Context-aware sensor data dissemination for mobile users in remote areas

Abstract

Many mobile sensing applications consider users reporting and accessing sensing data through the Internet. However, WiFi and 3G connectivities are not always available in remote areas. Existing data dissemination schemes for opportunistic networks are not sufficient for sensing applications as sensing context has not been explored. In this work, we present a novel context-aware sensing data dissemination framework for mobile users in a remote sensing field. It maximizes information utility by considering such sensing context as sensing type, locality, time-to-live, mobility and user interests. Different from existing works, the mobile users not only collect sensing data, but also upload data to sensors for information sharing. We develop a context-aware deployment algorithm and a hybrid data exchange mechanism for generic sensors and mobile users. We evaluate our solution by both analysis and simulations, and show that it can provide high information utility for mobile users at low communication overhead. © 2012 IEEE.