Self-stabilizing sensor networks for emergency management

Wireless sensor networks gather data, which is then transmitted in a sense-and-send manner to a central sink. The large number of sensor nodes makes configuring them before deployment impossible, resulting in the need for self configuration. The possibly large area that needs to be covered results in the necessity for multihop communication, and is prone to link failures. Therefore, communication protocols are needed that can guarantee a certain delivery ratio even under hard environmental conditions. A large scale emergency scenario represents one of these hard situations. One of the most fundamental problems in large scale emergencies is the coordination of rescue workers. To dispense units in an efficient manner without endangering them, a central command station needs as much information about the current situation as possible. Therefore, the application requirements are basically the same, making the usage of wireless sensor networks in emergency situations a viable task. In this paper we discuss the advantages of using self-stabilization in such sensor networks and present a self-stabilizing cross-layer medium access control/routing protocol for data gathering scenarios.