Secure and Efficient Big Data Gathering in Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

The emergence of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks in recent years has helped to address the limitations of conventional WSNs resources and has opened new research areas. When more than one type of node is integrated in a WSN, it is called heterogeneous. Placing heterogeneous nodes in a WSN is an effective way to increase the life of the network. While most of the existing civil and military applications of the heterogeneous WSNs are not materially different from their homogeneous counterparts, there are compelling reasons of incorporating the heterogeneity in the network. These reasons include: improving scalability of wireless sensor networks, reducing energy requirements without sacrificing performance, the equilibration of the cost and the network functionality, improving the security mechanisms using more complex protocols and supporting new broadband applications and big data.

Recently, and because of the growth of the amount of data transmitted in the heterogeneous sensor networks, the term big data has emerged as a widely recognized trend. The term Big Data does not only concern the volume of data but also the high-speed transmission and the variety of information which are difficult to collect, store, and process using available technologies. Although the data generated by the individual sensors may not appear to be significant, all the data generated through the many sensors are capable of producing large volumes of data. The management of big data imposes additional constraints on WSNs. Effectively manage and secure big data gathering is a challenge in heterogeneous WSNs. Therefore, it represents an interesting research area. In this talk, I will address the emerging big data concept in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks and point out its main research issues.