Patent ID: 8131839

Claim:
A method for resource assignment in a network of sensor nodes, the method comprising: a first sensor node of the network detecting an event and collecting data samples for the event; the first sensor node exchanging messages with other sensor nodes of the network that detect the event to form a community of sensor nodes; sensor nodes in the community exchanging information comprising sensor data and location information; one or more sensor nodes of the community computing the total data samples collected for the event by the community wherein the total data samples collected by the community is calculated as a time integral of the event coverage provided by the community; the first sensor node of the community sending a help message to a second sensor node outside of the community; the second sensor node estimating a potential marginal gain to be attained if the second sensor node were to be assigned to cover the event; and the second sensor node covering the event if the potential marginal gain exceeds a threshold, wherein the potential marginal gain comprises the expected change in a utility function that is dependent upon the total data samples collected for the event by the community; wherein the utility function comprises a concave function of the total data samples collected for the event by the community.