Information-centric collaborative data collection for mobile devices in wireless sensor networks

The advancement of smart phones enables mobile users to collect data from their surrounding sensors using short-range wireless communication. However, the limited contact time and the wireless capacity constrain the amount of data to be collected by the mobile users. It is crucial for mobile users to collect sensing data that can maximize their data utility. In this paper, we propose a distributed algorithm to provide information-centric ubiquitous data collection for multiple mobile users. The mobile users construct data collection trees adaptively according to their dynamic moving speeds. They prioritize data collection according to the information value carried by the sensing data. The distributed algorithm can support smooth data collection and coordination among multiple mobile users. We evaluate the data utility, energy efficiency and scalability of our solution with extensive simulations. The results showed that our distributed algorithm can improve information value up to 50% and reduce energy consumption to half compared with the existing approach.