Sensing Coverage and Breach Paths in Surveillance Wireless Sensor Networks∗

In this paper, the sensing coverage area of surveillance wireless sensor networks is considered. The sensing coverage is determined by applying the Neyman-Pearson detection model and defining the breach probability on a gridmodeled field. Using a graph model for the perimeter, Dijkstra’s shortest path algorithm is used to find the weakest breach path. The breach probability is linked to parameters such as the false alarm rate, size of the data record and the signal-to-noise ratio. Consequently, the required number of sensor nodes and the surveillance performance of the network are determined. The false alarm rate and the field width turn out to be the two most influential parameters on the breach probability. ∗This work is supported by the State Planning Organization of Turkey under the grant number 03K120250, and by the Boǧaziçi University Research Projects under the grant number 04A105.