Information Integration and Synchronization in Distributed Sensor Networks

Abstract

In recent years, the study of systems with multiple sensors has been an active area of research. In this paper, we focus on the computational, i.e., architectural, algorithmic, and synchronization issues related to competitive information integration in a Distributed Sensor Network (DSN). The proposed architecture of the DSN consists of a set of binary trees whose roots are fully connected. Each node of the tree has a processing element and one or more sensors associated with it. The information from each of the sensors has to be integrated in such a manner that the communication costs are low and that the real time needs are met. We present an information integration algorithm which has a low message cost (linear in the number of nodes of the network) and a low distributed computation cost. In a distributed environment there is no central clock which regulates the activities of each node. Further, the clock at each node is typically not accurate. The estimates from each of the sensors which need to be integrated have to be temporally close to each other, however. We consider the problems associated with synchronizing information to be integrated in the presence of imperfect clocks.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA242553

Entities

People

  • D. N. Jayasimha
  • R. L. Kashyap
  • Sundaraja Sitharama Iyengar

Organizations

  • Purdue University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Assembly
  • Assembly Lines
  • Computations
  • Computer Science
  • Detectors
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Hierarchies
  • Information Science
  • Manufacturing
  • Networks
  • Observation
  • Real Numbers
  • Sensor Networks
  • Signal Processing
  • Wireless Sensor Networks

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Sensor Fusion and Tracking Systems.