 figures. To appear in E-Reference Signal Processing, R.
Chellapa and S. Theodoridis, Eds., Elsevier, 201
Distributed Recursive Least-Squares: Stability and Performance Analysis
The recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm has well-documented merits for
reducing complexity and storage requirements, when it comes to online
estimation of stationary signals as well as for tracking slowly-varying
nonstationary processes. In this paper, a distributed recursive least-squares
(D-RLS) algorithm is developed for cooperative estimation using ad hoc wireless
sensor networks. Distributed iterations are obtained by minimizing a separable
reformulation of the exponentially-weighted least-squares cost, using the
alternating-minimization algorithm. Sensors carry out reduced-complexity tasks
locally, and exchange messages with one-hop neighbors to consent on the
network-wide estimates adaptively. A steady-state mean-square error (MSE)
performance analysis of D-RLS is conducted, by studying a stochastically-driven
`averaged' system that approximates the D-RLS dynamics asymptotically in time.
For sensor observations that are linearly related to the time-invariant
parameter vector sought, the simplifying independence setting assumptions
facilitate deriving accurate closed-form expressions for the MSE steady-state
values. The problems of mean- and MSE-sense stability of D-RLS are also
investigated, and easily-checkable sufficient conditions are derived under
which a steady-state is attained. Without resorting to diminishing step-sizes
which compromise the tracking ability of D-RLS, stability ensures that per
sensor estimates hover inside a ball of finite radius centered at the true
parameter vector, with high-probability, even when inter-sensor communication
links are noisy. Interestingly, computer simulations demonstrate that the
theoretical findings are accurate also in the pragmatic settings whereby
sensors acquire temporally-correlated data.Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Signal
Processin
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