Robust distributed estimation using efficient sensor-fault detection in sensor networks

A robust distributed estimation scheme for fusion center in the presence of sensor faults via collaborative sensor fault detection (CSFD) was proposed in our previous research [9]. The scheme can identify the faulty nodes efficiently and improve the accuracy of the estimates significantly. It achieves very good performance at the expense of such extensive computations as logarithm and division in the detecting process. In many real-time WSN applications, the fusion center might be implemented in an ASIC and included in a standalone device. Therefore, a simple and efficient distributed estimation scheme requiring lower computational complexity is extremely desired for fusion center. In this paper, we propose the efficient collaborative sensor fault detection (ECSFD) scheme. A simple method for measuring faulty weight of sensors is designed in ECSFD. Given the low computational complexity, it is suitable for hardware implementation. Simulation results indicate the accuracy of the estimates obtained from the ECSFD better than that obtained from a conventional approach when applied in sensor networks.