An Exponential Time Algorithm for Multilevel Quantization in Distributed Detection

A multilevel quantization algorithm is proposed for distributed sensor networks where each sensor transmits a summary of its observation to the fusion center and the fusion center makes the final decision. The proposed scheme comprises a person-by-person optimum quantization at each sensor and an optimum fusion rule at the fusion center. The complexity of the algorithm is exponential yet practical for small to moderate networks. The rationale behind the proposed scheme is that from small to moderate networks, the naive algorithm is computationally impractical while practically applicable algorithms experience performance losses. Experimental results indicate that the proposed scheme is able to fill in this gap and provide near optimal solutions.