Towards a new information-centric view of Wireless Sensor Networks
Robin Braun, Z Chaczko, Feng-Ching Chiang · UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) · 2009
This paper presents a new paradigm for viewing the work of Wireless Sensor Networks. The Observed Field (OF) is described as a multi-dimensional Information Space (ISp). The Wireless Sensor Network is described as a Transformation Space (TS), while the information collector is a single point consumer of information, described as an Information Sink (ISi). Formal mathematical descriptions are suggested for the OF and the ISp. Mathematical descriptions for the TS and the ISi, based on the notion of Path Mutual Information, are proposed. Information flows from ISp to ISi via TS. TS can be formally thought of as a multi-dimensional transform function between ISp and ISi. It can be aggregated into a notional multidimensional value. This formal mathematical description can be used to create numerical optimization routines for generating TSs, against cost functions such as power consumption, and constraints such as maximum distance between sensors.