COLLOQUIUM
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of South Carolina
 
Mobility and Communication in Sensor Networks

Qun Li

Department of Computer Science
Dartmouth College

Date: March 15, 2004 (Monday)
Time: 3:30-4:30PM
Place: Swearingen 1A03 (Faculty Lounge)

Abstract

A sensor network consists of a collection of sensors distributed over
an area that form an ad-hoc network. Each sensor is equipped with some
limited memory and processing capabilities, multiple sensing
modalities, and communication capabilities. Mobile sensor networks are
sensor networks in which nodes can move under their own control or
under the control of the environment. A key difference between a
mobile sensor network and a static sensor network is how information
is distributed over the network. Under static nodes, a new task or
data can be flooded across the network in a very predictable
way. Under mobility this kind of flooding is more complex.

In this talk, I will summarize our effort in developing distributed
algorithms that explore the synergy between mobility and
communication. Communication can be enhanced with mobility because
mobility allows nodes to carry and relay information. Mobility can be
enhanced by communication because it is cheaper to transmit sensed
data from a remote location than to actuate the sensor to that
location. I will briefly describe an infrastructure for mobile sensor
networks that relies on new algorithms for global clock
synchronization and power-aware communication. Then I will briefly
describe algorithms that show how mobility can enhance
communication. Finally, I will focus on a navigation application that
demonstrates how communication can assist mobility. In the navigation
problem a sensor network assists with the creation of adaptive maps
and safe paths that can be communicated incrementally to a moving
node, to guide the node to a desired spot. I will describe the
protocols, their analysis and the performance results from a physical
implementation on a 50 node Mote sensor network.

Qun Li is currently a PhD student in the Computer Science Department
at Dartmouth College. He received a B.S. degree from Changsha
Institute of Technology and a master degree from Southeast University,
both in computer science. His research interests include sensor
networks, mobile networks, and wireless networks. He has been working
on mobility, power conservation, clock synchronization, information
diffusion, and security. His work has involved a wide range of
categories, including theoretical algorithm design and analysis,
simulation, real experimentation, and measurement.