Improving the dynamism of mobile agent applications in wireless sensor networks through separate itineraries

This paper introduces the deployment of a new type of mobile agent application in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) that implements the construct of separate itinerary, a classic concept from Concordia, a mobile agent system in conventional distributed environments. A separate itinerary is a completely separate data structure from the agent itself, providing a simple mechanism to flexibly define and track how an agent travels. Our contribution is twofold: First, the adaptation of separate itineraries to a highly resource-constrained environment, i.e. Agilla agents on TelosB nodes. Second, the demonstration of this adaptation using a new application in the field of emergency scenarios – dynamic Mobile Agent Electronic Triage Tag. This application shows the impact of fault-tolerance through the use of several agents with different migration strategies from separate itineraries. By considering the itinerary separately from the agent code, we gain an additional level of adaptability and reactivity in Agilla applications, similar to that already available in WISEMAN applications. 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.