Maximizing the functional lifetime of sensor networks

Abstract

The functional lifetime of a sensor network is defined as the maximum number of times a certain data collection function or task can be carried out without any node running out of energy. The specific task considered in this paper is that of communicating a specified quantity of information from each sensor to a collector node. The problem of finding the communication scheme which maximizes functional lifetime can be formulated as a linear program, under "fluid-like" assumptions on information bits. This paper focuses on analytically solving the linear program for some simple regular network topologies.The two topologies considered are a regular linear array, and a regular two-dimensional network. In the linear case, an upper bound on functional lifetime is derived, as a function of the initial energies and quantities of data held by the sensors. Under some assumptions on the relative amounts of the energies and data, this upper bound is shown to be achievable, and the exact form of the optimal communication strategy is derived. For the regular planar network, upper and lower bounds on functional lifetime, differing only by a constant factor, are obtained.Finally, it is shown that the simple collection scheme of transmitting only to nearest neighbors, yields a nearly optimal lifetime in a scaling sense.0-7803-9201

Optimal data gathering paths and energy-balance mechanisms in wireless networks

“…This is an important generalization over previous work ( [19,23]). Interestingly, our results here imply (a) energy balanced data propagation using only two transmission levels (i.e.…”

“…We summarize this in the following proposition. (19) and a flow {f ij }, f satisfying the complementary slackness conditions (20). Then, the flow is a weak Pareto optimal solution to Problem 3.…”

“…We mention here an application of linear programming. In [18], it is assumed that sensors have to send data periodically toward the sink and accordingly a linear program is solved in order to minimize the energy required for each period. The constraints express the minimization of the energy consumption and the preservation of the flow.…”

Bounding the Lifetime of Target Tracking Sensor Networks

“…In the work of [6][7][8][9][10][11], the lifetime of the sensor network is defined as the time when the sensor network first losts connectivity. The rationale of their definition is based on the data delivery functionality of the sensor network.…”

“…The rationale of their definition is based on the data delivery functionality of the sensor network. Giridhar call it functional lifetime [6]. Bhardwaj et al provide bounds on the lifetime of a sensor network for basic data gathering scenarios [7].…”