Exponential error bounds for binary detection using arbitrary binary sensors and an all-purpose fusion rule in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are considered in which sensors convey binary decisions over fading channels to a common fusion center. The fusion center first takes each received signal and makes an estimate of the transmitted bit. The average of the estimated bits is compared to a threshold to make a global decision. Exponential error bounds are derived that allow one to trade off signal-to-noise ratio versus the number of sensors to achieve desired average error levels. An attractive feature of the bounds is that they do not require exact knowledge of the wireless channel statistics; approximations are sufficient.