Data management for sensor networks

传感器网络可以广义地定义为能够处理、存储、发送和接收数据的传感设备网络。现在，典型的传感器是一种微型设备，能够同时自主处理多个数据实体，并进行无线通信。传感器网络通常用于监测物理现象，例如，在一个地理区域内和一个时间窗口（受网络寿命的限制）内的温度和湿度水平。适合使用传感器网络的几个应用领域是：环境监测、生物污染检测、仓库管理、交通组织和战场监视。传感器节点是自主的，供电有限，因此，在这种环境下，主要的约束是网络运行的能源成本。考虑到发送/接收数据的成本——通常比在内存中处理数据的成本高几个数量级——一个关键问题是在处理查询时尽量减少节点之间的数据通信，同时利用网络中节点之间潜在的合作。总的来说，这个建议的目的是从数据库管理的角度来研究在SN内存储和查询数据同时最小化能源成本的技术。为了实现这一目标，将设计和评估几种替代方案，包括新的算法和数据结构。

Sensor networks, can be broadly defined as a network of sensing devices capable of processing, storing, sending and receiving data.   A typical sensor is now a minuscule device capable of processing several data entities simultaneously and autonomously as well as communicating  wirelessly. Sensor networks are typically deployed to monitor physical phenomena,  e.g., temperature and humidity levels, within a geographical area and over a time window (limited by the  network's lifespan).  A few application domains where the use of sensor networks is suitable are: environmental  monitoring, biological contamination detection, warehouse management, traffic organization and battlefield  surveillance.  Being autonomous, sensor nodes have a limited power supply, hence, a main constraint in such an  environment is the energy cost for operating the network.  Given the cost of sending/receiving data -typically  orders of magnitude larger than processing the same in memory- a key issue is to minimize data  communication among nodes while at the same time taking advantage of potential cooperation among nodes in the network when processing queries.   Overall, the aim of this proposal is to investigate, from a database management perspective, techniques for storing and querying data within a SN while minimizing energy cost.  To accomplish this goal  several alternatives, including new algorithms and data structures, will be designed and evaluated.