424  WSN: Human-Centric, Participatory, and DTN

424.1 Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Design Human-Centric Systems: Plan sensing systems where humans serve as targets, operators, or data sources
  • Implement Participatory Sensing: Build crowdsourced data collection applications using smartphones
  • Apply DTN Concepts: Use Delay-Tolerant Networking for intermittent connectivity scenarios
  • Address Privacy Concerns: Implement privacy-preserving techniques for human-centric sensing
  • Evaluate Crowdsourcing Quality: Assess data reliability and apply quality control mechanisms
  • Design Incentive Mechanisms: Create reward systems to encourage participation in sensing campaigns

424.2 Prerequisites

Before diving into this section, you should be familiar with:

  • WSN Overview: Fundamentals: Understanding of wireless sensor network basics, communication patterns, and energy constraints provides foundation for human-centric extensions
  • Wireless Sensor Networks: Knowledge of network topologies, data aggregation, and routing protocols helps understand how human mobility affects network dynamics
  • Networking Basics: Familiarity with networking fundamentals is essential for grasping delay-tolerant networking and intermittent connectivity challenges
  • Sensor Fundamentals and Types: Understanding of sensor capabilities in mobile devices (GPS, accelerometers, cameras) is necessary for participatory sensing applications

424.3 Section Overview

This section covers human-centric wireless sensor networks, where humans play active roles in data collection, and delay-tolerant networking for scenarios where continuous connectivity is unavailable. The content is organized into three focused chapters:

NoteChapter Navigation

424.3.1 Human-Centric Sensing: Roles and Paradigms

Topics covered: - Human roles as sensing targets, sensor operators, and data sources - Participatory vs. opportunistic vs. people-centric sensing paradigms - Privacy challenges and the 95% re-identification risk from location data - Privacy-preserving mechanisms: differential privacy, k-anonymity, spatial cloaking - Worked examples: Urban noise mapping and crowdsourced pothole detection

Key concepts: Human-centric sensing leverages smartphones and wearables to create large-scale sensing systems where humans participate actively or passively in data collection.

424.3.2 Participatory Sensing: Platforms and Applications

Topics covered: - Platform architecture: mobile app, data collection, server processing, analytics layers - Core principles: democratic data collection, data sharing, authenticity verification - Applications: environmental monitoring, urban sensing, health, social sensing - Data quality challenges and solutions: sensor heterogeneity, user error, malicious submissions - Case studies: NoiseTube (noise mapping) and Waze (traffic sensing)

Key concepts: Participatory sensing enables citizen-driven data collection at scale through crowdsourced mobile applications.

424.3.3 Delay-Tolerant Networks for IoT

Topics covered: - DTN characteristics: intermittent connectivity, long delays, resource constraints - Store-carry-forward mechanism for disconnected environments - Routing protocols: Epidemic (95% delivery, 100x overhead), Spray-and-Wait (80% delivery, 6x overhead), PRoPHET (70% delivery, 3-5x overhead) - Protocol selection guidelines based on criticality and mobility patterns - Case studies: ZebraNet (wildlife tracking) and DakNet (rural connectivity)

Key concepts: DTNs enable communication in environments where traditional end-to-end connectivity assumptions fail.

424.4 Summary

Human-centric sensing and delay-tolerant networking extend traditional WSN capabilities to leverage human mobility and cope with intermittent connectivity:

  • Human Roles: Humans serve as sensing targets (health monitoring), sensor operators (crowdsourced data collection), or passive data sources (social media) in modern sensing systems
  • Participatory Sensing: Democratic data collection paradigm where individuals use mobile devices to actively contribute georeferenced data, enabling community-driven environmental and urban monitoring
  • Opportunistic Sensing: Automatic background data collection from smartphones with minimal user intervention, trading higher coverage for potential privacy concerns
  • Privacy Mechanisms: Spatial cloaking, differential privacy, k-anonymity, and edge processing protect personal information while enabling valuable aggregate insights
  • Delay Tolerant Networks: Networking paradigm designed for intermittent connectivity where traditional end-to-end assumptions fail, enabling communication through long delays and opportunistic contacts
  • DTN Routing Protocols: Epidemic routing maximizes delivery through flooding, Spray-and-Wait limits copies for efficiency, and PRoPHET uses encounter history to make probabilistic forwarding decisions
  • Store-and-Forward: Long-timescale buffering and message custody transfer enable data delivery across disconnected network segments through mobile nodes and data mules

424.5 What’s Next

Continue to the first chapter in this section: Human-Centric Sensing: Roles and Paradigms, which introduces the three roles humans play in sensing systems and the distinctions between participatory, opportunistic, and people-centric sensing approaches.

Deep Dives: - Wireless Sensor Networks - WSN architecture fundamentals - WSN Stationary vs Mobile: Fundamentals - Mobile sinks and data MULEs - Mobile Phones as Sensors - Smartphone sensing platforms

Protocols: - Sensor Network Routing - Data-centric routing approaches - RPL Routing - Low-power routing - MQTT - Lightweight messaging protocol

Security & Privacy: - Introduction to Privacy - Privacy fundamentals - Mobile Privacy - Mobile data protection - Cyber Security Methods - Security controls

Learning Hubs: - Simulations Hub - DTN simulation tools - Quizzes Hub - Test your knowledge - Videos Hub - Tutorial videos