Method and apparatus for using mobile code for distributed data fusion in networked sensing systems

A method, comprising:

• sampling a value for a parameter corresponding to a phenomenon using at least one sensor in a set of sensors, wherein a respective sensor includes a measurement model for a parameter corresponding to a phenomenon;
• generating a likelihood function at a respective sensor by placing the sampled value into the measurement model included in that sensor;
• collecting the likelihood function from at least one sensor;
• and
• using the collected likelihood functions to compute an aggregate probability of a phenomenon state.

A computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer system cause the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

• sampling a value for a parameter corresponding to a phenomenon using at least one sensor in a set of sensors, wherein a respective sensor includes a measurement model for a parameter corresponding to a phenomenon;
• generating a likelihood function at a respective sensor by placing the sampled value into the measurement model included in that sensor;
• collecting the likelihood function from at least one sensor;
• and
• using the collected likelihood functions to compute an aggregate probability of a phenomenon state.