Wireless sensor networks: target localization, signal estimation and power allocation

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a group of sensor nodes, that are spatially distributed over an area to perform a specific monitoring task by measuring some physical quantity, such as temperature or humidity. In such a network, the sensors are wirelessly connected to the infrastructure, e. g., a central unit (CU) as well as the other sensors. A running example of such networks is air pollution monitoring centers, that monitor the level of air pollution by measuring the air quality index (AQI) in megacities. With the conception of the internet of things (IoT), sensor networks are gaining utmost importance. The reason is simple: IoT depends on awareness and awareness relies on collecting information with the aid of WSNs. This entwines IoT and WSN, both of which have been hot research topics, as well as investment areas, in the last two decades. The applications of WSN range from environmental monitoring, health care, industrial monitoring, military applications, and others.