Gaining a sense of sensor network limitations
Rapid advances in computer technology, including miniaturisation and cost reductions, have enabled the integration of sensing, processing and communication capabilities into low-cost devices known as sensor nodes. These can be linked up wirelessly to form sensor networks with a wide range of useful applications where sensing or measuring physical variables over large areas is needed. Examples include environmental or weather monitoring, disaster response and monitoring the health of infrastructure, machines and industrial equipment. Despite the undoubted usefulness of sensor networks, most research has focused on empirical issues, leaving some fundamental questions unanswered. For instance, what are the constraints imposed on these decentralised networks by the basic limitations of the individual nodes, such as memory size, life cycle and communication range, especially in the tough and adversarial conditions in which these networks often operate? The EU-funded 'Adversarial models in sensor networks' (AMSN) project studied a number of issues including deterministic transmissions, efficiency bounds, and routing and scheduling.
