How to identify global trends from local decisions? Event region detection on mobile networks

The decentralized detection of event regions is a fundamental building block for monitoring and reasoning about spatial phenomena. However, so far the problem has been studied almost exclusively for static networks. This study proposes a theoretical framework with which we can analyze event detection algorithms suitable for large-scale mobile networks. Our analysis builds on the following insight: the inherent trends of spatial events are well captured by the spectral domain of the network graph. Using this framework, we propose novel local algorithms that are location-free; that work with mobile nodes and dynamic events; that operate on 3D topologies; and that are simple to implement. We are not aware of event detection algorithms possessing all these traits. Simulations based on complex oil spill traces showcase the resilience and robustness of our methods. Additionally, we demonstrate their validity for practical scenarios by evaluating them on a 105 node testbed.