Traffic Monitoring and Rate Allocation in Sensor Networks

We consider sensor networks with a specific signal processing objective. The networks are organized in architectures comprised of sensor clusters whose cluster heads are connected via a backbone network. The data collected by the sensors are finally fused at a fusion center to satisfy the designated signal processing objective. Data operations and their time limitations are dictated by the signal processing objective, in conjunction with the power and life-span constraints of the sensors. The limited life-span of the sensors induce time-varying cluster traffic rates, and, thus dynamics in the operation of any rate allocation schemes. In this paper, we introduce a traffic monitoring algorithmic system, which detects changes in cluster traffic rates and dictates subsequent adaptations in the deployed traffic allocation techniques. We analyze the performance of the monitoring algorithmic system. We also analyze the stability of the coupled monitoring-rate allocation system.