NeTS: Small: Scalable Routing in 3D Wireless Sensor Networks

University Of Louisiana At Lafayette, Lafayette LA

Investigators

Abstract

There have been increasing interests in deploying wireless sensors in three-dimensional (3D) space for such applications as underwater reconnaissance and atmospheric monitoring. An individual sensor is highly resource-constrained, with extremely limited computing, storage, and communication capacities. To network a large number of such sensor nodes is challenging. Particularly, compared with its 2D counterpart, the scalability problem is greatly exacerbated in a 3D sensor network due to dramatically increased sensor quantity in order to cover a 3D space. The state-of-the-art routing algorithms that offer the best scalability cannot be applied in 3D directly. As a matter of fact, it has been proven that there is no deterministic algorithm that can guarantee delivery based on local information only in a 3D network. This project centers on scalable routing protocols for wireless sensor networks deployed in a 3D space. A key strategy of this research is to preprocess the global network information via a distributed algorithm, such that a sensor only needs to store a minimum amount of information to make correct and efficient local routing decisions, thus achieving scalable routing. To this end, geometric theories and tools are exploited to develop practical routing algorithms that provide guaranteed delivery, require small bounded storage, and are based on local computation only. Three approaches, namely, routing-via-backbone, routing-in-3D-virtual-coordinates, and segment-and-route, are developed. Furthermore, a testbed will be established for experimental exploration and evaluation of 3D routing. The 3D sensor network technologies developed in this project will benefit several fields ranging from biological research to environmental monitoring.