Estimation of pollutant-emitting point-sources using resource-constrained sensor networks

We present an algorithm that makes an appropriate use of a Kalman filter combined with a geometric computation with respect to the localisation of a pollutant-emitting point source. Assuming resource-constrained inexpensive nodes and no specific placement distance to the source, our approach has been shown to perform well in estimating the coordinates and intensity of a source. Using local gossip to directionally propagate estimates, our algorithm initiates a real-time exchange of information that has as an ultimate goal to lead a packet from a node that initially sensed the event to a destination that is as close to the source as possible. The coordinates and intensity measurement of the destination comprise the final estimate. In this paper, we assert that this low-overhead coarse localisation method can rival more sophisticated and computationally-hungry solutions to the source estimation problem