Exploring sensor networks using mobile agents

Today's wireless sensor networks have limited flexibility because their software is static. Mobile agents alleviate this problem by introducing mobile code and state. Mobile agents differ from traditional programs in that they are capable of moving and cloning throughout a network performing application-specific tasks. As they move, they carry their code and state, and are able to intelligently interact with each other. However, in order to realize the full benefits of mobile agents, new algorithms need to be developed for controlling their migration patterns. This paper presents a mechanism for ensuring efficient network exploration, e.g., that every node is visited. Network exploration has many applications ranging from data collection to network health monitoring. The mechanism uses a genetic algorithm to determine the number of agents and their itineraries, followed by techniques for intelligent in-network adaptation to unpredictable situations like node failure. This paper p...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ATAL
• Authors: Daniel Massaguer, Chien-Liang Fok, Nalini Venkatasubramanian, Gruia-Catalin Roman, Chenyang Lu
• Keywords: ATAL 2006, In-network Adaptation, Intelligent Agents, Mobile Agent, Wireless Sensor Network