Is There Real Fusion between Sensing and Network Technology? -- What are the Problems?

Masatoshi ISHIKAWA  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Communications   Vol.E93-B   No.11   pp.2855-2858
Publication Date: 2010/11/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1345
DOI: 10.1587/transcom.E93.B.2855
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: INVITED PAPER (Special Section on Fundamental Issues on Deployment of Ubiquitous Sensor Networks)
Category: 
Keyword: 
sensor network,  sensor fusion,  hierarchical parallel distributed structure,  intentional sensing,  real world,  real-time,  

Full Text: FreePDF

Summary: 
Processing structures required in sensing are designed to convert real-world information into useful information, and there are various restrictions and performance goals depending on physical restrictions and the target applications. On the other hand, network technologies are mainly designed for data exchange in the information world, as is seen in packet communications, and do not go well with sensing structures from the viewpoints of real-time properties, spatial continuity, etc. This indicates the need for understanding the architectures and restrictions of sensor technologies and network technologies when aiming to fuse these technologies. This paper clarifies the differences between these processing structures, proposes some issues to be addressed in order to achieve real fusion of them, and presents future directions toward real fusion of sensor technologies and network technologies.