Sensor networks: evolution, opportunities, and challenges

Wireless microsensor networks have been identified as one of the most important technologies for the 21st century. This paper traces the history of research in sensor networks over the past three decades, including two important programs of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) spanning this period: the Distributed Sensor Networks (DSN) and the Sensor Information Technology (SensIT) programs. Technology trends that impact the development of sensor networks are reviewed, and new applications such as infrastructure security, habitat monitoring, and traffic control are presented. Technical challenges in sensor network development include network discovery, control and routing, collaborative signal and information processing, tasking and querying, and security. The paper concludes by presenting some recent research results in sensor network algorithms, including localized algorithms and directed diffusion, distributed tracking in wireless ad hoc networks, and distributed classification using local agents.     

A survey on deployment techniques,localization algorithms,and research challenges for underwater acoustic sensor networks

In recent years, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have attracted the attention of both the research community and the industry, and this has eventually lead to the widespread use of WSNs in various applications. The significant advancements in WSNs and the advantages brought by WSNs have also enabled the rapid development of underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). In UASNs, in addition to deployment, determining the locations of underwater sensor nodes after they have been deployed is important since it plays a critical role in many applications. Various localization techniques have been proposed for UASNs, and each one is suitable for specific scenarios and has unique challenges. In this paper, after presenting an overview of potential UASN applications, a survey of the deployment techniques and localization algorithms for UASNs has been presented based on their major advantages and disadvantages. Finally, research challenges and open research issues of UASNs have been discussed to provide an insight into future research opportunities.     

Reprogramming wireless sensor networks: challenges and approaches

Wireless sensor networks need an efficient and reliable reprogramming service to facilitate management and maintenance tasks. In this article we first outline a framework to examine different functions in reprogramming, followed by an analysis of reprogramming challenges. We then provide a comprehensive survey of the state-of-the-art reprogramming systems, and discuss different approaches to address these challenges. Finally we explore performance, protocol behavior, and the impact of several design factors.     

Wireless sensor and actor networks: research challenges

Wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) refer to a group of sensors and actors linked by wireless medium to perform distributed sensing and acting tasks. The realization of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) needs to satisfy the requirements introduced by the coexistence of sensors and actors. In WSANs, sensors gather information about the physical world, while actors take decisions and then perform appropriate actions upon the environment, which allows a user to effectively sense and act from a distance. In order to provide effective sensing and acting, coordination mechanisms are required among sensors and actors. Moreover, to perform right and timely actions, sensor data must be valid at the time of acting. This paper explores sensor-actor and actor-actor coordination and describes research challenges for coordination and communication problems.     

Information-intensive wireless sensor networks: potential and challenges

Conventional wireless sensor networks rely mostly on simple scalar data (such as temperature or humidity) and specialize in single-purpose applications. Taking a fundamental departure, in this article we motivate information-rich wireless video sensor networks that emulate the compound eyes found in certain arthropods. Although constrained by scarce resources, sensor nodes can only serve extremely low-resolution video streams; the availability of vast amount of such streams due to deployment redundance can suffice for the need of information hungry applications. Unfortunately, the unique characteristics of wireless video sensor networks will introduce novel uncertainty-driven challenges in the information-intensive and yet resource-constrained environment. Correspondingly, we describe key research problems in the areas of networking, security, sensor design, and video-data analysis     

Underwater acoustic sensor networks: research challenges

Underwater sensor nodes will find applications in oceanographic data collection, pollution monitoring, offshore exploration, disaster prevention, assisted navigation and tactical surveillance applications. Moreover, unmanned or autonomous underwater vehicles (UUVs, AUVs), equipped with sensors, will enable the exploration of natural undersea resources and gathering of scientific data in collaborative monitoring missions. Underwater acoustic networking is the enabling technology for these applications. Underwater networks consist of a variable number of sensors and vehicles that are deployed to perform collaborative monitoring tasks over a given area.In this paper, several fundamental key aspects of underwater acoustic communications are investigated. Different architectures for two-dimensional and three-dimensional underwater sensor networks are discussed, and the characteristics of the underwater channel are detailed. The main challenges for the development of efficient networking solutions posed by the underwater environment are detailed and a cross-layer approach to the integration of all communication functionalities is suggested. Furthermore, open research issues are discussed and possible solution approaches are outlined.     

Wireless underground sensor networks: Research challenges

This work introduces the concept of a Wireless Underground Sensor Network (WUSN). WUSNs can be used to monitor a variety of conditions, such as soil properties for agricultural applications and toxic substances for environmental monitoring. Unlike existing methods of monitoring underground conditions, which rely on buried sensors connected via wire to the surface, WUSN devices are deployed completely belowground and do not require any wired connections. Each device contains all necessary sensors, memory, a processor, a radio, an antenna, and a power source. This makes their deployment much simpler than existing underground sensing solutions. Wireless communication within a dense substance such as soil or rock is, however, significantly more challenging than through air. This factor, combined with the necessity to conserve energy due to the difficulty of unearthing and recharging WUSN devices, requires that communication protocols be redesigned to be as efficient as possible. This work provides an extensive overview of applications and design challenges for WUSNs, challenges for the underground communication channel including methods for predicting path losses in an underground link, and challenges at each layer of the communication protocol stack.     

CT-TDMA：水下传感器网络高效TDMA协议

针对水下无线传感器网络(UWSN,underwater sensor networks)提出以发送端为中心以连续时间为计量单位的冲突状态模型——局部冲突状态图及其分布式构建算法,并在此基础上设计了基于启发式规则的水下传感器网络TDMA协议(CT-TDMA,continuous time based TDMA)。CT-TDMA利用UWSN中同一接收节点与不同发送节点之间链路时延的差异性,减少在目的端的接收帧之间的空闲时间,从而提高网络流量;基于启发式规则的分配算法,能有效缩短连续时间轴上的时刻分配所花费的时间。模拟实验证明:CT-TDMA与以ST-MAC为代表的按时隙分配的TDMA方案相比,网络流量提高了20%,数据分组的端到端时延降低了18%;与由全局知识所计算出的最优分配策略相比,网络流量达到了80%,端到端时延仅延长了12%。     

Design guidelines for wireless sensor networks: communication, clustering and aggregation

When sensor nodes are organized in clusters, they could use either single hop or multi-hop mode of communication to send their data to their respective cluster heads. We present a systematic cost-based analysis of both the modes, and provide results that could serve as guidelines to decide which mode should be used for given settings. We determine closed form expressions for the required number of cluster heads and the required battery energy of nodes for both the modes. We also propose a hybrid communication mode which is a combination of single hop and multi-hop modes, and which is more cost-effective than either of the two modes. Our problem formulation also allows for the application to be taken into account in the overall design problem through a data aggregation model.     

Controlled mobility in mobile sensor networks: advantages, issues and challenges

Recently, wireless self-organizing networks are attracting a lot of interest in the research community. Moreover, in the last decade many mobile devices have appeared in the market. Exploiting mobility in a wireless environment, instead of considering it as a kind of disturbance, is a fundamental concept that the research community is beginning to appreciate now. Of course, the advantages obtainable through the use of the mobility imply the knowledge of the different types of mobility and the way to include it in the management architecture of the wireless networks. In this work we claim that mobility and wireless sensor networks can be considered as two synergetic elements of the same reality. For this purpose, we sketch a macro-classification of the different objectives which can be pursued by controlled mobility. Moreover, we identify and highlight the interactions between this specific type of mobility and the layers of the control stack. Lastly, this paper reports a case study in which we show how controlled mobility can be exploited practically.     

Beacon-less geographic routing made practical: challenges, design guidelines, and protocols - [Topics in ad hoc and sensor networks]

Geographic routing has emerged as one of the most efficient and scalable routing solutions for wireless sensor networks. In traditional geographic routing protocols, each node exchanges periodic one-hop beacons to determine the position of its neighbors. Recent studies proved that these beacons can create severe problems in real deployments due to the highly dynamic and error-prone nature of wireless links. To avoid these problems, new variants of geographic routing protocols that do not require beacons are being proposed. In this article we review some of the latest proposals in the field of beacon-less geographic routing and introduce the main design challenges and alternatives. In addition, we perform an empirical study to assess the performance of beacon-based and beacon-less routing protocols using a real WSN deployment.     

All-optical packet switching for metropolitan area networks:opportunities and challenges

The fast evolution of networks has been continuously driven by new advances in enabling technologies, as well as the growth of Internet traffic. All-optical packet switching provides high throughput, rich routing functionalities, and excellent flexibility. These characteristics make it an excellent candidate for next-generation metropolitan area networks, which will be much more dynamic and demanding than today's networks. In this article we not only discuss some of the architectural challenges involved in the design of all-optical packet switched networks, but also present the reader a high-level picture of how such future networks could be integrated with other network segments, to provide users end-to-end connectivity with performance and simplicity     

Wireless sensor networks: applications and challenges of ubiquitous sensing

Sensor networks offer a powerful combination of distributed sensing, computing and communication. They lend themselves to countless applications and, at the same time, offer numerous challenges due to their peculiarities, primarily the stringent energy constraints to which sensing nodes are typically subjected. The distinguishing traits of sensor networks have a direct impact on the hardware design of the nodes at at least four levels: power source, processor, communication hardware, and sensors. Various hardware platforms have already been designed to test the many ideas spawned by the research community and to implement applications to virtually all fields of science and technology. We are convinced that CAS will be able to provide a substantial contribution to the development of this exciting field.     

Middleware: middleware challenges and approaches for wireless sensor networks

Using middleware to bridge the gap between applications and low-level constructs is a novel approach to resolving many wireless sensor network issues and enhancing application development. This survey discusses representative WSN middleware, presenting the state of the research.     

水下声传感器网络的同步与最优TDMA调度

水声信道的传输时延大、多径扩展严重、带宽受限等特点,极大地制约了水声通信系统的可靠性和有效性。实现水下传感器网络同步,并在同步的基础上设计调度协议是提高水下传感器网络性能的重要手段。在对水声网络同步机制深入研究的基础上,提出了一种基于时空特性的TDMA调度机制(ST-TDMA)。考虑传播时延抖动、同步误差和同步开销的影响,分析并求解了ST-TDMA的最优保护时间间隔。仿真结果表明,提出的ST-TDMA方案可以获得显著的网络吞吐量和端到端时延性能提升。     

Extending end-to-end optical service provisioning and restoration in carrier networks: opportunities, issues, and challenges

In this article, we address the opportunities, issues and challenges associated with end-to-end optical service provisioning and restoration in carrier networks. A number of scenarios are analyzed from a practical perspective, considering important aspects relevant to the management and control planes. Along the lines of three basic dimensions, to which we refer as locality, granularity, and ownership, we discuss the complexity associated with provisioning and restoring end-to-end optical services in regional (local scale) and national (global scale) networking scenarios. We identify a number of challenges in integrating a unified control plane solution and vendor-specific management and control planes with legacy carrier management systems.     

Three-dimensional and two-dimensional deployment analysis for underwater acoustic sensor networks

Underwater sensor networks find applications in oceanographic data collection, pollution monitoring, offshore exploration, disaster prevention, assisted navigation, and tactical surveillance. In this paper, deployment strategies for two-dimensional and three-dimensional communication architectures for underwater acoustic sensor networks are proposed, and a mathematical deployment analysis for both architectures is provided. The objective is to determine the minimum number of sensors to be deployed to achieve optimal sensing and communication coverage, which are dictated by application requirements; provide guidelines on how to choose the optimal deployment surface area, given a target body of water; study the robustness of the sensor network to node failures, and provide an estimate of the number of redundant sensor nodes to be deployed to compensate for potential failures.