Patent ID: 8140658

Claim:
A sensor network comprising a plurality of network elements including at least one node configured to be communicatively coupled among a monitored environment, wherein the at least one node is further configured to be remotely controllable and to determine an energy cost for communication and a message priority, wherein the energy cost is determined based on a plurality of attenuation values, wherein the plurality of attenuation values comprises at least one attenuation value for wireless communication and at least one attenuation value for wired communication, wherein the at least one node is further configured to distribute objects for data processing to one or more of the plurality of network elements, wherein the objects for data processing comprise data and executable code, wherein the distribution of the objects for data processing varies based on the energy cost for communication and the message priority, wherein the plurality of network elements is configured to communicate a high priority message code for a high priority event, wherein, in response to receipt of the high priority message code, the at least one node is configured to broadcast one or more inhibit messages configured to inhibit messaging from nodes not engaged in conveying the high priority event, and wherein at least one inhibit message of the one or more inhibit messages is broadcast wirelessly.