An Energy Efficient Event Processing Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks are being deployed in many monitoring scenarios as fundamental data collection protocols are becoming efficient in handling simple sense-and-send function. As the computation capacity of sensor nodes grows, these nodes are capable of performing more complicated functions. Moreover, the need to realize the complete loop of sense-control-actuate as the wired sensing facility demands for more in-network processing to be able to generate meaningful in-network actuation. One such useful primitive function for many applications is edge or boundary detection of a phenomenon. In this work, we propose a localized edge detection algorithm using basic geometry rules that just uses one-hop neighbourhood information. This algorithm is accordingly benchmarked against one of the best localised edge detection scheme available in the public domain. It is found that the proposed algorithm readily outperforms its counterpart. Moreover, its energy efficient operation is attractive as a primitive implementation for other more complex primitives or applications themselves.