A Distributed Query Processing Engine

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are formed of tiny, highly energy-constrained sensor nodes that are equipped with wireless transceivers. They may be mobile and are usually deployed in large numbers in unfamiliar environments. The nodes communicate with one another by autonomously creating ad-hoc networks which are subsequently used to gather sensor data. WSNs also process the data within the network itself and only forward the result to the requesting node. This is referred to as in-network data aggregation and results in the substantial reduction of the amount of data that needs to be transmitted by any single node in the network. In this paper we present a framework for a distributed query processing engine (DQPE) which would allow sensor nodes to examine incoming queries and autonomously perform query optimisation using information available locally. Such qualities make a WSN the perfect tool to carryout environmental monitoring in future planetary exploration missions in a reliable and cost effective manner.