Energy-Efficient Distributed Algorithms for Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network Lifetime Extension

Abstract

In Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs), maximizing network lifetime is a critical challenge due to the high energy demands of video processing and communication. Key factors influencing energy consumption include source coding parameters, the reliability and capacity of communication links, and routing strategies. Since the size of compressed multimedia data—particularly video—is inversely related to its visual quality, a trade-off naturally emerges between data volume and user-perceived quality. This paper addresses the problem of determining optimal coding and routing parameters that extend the network’s operational lifespan while maintaining the required visual quality at the sink and adapting to the dynamic nature of wireless links (e.g., fluctuating capacity and reliability). We propose a fully distributed and adaptive solution tailored to WMSNs. Our approach dynamically adjusts link utilization based on real-time reliability assessments and the residual energy of intermediate nodes. This ensures energy-efficient routing under both stable and perturbed network conditions. Extensive simulations demonstrate that our solution can prolong network lifetime by up to 9.76 times in ideal conditions and by approximately 5 times in the presence of network perturbations, while incurring only 0.16% of total battery energy as overhead. Moreover, the approach is shown to be highly responsive to topology changes, confirming its suitability for real-world WMSN deployments.