A framework for computing quality of information in multi-sensor systems

Multi-sensor systems are increasingly used for various monitoring tasks. Information obtained from such systems are imprecise in nature but is used for important decision making tasks. This precipitates the need to dynamically compute the quality of information (QoI) based on sensor observations. However, the heterogeneity of sensors, the addition or removal of sensors, and the complexity of media stream processing make it a very challenging task. In this paper we propose a framework for computing QoI in a dynamic sensor environment, which is designed using a service-oriented publish-subscribe mechanism. In this framework, the sensors, stream processing units and other components are all loosely coupled, providing the flexibility for addition, replacement, or removal of any components without affecting the target application. We envision that the proposed framework will serve as a test bed for real time QoI measurement and other instrumentation application while at the same time demonstrate the flexibility much needed in a dynamic sensor environment.