Information Processing in Sensor Networks 

Abstract: We consider a network of distributed sensors, where where each sensor takes a linear measurement of some unknown parameters, corrupted by independent Gaussian noises. We propose a simple distributed iterative scheme, based on distributed average consensus in the network, to compute the maximum-likelihood estimate of the parameters. This scheme doesn't involve explicit point-to-point message passing or routing; instead, it diffuses information across the network by updating each node's data with a weighted average of its neighbors' data (they maintain the same data structure). At each step, every node can compute a local weighted least-squares estimate, which converges to the global maximum-likelihood solution. This scheme is robust to unreliable communication links. We show that it works in a network with dynamically changing topology, provided that the infinitely occurring communication graphs are jointly connected.

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks are capable of collecting an enormous amount of data over space and time. Often, the ultimate objective is to derive an estimate of a parameter or function from these data. This paper investigates a general class of distributed algorithms for "in-network" data processing, eliminating the need to transmit raw data to a central point. This can provide significant reductions in the amount of communication and energy required to obtain an accurate estimate. The estimation problems we consider are expressed as the optimization of a cost function involving data from all sensor nodes. The distributed algorithms are based on an incremental optimization process. A parameter estimate is circulated through the network, and along the way each node makes a small adjustment to the estimate based on its local data. Applying results from the theory of incremental subgradient optimization, we show that for a broad class of estimation problems the distributed algorithms converge to within an /spl epsi/-ball around the globally optimal value. Furthermore, bounds on the number incremental steps required for a particular level of accuracy provide insight into the trade-off between estimation performance and communication overhead. In many realistic scenarios, the distributed algorithms are much more efficient, in terms of energy and communications, than centralized estimation schemes. The theory is verified through simulated applications in robust estimation, source localization, cluster analysis and density estimation.

Abstract: A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is designed, implemented, deployed and tested on the 4200 ft long main span and the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB). Ambient structural vibrations are reliably measured at a low cost and without interfering with the operation of the bridge. Requirements that SHM imposes on WSN are identified and new solutions to meet these requirements are proposed and implemented. In the GGB deployment, 64 nodes are distributed over the main span and the tower, collecting ambient vibrations synchronously at 1 kHz rate, with less than 10 mus jitter, and with an accuracy of 30 muG. The sampled data is collected reliably over a 46-hop network, with a bandwidth of 441 B/s at the 46th hop. The collected data agrees with theoretical models and previous studies of the bridge. The deployment is the largest WSN for SHM.

Abstract: Public key cryptography (PKC) has been the enabling technology underlying many security services and protocols in traditional networks such as the Internet. In the context of wireless sensor networks, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), one of the most efficient types of PKC, is being investigated to provide PKC support in sensor network applications so that the existing PKC-based solutions can be exploited. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of TinyECC, a configurable library for ECC operations in wireless sensor networks. The primary objective of TinyECC is to provide a ready-to-use, publicly available software package for ECC-based PKC operations that can be flexibly configured and integrated into sensor network applications. TinyECC provides a number of optimization switches, which can turn specific optimizations on or off based on developers' needs. Different combinations of the optimizations have different execution time and resource consumptions, giving developers great flexibility in integrating TinyECC into sensor network applications. This paper also reports the experimental evaluation of TinyECC on several common sensor platforms, including MICAz, Tmote Sky, and Imotel. The evaluation results show the impacts of individual optimizations on the execution time and resource consumptions, and give the most computationally efficient and the most storage efficient configuration of TinyECC.