Sensor Networks
Wireless Sensor Networks
Introduction
WSN are used to collect data from the environment.
They consist of a large no. of sensor nodes and one
or more base stations.
The nodes in the network are connected via
wireless communication channels.
Each node has the capability to sense data,process
data and send it to rest of the nodes or the base
stations.
These are n/w’s limited by the node battery lifetime.
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Involved Technologies
Network
Technology
Computational Sensor
Power
Network
Sensor
Technology
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Application Areas
Military
Infrastructure security
Environment & Habitat Monitoring
Industrial Sensing
Traffic Control
Seismic Studies
Life Sciences
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The Systems involved
Sensor Node Internals
Operating System
Physical Size
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Sensor Node Internals
CPU
POWER
SUPPLY
D
ARE IC ELECTRO-MAGNETIC
T
FR S C
IN OU MI
SENSOR COMMUNICATION INTERFACE
AC EIS GE C…
S A TI
IM NE
AG NODE
M
Some Current Node Platforms:
1. Sensoria WINS
2. Smart Dust – Dust Inc. Berkeley
3. UC Berkeley mote – Crossbow ([Link])
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Operating System - TinyOS
Custom built at UC, Berkeley for wireless
sensor nodes
Component-based architecture: ensures
minimum code size
Component library includes:
Network protocols
Sensor drivers
Data acquisition tools
Distributed services
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Physical Size
WINS Berkley
LWIM III AWAIRS I NG 2.0 Motes
AWACS
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Communication
Network Protocol
Network Discovery
Network Control & Routing
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Network Protocol
For wireless sensor networks: IEEE 802.11
standards
Personal Area Networks (PAN): IEEE 802.15
standard
Radius of 5 to 10m
Ideal application in short-range sensors
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Network Discovery
Knowledge of identity and location of its
neighbor
For ad hoc networks:
Topology is built in real time
Periodic updates – sensors fail, new sensors
added
Global knowledge is generally not needed
In the absence of GPS, relative positioning
algorithms are used
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Network Control & Routing
Network adapts dynamically to
conserve resources like energy and available
nodes
Make optimum use of bandwidth and processing
power
Connectivity must emerge as needed from
algorithms
• Directed Diffusion routing
Data identity is separate from node identity
Promotes adaptive, in-network processing
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Deployment Issues
Energy Issues
Time and Space
Collaboration towards Objective
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Energy Issues
Energy drains
Energy Management
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Energy Drains
Processing
Need for Idle & sleep modes
Variable voltage & frequency
Communications
Currently around 150nJ/bit – short range
Sensors
Depends on the sensing modality
Actuators
Power Supply
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Energy Management
Processor Energy management:
Shutdown
Dynamic scaling of frequency and supply voltage
dynamic scaling of frequency, supply voltage, and
threshold voltage
• Communication Energy management:
Shutdown based
Turn off sender and receiver
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Time and Space
Sensor node localization
Temporal synching up
Scale of operations
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Localization
Absolute position on geoid
e.g. GPS
• Self-positioning vs. Remote-positioning
• Multiple techniques for Location sensing
Measure proximity to landmarks
Position relative to initialization point – Dead
reckoning
Measure distance of landmarks - Ranging
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Temporal Synchronization
Reference-broadcast synchronization: Very
high precision sync with slow radios
Post-facto synchronization: syncs up only
when needed (saves on energy)
Peer-to-peer synchronization: There are no
master clocks
Tiered Architecture: Range of node
capabilities
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Scale – Temporal and Spatial
Sampling: sampling frequency depends on
Type of modality being measured
Type of application
• Extent
• Density: “sensor nodes per footprint of input
stimuli”
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Collaborative Signal Processing
Sensor nodes collaborate to extract and
process information – towards common
objective
Two types of collaboration:
Intra-node collaboration
Inter-node collaboration
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The Research Challenges
Network deployment and organization
Query processing and routing
Storage management
Increasing the longevity and robustness of
the network
Security issues
Address privacy concerns
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