Energy management for wireless sensor networks

A network of sensor nodes comprising:

• a plurality of sensor nodes, each sensor configured to operate for a given lifetime, comprising:
• an onboard computer system;
• and
• a set of one or more associated sensors;
• wherein, the computer system is configured to:
• periodically sample data from each sensor of the set of associated sensors to obtain sampled data,
• store a multi-state model representing one or more phenomena described by the sampled data;
• calculate a transition value associated with a transition of the phenomena between the states of the multi-state model, the transition value defining a likelihood of the transition;
• and
• adjust a rate of sampling of one or more of the set of associated sensors depending on the transition value defining the likelihood of the transition;
• and
• wherein each sensor node learns the minimum residual energy in its region of the network, and is able to set its sensor sampling rates in order to conserve sufficient energy at critical nodes of the network along its reporting path.

A method of operating a sensor node comprising an onboard computer system and a set of one or more associated sensors, wherein the node is configured to operate for a given lifetime;

• the method comprising the steps of:
• the computer system periodically sampling data from a set of one or more sensors associated with a sensor node to obtain sampled data;
• the computer system storing a multi-state model representing one or more phenomena described by the sampled data;
• the computer system calculating a transition value associated with a transition of the phenomena between the states of the multi-state model, the transition value defining the likelihood of the transition;
• and,
• the computer system adjusting a rate of sampling of one or more of the set of associated sensors depending on the transition value defining the likelihood of the transition.