Adaptive sampling for wireless sensor networks

Rebecca M. Willett, Aline Martin, Robert D. Nowak

Abstract: This paper proposes an adaptive three-stage approach for accurate field estimation using a wireless sensor network that can significantly reduce energy consumption. Under a piecewise smooth field assumption, this method nearly achieves the minimax error rate n/sup -1/2/, where n is the number of available sensors, while activating only n/sup 3/4/ of the sensors in the network. This approach can save significant energy compared to dense, nonadaptive sampling.