4,740 research outputs found
Weight Optimization for Consensus Algorithms with Correlated Switching Topology
We design the weights in consensus algorithms with spatially correlated
random topologies. These arise with: 1) networks with spatially correlated
random link failures and 2) networks with randomized averaging protocols. We
show that the weight optimization problem is convex for both symmetric and
asymmetric random graphs. With symmetric random networks, we choose the
consensus mean squared error (MSE) convergence rate as optimization criterion
and explicitly express this rate as a function of the link formation
probabilities, the link formation spatial correlations, and the consensus
weights. We prove that the MSE convergence rate is a convex, nonsmooth function
of the weights, enabling global optimization of the weights for arbitrary link
formation probabilities and link correlation structures. We extend our results
to the case of asymmetric random links. We adopt as optimization criterion the
mean squared deviation (MSdev) of the nodes states from the current average
state. We prove that MSdev is a convex function of the weights. Simulations
show that significant performance gain is achieved with our weight design
method when compared with methods available in the literature.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions On Signal
Processin
Gossip Algorithms for Distributed Signal Processing
Gossip algorithms are attractive for in-network processing in sensor networks
because they do not require any specialized routing, there is no bottleneck or
single point of failure, and they are robust to unreliable wireless network
conditions. Recently, there has been a surge of activity in the computer
science, control, signal processing, and information theory communities,
developing faster and more robust gossip algorithms and deriving theoretical
performance guarantees. This article presents an overview of recent work in the
area. We describe convergence rate results, which are related to the number of
transmitted messages and thus the amount of energy consumed in the network for
gossiping. We discuss issues related to gossiping over wireless links,
including the effects of quantization and noise, and we illustrate the use of
gossip algorithms for canonical signal processing tasks including distributed
estimation, source localization, and compression.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of the IEEE, 29 page
Convergence Rate Analysis of Distributed Gossip (Linear Parameter) Estimation: Fundamental Limits and Tradeoffs
The paper considers gossip distributed estimation of a (static) distributed
random field (a.k.a., large scale unknown parameter vector) observed by
sparsely interconnected sensors, each of which only observes a small fraction
of the field. We consider linear distributed estimators whose structure
combines the information \emph{flow} among sensors (the \emph{consensus} term
resulting from the local gossiping exchange among sensors when they are able to
communicate) and the information \emph{gathering} measured by the sensors (the
\emph{sensing} or \emph{innovations} term.) This leads to mixed time scale
algorithms--one time scale associated with the consensus and the other with the
innovations. The paper establishes a distributed observability condition
(global observability plus mean connectedness) under which the distributed
estimates are consistent and asymptotically normal. We introduce the
distributed notion equivalent to the (centralized) Fisher information rate,
which is a bound on the mean square error reduction rate of any distributed
estimator; we show that under the appropriate modeling and structural network
communication conditions (gossip protocol) the distributed gossip estimator
attains this distributed Fisher information rate, asymptotically achieving the
performance of the optimal centralized estimator. Finally, we study the
behavior of the distributed gossip estimator when the measurements fade (noise
variance grows) with time; in particular, we consider the maximum rate at which
the noise variance can grow and still the distributed estimator being
consistent, by showing that, as long as the centralized estimator is
consistent, the distributed estimator remains consistent.Comment: Submitted for publication, 30 page
Distributed Linear Parameter Estimation: Asymptotically Efficient Adaptive Strategies
The paper considers the problem of distributed adaptive linear parameter
estimation in multi-agent inference networks. Local sensing model information
is only partially available at the agents and inter-agent communication is
assumed to be unpredictable. The paper develops a generic mixed time-scale
stochastic procedure consisting of simultaneous distributed learning and
estimation, in which the agents adaptively assess their relative observation
quality over time and fuse the innovations accordingly. Under rather weak
assumptions on the statistical model and the inter-agent communication, it is
shown that, by properly tuning the consensus potential with respect to the
innovation potential, the asymptotic information rate loss incurred in the
learning process may be made negligible. As such, it is shown that the agent
estimates are asymptotically efficient, in that their asymptotic covariance
coincides with that of a centralized estimator (the inverse of the centralized
Fisher information rate for Gaussian systems) with perfect global model
information and having access to all observations at all times. The proof
techniques are mainly based on convergence arguments for non-Markovian mixed
time scale stochastic approximation procedures. Several approximation results
developed in the process are of independent interest.Comment: Submitted to SIAM Journal on Control and Optimization journal.
Initial Submission: Sept. 2011. Revised: Aug. 201
Diffusion Strategies Outperform Consensus Strategies for Distributed Estimation over Adaptive Networks
Adaptive networks consist of a collection of nodes with adaptation and
learning abilities. The nodes interact with each other on a local level and
diffuse information across the network to solve estimation and inference tasks
in a distributed manner. In this work, we compare the mean-square performance
of two main strategies for distributed estimation over networks: consensus
strategies and diffusion strategies. The analysis in the paper confirms that
under constant step-sizes, diffusion strategies allow information to diffuse
more thoroughly through the network and this property has a favorable effect on
the evolution of the network: diffusion networks are shown to converge faster
and reach lower mean-square deviation than consensus networks, and their
mean-square stability is insensitive to the choice of the combination weights.
In contrast, and surprisingly, it is shown that consensus networks can become
unstable even if all the individual nodes are stable and able to solve the
estimation task on their own. When this occurs, cooperation over the network
leads to a catastrophic failure of the estimation task. This phenomenon does
not occur for diffusion networks: we show that stability of the individual
nodes always ensures stability of the diffusion network irrespective of the
combination topology. Simulation results support the theoretical findings.Comment: 37 pages, 7 figures, To appear in IEEE Transactions on Signal
Processing, 201
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