Hard-Decision Fusion With Arbitrary Numbers of Bits for Different Samples

A new hard-decision fusion rule that combines arbitrary numbers of bits for different samples taken at different sensors is proposed. The best thresholds for the fusion rules using 2, 3, and 4 bits are obtained. The bit error rate for a hard-decision fusion rule with 1 bit is also derived. Numerical results show that the new scheme can achieve better performance with higher energy efficiency.