Distributed algorithms for event tracking through self-assembly and self-organization

Environmental disasters often have costly and long-lasting effects. The speed and effectiveness of intervention depend on our ability to obtain timely information. In this paper, we propose an approach by which the event is “swarmed” by a set of mobile nodes that organize themselves around it and follow it as it moves. Our focus is on the distributed algorithms that are run on each of the autonomous nodes. Each node is “subjected” to a set of forces from the environment (data being sensed) and from each other (messages heard from neighboring nodes). The set of forces combine to lead the nodes to self-assemble: Nodes (cells) assemble into larger cells; cells break into smaller ones based on the forces they are subjected to so that the number of cells around the event is always close to optimal. The set of forces also lead the cells to self organize by forming patterns that surround the event and maintain connectivity. Although the set of forces was custom fit to our needs, we use similar phenomena in chemistry to reason about the forces and show that they lead to the desired emergent behavior.