Top-k query evaluation in sensor networks under query response time constraint

Top-k query in a wireless sensor network is to find the k sensor nodes with the highest sensing values. To evaluate the top-k query in such an energy-constrained network poses great challenges, due to the unique characteristics imposed on its sensors. Existing solutions for top-k query in the literature mainly focused on energy efficiency but little attention has been paid to the query response time and its effect on the network lifetime. In this paper we address the query response time and its effect on the network lifetime through the study of the top-k query problem in sensor networks with the response time constraint. We aim at finding an energy-efficient routing tree and evaluating top-k queries on the tree such that the network lifetime is significantly prolonged, provided that the query response time constraint is met too. To do so, we first present a cost model of energy consumption for answering top-k queries and introduce the query response time definition. We then propose a novel joint query optimization framework, which consists of finding a routing tree in the network and devising a filter-based evaluation algorithm for top-k query evaluation on the tree. We finally conduct extensive experiments by simulation to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms, in terms of the total energy consumption, the maximum energy consumption among nodes, the query response time, and the network lifetime. The experimental results showed that there is a non-trivial tradeoff between the query response time and the network lifetime, and the joint query optimization framework can prolong the network lifetime significantly under a specified query response time constraint.     

Distributed adaptive top-k monitoring in wireless sensor networks

Top-k monitoring queries are useful in many wireless sensor network applications. A query of this type continuously returns a list of k ordered nodes with the highest (or lowest) sensor readings. To process these queries, a well-known approach is to install a filter at each sensor node to avoid unnecessary transmissions of sensor readings. In this paper, we propose a new top-k monitoring method, named Distributed Adaptive Filter-based Monitoring. In this method, we first propose a new query reevaluation algorithm that works distributedly in the network to reduce the communication cost of sending probe messages. Then, we present an adaptive filter updating algorithm which is based on predicted benefits to lower down the transmission cost of sending updated filters to the sensor nodes. Experimental results on real data traces show that our proposed method performs much better than the other existing methods in terms of both network lifetime and average energy consumption.     

一种基于哈希函数及能量均衡的事件查询算法

在无线传感器网络中对于无固定位置的事件及查询是个重要的研究课题。结合高效及最大化网络生命周期,提出了一种基于哈希函数及能量均衡的事件查询算法。在该算法中,一个传感器节点只需要关心自己通信范围内的邻居节点,不需要知道整个网络的状况,算法具有冗余数据少、查询能耗小、网络生命周期长、实现简单等特点。借助OMNET++网络模拟器进行仿真实验,与经典路由算法比较,结果表明本算法能快速高效地进行事件查询,同时最小化及均衡能量消耗,延长了网络生命周期。     

EGF-tree: an energy-efficient index tree for facilitating multi-region query aggregation in the internet of things

Spatial index trees constructed in wireless sensor networks are used to determine the sensors which can participate the query accurately and quickly. Most of index trees are constructed based on the parent--child node relation in network structure like routing tree, in which message sending for parent node selection will consume more energy. Due to energy being the important factor considered in wireless sensor networks, we design an energy-efficient index tree based on grid division and minimum energy merging principle in the skewness distribution of sensor nodes. Multi-region aggregation queries are carried on in our proposed index tree, which mainly focuses on region re-combination. Experimental results show that the energy consumption for multi-region aggregation queries are reduced compared to the original index tree.     

无线传感器网络中一种近似Skyline 查询处理算法

由于无线传感器网络的能源有限,且在许多应用中Skyline 查询的部分结果即可满足用户需求,提出了一 种近似Skyline 查询处理算法,在满足用户查询需求的前提下最大化地节省能量.该算法仅需无线传感器网络中的部 分传感器节点回传其感知数据即可计算出Skyline 查询的一个近似结果集.由于该算法在处理查询时,每个传感器节 点只需考察自身数据信息即可决定是否回传其感知数据,而无须与其他传感器节点的感知数据进行比较,因此可以 避免大量的网内通信开销,从而节省网络能源.模拟环境下的大量实验结果表明,该算法可以根据用户的应用需求, 节能地处理传感器网络中的近似skyline 查询.     

An efficient data-centric storage method using time parameter for sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, various schemes have been proposed to efficiently store and process sensed data. Among them, the data-centric storage (DCS) scheme is one of the most well-known. The DCS scheme distributes data regions and stores the data in the sensor that is responsible for the region. The DCS based scheme was proposed to reduce the communication cost for transmitting data and to efficiently process exact queries and range queries. Recently, a KDDCS scheme was proposed to overcome storage hot-spots by dynamically readjusting the distributed data regions to sensors based on the K-D tree. However, the existing DCS based schemes including KDDCS suffer from query hot-spots that are formed when query regions are not uniformly distributed. As a result, it reduces the lifetime of the sensor network.In this paper, we propose a new DCS based scheme, called Time-Parameterized Data-Centric Storage (TPDCS), that avoids the problems of storage hot-spots and query hot-spots. To decentralize the skewed data and queries, the data regions are assigned by a time dimension as well as data dimensions in our proposed scheme. Therefore, TPDCS extends the lifetime of sensor networks. It is shown through various experiments that our scheme outperforms the existing schemes.     

In-network wireless sensor network query processors: State of the art,challenges and future directions

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), energy is valuable because it is scarce. This causes their life time to be determined by their ability to use the available energy in an effective and frugal manner. In most of the earlier sensor network applications, the main requirement consisted mainly of data collection but transmitting all of the raw data out of the network may be prohibitively expensive (in terms of communication) or impossible at given data collection rates.In the last decade, the use of the database paradigm has emerged as a feasible solution to manage data in a WSN context. There are various sensor network query processors (SNQPs) (implementing in-network declarative query processing) that provide data reduction, aggregation, logging, and auditing facilities. These SNQPs view the wireless sensor network as a distributed database over which declarative query processor can be used to program a WSN application with much less effort. They allow users to pose declarative queries that provide an effective and efficient means to obtain data about the physical environment, as users would not need to be concerned with how sensors are to acquire the data, or how nodes transform and/or transmit the data.This paper surveys novel approaches of handling query processing by the current SNQP literature, the expressiveness of their query language, the support provided by their compiler/optimizer to generate efficient query plans and the kind of queries supported. We introduce the challenges and opportunities of research in the field of in-network sensor network query processing as well as illustrate the current status of research and future research scopes in this field.     

传感器网络中节点个数约束查询处理算法

对传感器网络中一类新查询--节点个数约束查询,提出能量有效的查询处理算法.算法主要由查询下发和结果回收两部分构成.查询下发算法首先根据节点个数约束查询的特点提出相关节点选择以及基于Steiner树的查询下发算法.然后对该下发算法以及一种基于洪泛的能量有效查询下发算法的能量消耗进行分析,并对比两种算法的能量消耗从中选择适当的下发算法.结果回收算法提出直接和间接两种结果回收方式,并给出两种方式在进行结果回收时能够节省能量的条件.仿真实验表明,提出的能量有效节点个数约束查询处理算法能够在满足用户查询精度的同时,使其能量消耗低于其他查询处理算法.     

Reliable spatial window aggregation query processing algorithm in wireless sensor networks

After wireless sensor network is deployed, users often submit spatial window aggregation queries to obtain statistical information of the regions of interest, such as maximum temperature, average humidity etc. Existing spatial window aggregation query processing algorithms are based on the assumption that the communication links are ideal which means there are perfect communication links within a given communication range, and none beyond. However, it is not valid in realistic sensor networks, which leads to high retransmissions of data frames. In order to address this problem, a reliable spatial window aggregation query processing algorithm called RESA is proposed in this paper. RESA only requires each node to maintain locations and residual energy of its neighbors and link qualities between them. According to the information, it divides the query area into several sub-regions, followed by collection of sensor readings in each sub-region. RESA traverses all the sub-regions within the query area to ensure the correctness of query result. Based on RESA's energy consumption formula derived, two highly efficient methods for sub-regional division are proposed to reduce packet loss rate during data communication and balance the load of nodes, hence saving energy consumption and extending lifetime. Experimental results show that in most cases RESA outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of energy consumption, quality of query results and lifetime.     

链路感知的传感器网络空间范围查询处理算法

在无线传感器网络环境中,用户经常提交空间范围查询以获取网络某局部区域的统计信息,如最大温度、平均湿度等。现有的基于路线的空间范围查询处理算法假设节点通信模型为理想的圆盘模型,而实际的网络并不满足该假设,导致其能量消耗大且查询结果质量差。提出了一种链路感知的空间范围查询处理算法LSA,它根据网络拓扑和链路质量动态地将查询区域划分为若干个网格,依次收集各网格中节点的感知数据,以生成最终的查询结果。LSA算法通过遍历查询区域内的所有网格,保证了算法查询结果的质量。提出了启发式的网格划分方法以降低节点间数据通信的丢包率,给出链路感知的数据收集算法,以减少算法的能量消耗,提高查询结果的质量。通过仿真实验系统地分析和比较了LSA算法和现有的IWQE算法的能量消耗及查询结果质量,结果表明,在绝大多数情况下,LSA算法优于IWQE算法。     

MaD‐WiSe: a distributed stream management system for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are composed of several sensors having limited memory, processing power, communication bandwidth, and energy, which cooperate in performing a given task. The use of the database paradigm has emerged in the last few years as a viable solution to manage data in such a context. In this paper we present the MaD‐WiSe system, a distributed query processing framework that moves the processing of the query into the network. MaD‐WiSe reconsiders various aspects related to database system design and it reinterprets them according to the WSN constraints and requirements. In particular it considers the aspects related to the definition of a query language to formalize the queries, a stream model to manage data acquired by the sensors, a query algebra to define the operators that actually perform the query, and energy efficiency and query optimization strategies for saving energy. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

传感器网络中的数据查询处理

传统的传感器网络采用集中式数据管理,不能有效利用便宜的本地计算来代替昂贵的网络通信.采用分布式的方法,在sink节点的应用层与网络层之间增加查询代理层,把用户查询分发到相关的传感器节点上进行处理.这样,通过减少网络传输的数据量,来降低传感器节点的能量消耗,延长网络寿命.     

A virtual infrastructure for large-scale wireless sensor networks

The primary goal of a wireless sensor network is to collect useful information from the network. Most wireless sensor networks are assumed that the number of nodes are very large and they should operate with confined resources. Consequently it is important to take a scalable and energy-efficient architecture.In this paper, we present Railroad, a data collection and topology management architecture for large-scale wireless sensor networks. It proactively exploits a virtual infrastructure called Rail, which acts as a rendezvous area of the event data and queries. By using Rail, Railroad achieves scalability and energy efficiency under dynamic conditions with multiple mobile observers and targets. We evaluate the communication cost and the hot area message complexity of Railroad and compare them with previous approaches. We evaluate communication cost of Railroad by both an analytic model and simulations.     

Adaptive processing of historical spatial range queries in peer-to-peer sensor networks

We investigate the problem of processing historical queries on a sensor network. Since data is considered to have been already collected at the sensor nodes, the main issue is exploring the spatial component of the query in order to minimize its cost represented by the energy consumption. We assume queries can be issued at any network node, i.e., there is no central base station and all nodes have only local knowledge of the network. On the one hand, a globally optimum query processing plan is desirable but its construction is not possible due to the lack of global knowledge of the network. On the other hand, while a simple network flooding is feasible, it is not a practical choice from a cost perspective. To address this problem we propose a two-phase query processing strategy, where in the first phase a path from the query originator to the query region is found and in the second phase the query is processed within the query region itself. This strategy is supported by analytical models that are used to dynamically select the best processing strategy depending on the query specifics. Our extensive analytical and experimental results show that our analytical models are accurate and that the two-phase strategy is better suited for small to medium sized queries, being up to 10 times more cost effective than a typical network flooding. In addition, the dynamic selection of a query processing technique proved itself capable of always delivering at least as good performance as the most energy efficient strategy for all query sizes. Research supported in part by NSERC Canada.     

传感器网络中基于卡尔曼滤波的能量高效Top—k查询处理技术

无线传感器网络能量受限,如何实现top-k查询处理的能量高效从而延长网络的生命周期是该领域研究的一个重要课题。论文利用传感器节点读数的时空相关性,提出运用卡尔曼滤波根据已知节点读数对未知节点读数估计的时空建模方法,进而提出基于预测机制的区域采样方法（RegionSampling,RS）。实验表明,论文提出的查询方法不但可以满足用户的查询精度要求,而且大大减少了传感器网络的通信次数节省了能量,从而延长了网络的生命周期。     

Effective query aggregation for data services in sensor networks

Providing efficient data services has been required by many sensor network applications. While most existing work in this area focuses on data aggregation, not much attention has been paid to query aggregation. For many applications, especially ones with high query rates, query aggregation is very important. In this paper, we study a query aggregation-based approach to provide efficient data services. In particular: (1) we propose a multi-layer overlay-based framework consisting of a query manager and access points (nodes), where the former provides the query aggregation plan and the latter executes the plan; (2) we design an effective query aggregation algorithm to reduce the number of duplicate/overlapping queries and save overall energy consumption in the sensor network. We also design protocols to effectively deliver aggregated queries and query results in the sensor network. Our performance evaluations show that by applying our query aggregation algorithm, the overall energy consumption can be significantly reduced and the sensor network lifetime can be prolonged correspondingly.     

无线传感器网络Top-k多查询算法

针对无线传感器网络中多个Top-k查询问题,提出了一种Top-k多查询处理的算法,对接收到的多个Top-k查询请求进行预处理,预处理依据是约束条件,得出两类不同的查询集合:单约束条件的多查询和多约束条件的多查询。针对单约束条件的多查询提出了ETOP算法,该算法首先对排在时间序列最前面的Top-k查询请求进行基于网内处理,然后把查询结果存入基站缓存,并把结果的最小值设定为阈值传输到各个节点,再根据后续查询请求的查询范围进行相应的查询,从而快速地获得Top-k查询结果。实验表明:Top-k多查询方法在能够很好地实现查询的同时,减少了无线传感器网络中的传输消耗和能量消耗。     

Accuracy vs. Lifetime: Linear Sketches for Aggregate Queries in Sensor Networks

The in–network aggregation paradigm in sensor networks provides a versatile approach for evaluating aggregate queries. Traditional approaches need a separate aggregate to be computed and communicated for each query and hence do not scale well with the number of queries. Since approximate query results are sufficient for many applications, we use an alternate approach based on summary data–structures. We consider two kinds of aggregate queries: location range queries that compute the sum of values reported by sensors in a given location range, and value range queries that compute the number of sensors that report values in a given range. We construct summary data–structures called linear sketches, over the sensor data using in–network aggregation and use them to answer aggregate queries in an approximate manner at the base–station. There is a trade–off between accuracy of the query results and lifetime of the sensor network that can be exploited to achieve increased lifetimes for a small loss in accuracy. Most commonly occurring sets of range queries are highly correlated and display rich algebraic structure. Our approach takes full advantage of this by constructing linear sketches that depend on queries. Experimental results show that linear sketching achieves significant improvements in lifetime of sensor networks for only a small loss in accuracy of the queries. Further, our approach achieves more accurate query results than the other classical techniques using Discrete Fourier Transform and Discrete Wavelet Transform. This work was supported in part by NASA under Cooperative Agreement NCC5–315.     

Adaptive data acquisition strategies for energy-efficient, smartphone-based, continuous processing of sensor streams

There is a growing interest in applications that utilize continuous sensing of individual activity or context, via sensors embedded or associated with personal mobile devices (e.g., smartphones). Reducing the energy overheads of sensor data acquisition and processing is essential to ensure the successful continuous operation of such applications, especially on battery-limited mobile devices. To achieve this goal, this paper presents a framework, called ACQUA, for ‘acquisition-cost’ aware continuous query processing. ACQUA replaces the current paradigm, where the data is typically streamed (pushed) from the sensors to the one or more smartphones, with a pull-based asynchronous model, where a smartphone retrieves appropriate blocks of relevant sensor data from individual sensors, as an integral part of the query evaluation process. We describe algorithms that dynamically optimize the sequence (for complex stream queries with conjunctive and disjunctive predicates) in which such sensor data streams are retrieved by the query evaluation component, based on a combination of (a) the communication cost & selectivity properties of individual sensor streams, and (b) the occurrence of the stream predicates in multiple concurrently executing queries. We also show how a transformation of a group of stream queries into a disjunctive normal form provides us with significantly greater degrees of freedom in choosing this sequence, in which individual sensor streams are retrieved and evaluated. While the algorithms can apply to a broad category of sensor-based applications, we specifically demonstrate their application to a scenario where multiple stream processing queries execute on a single smartphone, with the sensors transferring their data over an appropriate PAN technology, such as Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11. Extensive simulation experiments indicate that ACQUA’s intelligent batch-oriented data acquisition process can result in as much as 80 % reduction in the energy overhead of continuous query processing, without any loss in the fidelity of the processing logic.     

Stream engines meet wireless sensor networks: cost-based planning and processing of complex queries in AnduIN

Wireless sensor networks are powerful, distributed, self-organizing systems used for event and environmental monitoring. In-network query processors like TinyDB offer a user friendly SQL-like application development. Due to the sensor nodes?? resource limitations, monolithic approaches often support only a restricted number of operators. For this reason, complex processing is typically outsourced to the base station. Nevertheless, previous work has shown that complete or partial in-network processing can be more efficient than the base station approach. In this paper, we introduce AnduIN, a system for developing, deploying, and running complex in-network processing tasks. In particular, we present the query planning and execution strategies used in AnduIN, a system combining sensor-local in-network processing and a data stream engine. Query planning employs a multi-dimensional cost model taking energy consumption into account and decides autonomously which query parts will be processed within the sensor network and which parts will be processed at the central instance.