Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for the collection, processing, and communication of environmental data are considered to have
an enormous potential for research and application. In a WSN, a fundamental problem is the data dissemination from a monitoring node to the sensor nodes. Based on a data dissemination algorithm, a monitoring node can perform different activities such as
to change the operational mode of part or the entire WSN, broadcast a new interest to the network, activate/deactivate one or more sensor nodes, and send a query to the network.
The information about the amount of energy available at each part of the network is called the energy map and can be explored by data dissemination algorithms to disseminate data so that the energy consumption by each node is minimized. In this work, a data dissemination algorithm is proposed that adapts dynamically its dissemination route according to the energy level of the sensor nodes. This is an important feature of an autonomic system that must have the capacity of adapting its behavior according
to its available resources. In a wireless sensor network, a fundamental resource is energy, since, in general, batteries cannot be recharged.
The key idea of the research is to combine concepts presented in trajectory-based forwarding with the information provided by the energy map to determine routes in a dynamic fashion to deliver information to either the entire network or part of it. Simulation results revealed that the energy spent with the data dissemination activity could be concentrated on nodes with high energy reserves, whereas low-energy nodes can use their energy only to perform sensing activity or to receive information addressed to them. In this manner, partitions of the network due to nodes that ran out of energy can be significantly delayed and the network lifetime extended.
José Marcos Nogueira is professor of Computer Science at UFMG - Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. His areas of interest and research include computer networks, wireless sensor networks, telecommunications and network management, and software development. He received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Campinas, Brazil in 1985. He held a post-doctoral position at the University of British Columbia, Canada, 1988-1989, and currently is on a sabbatical year at the universities of Evry and Paris VI / LIP 6. He headed the Department of Computer Science at UFMG from 1998 to 2000. Currently, he heads the computer network group at UFMG. He was the technical coordinator of the System for the Integration of Supervision (SIS) Project where a complex and distributed system for the management of telecommunications networks was developed. He has served in various roles, including General Chair (1985) and TPC Chair (1999 and 2004) of the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks (SBRC), and General Chair of LANOMS 2001. He has been a TPC member in IEEE/IFIP NOMS, IEEE/IFIP IM , IEEE LANOMS , IEEE/IFIP MMNS , IPOM , SBRC , and IEEE/IFIP DSOM . Currently he is secretary of the IEEE ComSoc TCII and also participates in the IEEE ComSoc CNOM interest group.