Description

Recent advances in wireless communications and electronics has enabled the development of low cost sensor networks. The sensor networks can be used for various application areas, e.g. health, military, home, etc. For example, a home environment, which is aware of its residences whereabouts and activities, would enhance their life quality. Gathering sensor information in an energy efficient manner is critical to operating the sensor network for a long period of time.

In this project, we are going to consider a certain sensor topology (e.g. grid, random, etc.) where the nodes have a limited energy capacity. In order to prolong the battery lifetime, each node switches between low and high power states. During the low power state the node turns of its radio and processing circuitry. The objective of the sensor network is to track the temperature and soil conditions, and to deliver this information to a central monitor.

There is a trade off between the lifetime of the sensor nodes and the accuracy of measurements. If the nodes are awake all the time, the measurement accuracy will be best. However the lifetime of the system is short. Therefore, the sleep-awake/ measurement schedule of the sensors must be approp