Processing approximate aggregate queries in wireless sensor networks

In-network data aggregation has been recently proposed as an effective means to reduce the number of messages exchanged in wireless sensor networks. Nodes of the network form an aggregation tree, in which parent nodes aggregate the values received from their children and propagate the result to their own parents. However, this schema provides little flexibility for the end-user to control the operation of the nodes in a data sensitive manner. For large sensor networks with severe energy constraints, the reduction (in the number of messages exchanged) obtained through the aggregation tree might not be sufficient. In this paper we present new algorithms for obtaining approximate aggregate statistics from large sensor networks. The user specifies the maximum error that he is willing to tolerate and, in turn, our algorithms program the nodes in a way that seeks to minimize the number of messages exchanged in the network, while always guaranteeing that the produced estimate lies within the...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: IS
• Authors: Antonios Deligiannakis, Yannis Kotidis, Nick Roussopoulos
• Keywords: Aggregation Tree, Artificial Intelligence, IS 2006, Large Sensor Networks, Sensor Networks