Query Processing for Sensor Networks

Abstract

Hardware for sensor nodes that combine physical sensors, actuators, embedded processors, and communication components has advanced significantly over the last decade, and made the large-scale deployment of such sensors a reality. Applications range from monitoring applications such as inventory maintenance over health care to military applications. In this paper, we evaluate the design of a query layer for sensor networks. The query layer accepts queries in a declarative language that are then optimized to generate efficient query execution plans with in-network processing which can significantly reduce resource requirements. We examine the main architectural components of such a query layer, concentrating on in-network aggregation, interaction of in-network aggregation with the wireless routing protocol, and distributed query processing. Initial simulation experiments with the ns-2 network simulator show the tradeoffs of our system.