Protocols for data propagation in wireless sensor networks

• Authors: Azzedine Boukerche;Sotiris Nikoletseas
• Venue: Wireless communications systems and networks
• Year: 2004

Recent dramatic developments in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless communications and digital electronics have already led to the development of small in size, low-power, low-cost sensor devices. Such devices integrate sensing, data processing and communication capabilities.Examining each such device individually might appear to have small utility, however the effective distributed co-ordination of large numbers of such devices may lead to the efficient accomplishment of large sensing tasks. Large numbers of sensors can be deployed in areas of interest (such as inaccessible terrains or disaster places) and use self-organization and collaborative methods to form a network. Their wide range of applications is based on the possible use of various sensor types. Thus, sensor networks can be used for continuous sensing, event detection, location sensing as well as micro-sensing.We note however that the efficient and robust realization of such large, highly-dynamic, complex, non-conventional networking environments is a challenging technological and algorithmic task. Features including the huge number of sensor devices involved, the severe power, computational and memory limitations, their dense deployment and frequent failures, pose new design, analysis and implementation challenges.This chapter aims at presenting certain important aspects of the design, deployment and operation of sensor networks. In particular, to provide a) a brief description of the technical specifications of state-of-the-art sensor devices b) a discussion of possible models used to abstract such networks c) a presentation of some characteristic protocols for data propagation in sensor networks, along with an evaluation of their performance analysis.