Space-Time Spreading Aided Distributed MIMO-WSNs

In this letter, we consider the plaguing, yet rarely handled problem of interference resulting from superposition of multiple sensor signals in time, when sent over a multiple access channel (MAC) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We propose space-time spreading (STS) of local sensor decisions before reporting them over a MAC to i) minimize interference and ii) reduce energy required for combating interference due to superposition of sensor decisions. Each sensor decision is encoded on appropriately indexed space-time block of fixed duration using dispersion vectors, such that a single sensor is activated over each space-time block while all the other sensors are silent. At the receive side of the reporting channel, we assume a multi-antenna decision fusion center (DFC), thereby representing a distributed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication scenario. We formulate and compare optimum and sub-optimum fusion rules for fusing sensor decisions at the DFC to arrive at a reliable conclusion. Simulation results demonstrate gain in fusion performance with STS-aided transmission by 3 to 6 times over performance without STS.