Hierarchical Data Aggregation in Spatially Correlated Distributed Sensor Networks

The central idea of using sensor networks for monitoring events and conditions is to exploit the distributed nature provided by tiny and low powered devices. Multiple sensors can be used collaboratively to monitor events or space more effectively than a single sensor. Several applications can be envisioned with sensor networks ranging from military and commercial applications to environment and earth sciences. Typical examples include: traffic monitoring of vehicles, military reconnaissance and surveillance, target tracking, cross-border infiltration, habitat monitoring and structural monitoring, to name a few. These sensors in general are prone to failure due to their inherent characteristics. In this paper, we propose a robust fault tolerant data aggregation scheme in sensor networks.