Robust and Efficient Aggregation using Multi-nodes Cooperation in Wireless Sensor Networks

In-network aggregation, an important scheme for wireless sensor network, could save energy and bandwidth of the networks. But the unreliability of wireless links will weaken the performance of in-network aggregation deeply. In this paper, a novel in-network aggregation strategy using multi-nodes cooperation is studied. The key idea of the proposed strategy is that multi nodes aggregate data simultaneously and relay data competitively. It is based on the observation that the broadcast nature of wireless sensor networks has its potential that allows all neighbors receive and process packets simultaneously. Theoretical and experimental analysis demonstrates that the new strategy can provide robust and efficient data-aggregation over unreliable links, and meanwhile it improves the performance of wireless sensor networks significantly.