The energy scaling laws of multihop data fusion networks for distributed inference are considered. The fusion network consists of randomly located sensors independently distributed according to a general spatial distribution in an expanding region. Among the class of data fusion schemes that enable optimal inference at the fusion center for Markov random field hypotheses, the minimum per-sensor energy cost is bounded below by a minimum spanning tree data fusion and above by a suboptimal scheme referred to as Data Fusion for Markov Random Field (DFMRF). Scaling laws are derived for the optimal and suboptimal fusion policies.
Animashree Anandkumar, Joseph E. Yukich, Lang Tong