CAREER: Fundamental Performance Limits of Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

In recent times much has been said about how, once deployed, networks of devices with wireless communication capabilities will affect the way we work, learn, interact, organize, get entertained, fight wars, and recover from disasters. This interest in wireless networks has led to a fair amount of research activity in the areas of mobile and ad-hoc networking, addressing both systems and theory issues. However, not much research work has been done on fundamental information theoretic concepts related to wireless *sensor* networks, i.e., networks of tiny, low power, unreliable devices equipped with very limited sensing and communication capabilities, and embedded in the environment. This project is primarily about the study of fundamental performance limits for large-scale wireless sensor networks. Specifically, there are three problems, deeply intertwined with each other, and very relevant in practice, on which we concentrate our efforts: - Source Coding problems, dealing with the design and performance analysis of codes and signal processing algorithms for the random fields generated by sensor nodes. - Routing problems, dealing with design and performance analysis of protocols and signal processing algorithms for moving sensor data *within* the network. - Reachback Communication problems, dealing with the design and performance analysis of codes and signal processing algorithms for moving sensor data *out* of the network. The solution to problems of source coding, routing, and reachback communication in sensor networks requires a "marriage" of networking and communication theoretic concepts. This presents an interesting opportunity for innovation in education, since networking is typically regarded as a "pure CS" topic, whereas communication theory is typically regarded as a "pure EE" topic. All of my educational and outreach activities (undergraduate and graduate course development, lab development, undergraduate textbook development, service to community) are designed around the general goal of providing a solid theoretical basis to our students in networking and communications, as well as the more specific goal of highlighting the interplay between these concepts in the context of wireless sensor networks.