Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Information technology platforms that have emerged in the last decade have enhanced the cost-effectiveness and speed associated with the processing, manipulating, storing, and transferring of large data sets. The expanding wireless technology has significantly increased functionality by making communication of data and information mobile. Additionally, improved sensor technology has provided efficient, inexpensive sensors for diverse purposes. It’s now possible to deploy a larger number of sensors while keeping costs low, yet still increasing performance standards.

The convergence of these technologies has given rise to complex system interactions; the large number of autonomous, heterogeneous entities working together toward a desired global behavior have made it imperative for researchers to coordinate and manage those complex interactions.

Related technologies that lead to and are governed by the advantages of distributed architectures will play a fundamental role in future engineering systems. This entails the ability to dynamically incorporate additional data into an executing application, and, in reverse, the ability of an application to dynamically steer the measurement process. Such capabilities promise more accurate analysis and prediction, more precise controls, and more reliable outcomes. The ability of an application to control and guide the measurement process and determine when, where, and how it is best to gather additional data has itself the potential of enabling more effective measurement methodologies. The ECpE department has determined the area of distributed sensing and decision making as a pivotal strategic area of interest.

Distributed Sensing and Decision-making Research Highlights 2006 (pdf)

Faculty in the Area

• Aleksandar Dogandzic
• Nicola Elia
• Sang W. Kim
• Ratnesh Kumar
• Yao Ma
• Daji Qiao
• Aditya Ramamoorthy
• Srikanta Tirthapura
• Umesh Vaidya
• Zhengdao Wang