Generalized Rao Test for Decentralized Detection of an Uncooperative Target

We tackle distributed detection of a noncooperative target with a wireless sensor network. When the target is present, sensors observe an (unknown) deterministic signal with attenuation depending on the distance between the sensor and the (unknown) target positions, embedded in symmetric and unimodal noise. The fusion center receives quantized sensor observations through error-prone binary symmetric channels and is in charge of performing a more-accurate global decision. The resulting problem is a two-sided parameter testing with nuisance parameters (i.e., the target position) present only under the alternative hypothesis. After introducing the generalized likelihood ratio test for the problem, we develop a novel fusion rule corresponding to a generalized Rao test, based on Davies’ framework, to reduce the computational complexity. Also, a rationale for threshold-optimization is proposed and confirmed by simulations. Finally, the aforementioned rules are compared in terms of performance and computational complexity.