A fuzzy approach to data aggregation to reduce power consumption in wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we propose a novel distributed approach based on fuzzy numbers and weighted average operators to reduce power consumption in wireless sensor networks when we are interested in the estimation of an aggregated value such as maximum or minimum temperature measured in the network. The basic point of our approach is that each node maintains an estimate of the aggregated value. Based on this estimate, the node decides whether a new value measured by the sensor on board the node or received through a message has to be propagated along the network. We present the application of our approach to the monitoring of the maximum temperature in a two-hundred square meters flat and discuss how the lifetime of the network can be determined through the datasheet of the used mote and the number of received and sent messages.