Real-time multimedia monitoring in large-scale wireless multimedia sensor networks: Research challenges

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have enjoyed dramatic developments over the last decade. The availability of CMOS cameras and microphones enlarged the scope of WSNs paving the way to the development of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN). Among the envisaged WMSN applications, Real-time Multimedia Monitoring constitutes one of the most promising. However, the resource requirements of these applications place difficult challenges in terms of network lifetime and scalability. This paper starts by identifying the main characteristics and requirements of Real-time Multimedia Monitoring applications and then highlights key research directions that may help to overcome those challenges.