On Pathsets and Cutsets of a Wireless Sensor Network Surveillance Problem

Area surveillance against intrusion events is an important application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Sensor nodes, however, are subject to random failure and hence the ability of a successful network operation is quantified probabilistically. In many situations, the area under surveillance is 2-dimensional and bounded by a polygon with known sides. The breach path detection reliability (BPDREL) problem calls for computing the network's success probability in detecting an intruder that crosses the perimeter through any specified subset of the available entry-exit polygon sides. Our work here analyzes pathsets and cutsets of the BPDREL problem and devises an algorithm that can compute lower and upper bounds on the exact solution based on the ability to compute good pathsets and cutsets. The effectiveness of the devised solution, as well as its potential use in solving some related surveillance design problems are demonstrated using simulation results.