Lower bounds on data collection time in sensory networks

Data collection, i.e., the aggregation at the user location of information gathered by sensor nodes, is a fundamental function of sensory networks. Indeed, most sensor network applications rely on data collection capabilities, and consequently, an inefficient data collection process may adversely affect the performance of the network. In this paper, we study via simple discrete mathematical models, the time performance of the data collection and data distribution tasks in sensory networks. Specifically, we derive the minimum delay in collecting sensor data for networks of various topologies such as line, multiline, and tree and give corresponding optimal scheduling strategies. Furthermore, we bound the data collection time on general graph networks. Our analyses apply to networks equipped with directional or omnidirectional antennas and simple comparative results of the two systems are presented.