Towards a mobile agent framework for sensor networks

Sensor networks of the future will continue to be characterized by extreme energy and bandwidth constraints, yet they will need to support a robust and dynamic programming environment. To support multiple applications which may change over the lifetime of the network, the programming system should allow for the deployment of new code in an efficient and on-demand fashion. Existing programming frameworks focus on providing an efficient means for reprogramming an entire network: we believe that self-directed propagation can be more efficient for applications that do not require (or would not benefit from) network-wide deployment of new code. We present and analyze a framework enabling autonomous programs (agents) capable of propagating themselves through a sensor network.