Node Scheduling Control Inspired by Epidemic Theory for Data Dissemination in Wireless Sensor-Actuator Networks With Delay Constraints

Wireless sensor-actuator networks (WSANs) enhance the existing wireless sensor networks (WSNs) by equipping sensor nodes with actuators. The actuators work with the sensor nodes to perform application-specific operations. The WSAN systems have several applications such as disaster relief, intelligent building management, military surveillance, health monitoring, and infrastructure security. These applications require the capability of fast data dissemination in order to act responsively to events. However, due to strict resource constraints of the nodes, WSANs pose significant challenges in network protocol design to support applications with delay requirements. Biologically inspired modeling techniques have received considerable attention for achieving robustness, scalability, and adaptability, while retaining individual simplicity. Specifically, data dissemination, packet routing, and broadcasting protocols for wireless networks have been modeled by epidemic theory. However, existing bio-inspired algorithms are mostly based on predefined heuristics and fixed parameters, and thus it is difficult for them to achieve the desired level of performance under dynamic environments. In order to solve this problem, we propose an epidemic-inspired algorithm for data dissemination in WSANs which automatically controls node states to meet the delay requirements while minimizing energy consumption. Through mathematical analysis, behavior of the algorithm in terms of converge time and steady state can be predicted. Also, the analysis shows that the system achieves stability, and derives parameter conditions for achieving the stability. Finally, extensive simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme outperforms existing protocols in achieving delay requirements and conserving energy.