Practical methods for maximizing information transmission in wireless sensor networks

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In a wireless sensor network, many distributed nodes observe a physical phenomenon, and communicate their findings to some central station, known as the data sink. Sensor networks represent an important emerging field of engineering research, with numerous potential applications in diverse fields, from security to wildlifemonitoring.Wireless sensor networks present a challenging problem for communication. The sensor nodes themselves have stringent energy and computational constraints. Meanwhile, the wireless communication environment is affected by many sources of distortion, such as interference or fading, any of which could cause a loss of signal. It is known that the nodes in a sensor network can achieve higher information rates through co-operation, and especially through acting as relays for each others' signal. Through relaying, each node has access to several independent paths from itself to the sink, and with each additional relay, there is an increasing probability that at least one path to the sink will be usable. However, this solution imposes a burden on the relaying nodes, as they cannot send their own information while helping their neighbor.  Furthermore, it requires the relaying nodes to consume their precious energy and computational resources.The proposed work will investigate methods for maximizing the information transfer rate through a wireless sensor network, particularly addressing the burden incurred in relaying through methods such as distributing it over as large a set of nodes as possible, or using simplified algorithms locally at each node.  With a focus on feasibility, the proposed work will, if successful, lead to the deployment of sensor networking hardware which exploits advanced concepts in wireless communication technology.