Advances in sensor and computing technologies provide impetus for deploying wireless sensor networks in diverse applications ranging from environmental and habitat monitoring, power systems and manufacturing. Successful realization of such systems hinges on systematic methodologies to address and resolve bottleneck issues. Sensor network operation and lifetime is fundamentally limited by energy, a particular concern in environmental applications that necessitate long-term deployment. The project systematically interfaces new techniques for data networking and distributed information-processing to realize scalability and massive energy efficiencies in sensor network operation. The employed methods include novel semantic routing techniques and in-network localized distributed inferencing algorithms. A challenging ecological application, which is representative of the challenges arising in environmental monitoring, is addressed as proof-of-concept. Successfully completed project will lead to (1) an enabling technique for building systems to monitor and understand our environment and thus provide a framework for evaluating broad policy questions relevant to society; (2) new techniques and theories to advance the viability of large scale sensor networks as an engineering challenge; (3) novel, unanticipated insights and technologies in biology, geography, and engineering, which are bridged by the interdisciplinary effort; (4) scientific tools for scientists, educators, students, and like-minded individuals who might apply the results of the project. The results of the project will be disseminated through scholarly venues, journal, conference and online publications.
