Activity-Aware Sensor Network for Smart Environments

Funded by NSF NetSE Program with 300K (10/2009-9/2012)

Overview

This project is about developing an innovative new paradigm for creating intelligent sensor networks, sustained smart environments, and improve the quality of life for residents of smart environments. The goal is to imbue wireless sensor networks with cognitive capabilities and context awareness, that will allow them to act in a more intelligent manner.

ActiSen

ActiSen is a new type of wireless sensor network that acts as an intelligent agent. This activity-aware wireless sensor network design uses intelligence about the environment and the residents, in order to improve its own performance. We envision a scenario in which residents enter a new home, filled with heterogeneous wireless sensors. As the residents perform their Activities of Daily Living (ADL), sensors note their activities through the space and time.

The proposed ActiSen network will work as follows. The environment sensors self-discover each other and self-form a mesh network for information exchange. Each sensor node has computation, communication and storage capacity. It can process and store raw data, as well as forward to other nodes. The nodes may also exchange information with each other to facilitate collaborative processing, if needed. A server (or control device) may be connected to this network for offline learning, data management, user control and analysis. But the network itself may operate autonomously and self-optimize the resource usages to provide reliable monitoring.