SDIP3: Structured and Dynamic Information Push and Pull Protocols for Distributed Sensor Networks

We propose and study a class of structured and dynamic information push and pull protocols for wireless sensor networks. For structured information dissemination, our study focuses on the impact of various information demand characteristics on dissemination along some type of backbone structures. Our exploration of dynamic information push and pull focuses on finding optimal strategies in a distributed manner without prior knowledge of information demand characteristics and/or with heterogeneous query distributions. Our theoretical analysis uses a simple grid structure, but the protocol is applicable to arbitrary network topologies. A distributed traffic information system is used as the context of study and the simulation study uses a microscopic traffic simulator to demonstrate some of the ideas discussed in the paper.