Communication-protocol-based distributed filtering for general systems over sensor networks: developments and challenges

Abstract

During the past decades, the communication-protocol-based distributed filtering (DF) problems have received a great deal of research interest owing to their importance in networked systems. In this paper, we mainly present a timely review of DF problems under the influence of communication protocols (CPs). Firstly, we summarize the characteristics and advantages of the DF algorithm based on wireless sensor networks. According to the different types of noises or performance indices, the DF strategy can be generally categorized as the distributed recursive Kalman-type filtering, the distributed $H_{\mathrm{\infty }}$ filtering, the distributed set-membership filtering and so on. Subsequently, the recent advances of various CPs including the event-based mechanism, the round-robin protocol, the weighted try-once-discard protocol, the stochastic CP and the redundant channel are discussed. After that, the DF schemes for complex dynamical systems under different CPs are reviewed in detail. In addition, several challenges faced in this survey are summarized and discussed. Finally, the conclusions are provided and several potential future research directions are mentioned.

Keywords:

• Distributed filtering
• communication protocols
• networked systems
• wireless sensor networks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 12171124, 61933007, 61873148]; the Talent Training Project of Reform and Development Foundation for Local Universities from Central Government of China (Youth Talent Project); and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.

Notes on contributors

Jiaxing Li

Jiaxing Li received the B.Sc. degree in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, China, in 2017 and M.Sc. degree in Mathematics from Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, China, in 2020, respectively. She is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in Mathematics from Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, China. Her current research interests include optimal distributed filtering for time-varying state-saturated systems and optimal distributed filtering over sensor networks. She is an active reviewer for many international journals.

Zidong Wang

Zidong Wang was born in Jiangsu, China, in 1966. He received the B.Sc. degree in Mathematics in 1986 from Suzhou University, Suzhou, China, and the M.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics in 1990 and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1994, both from Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China. He is currently Professor of Dynamical Systems and Computing in the Department of Computer Science, Brunel University London, U.K. From 1990 to 2002, he held teaching and research appointments in universities in China, Germany and the UK. Prof. Wang's research interests include dynamical systems, signal processing, bioinformatics, control theory and applications. He has published more than 600 papers in international journals. He is a holder of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship of Germany, the JSPS Research Fellowship of Japan, William Mong Visiting Research Fellowship of Hong Kong. Prof. Wang serves (or has served) as the Editor-in-Chief for International Journal of Systems Science, the Editor-in-Chief for Neurocomputing, and an Associate Editor for 12 international journals including IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, and IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics-Part C. He is a Member of the Academia Europaea, a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a member of program committee for many international conferences. 

Jun Hu

Jun Hu received the B.Sc. degree in Information and Computation Science and M.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics from Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin, China, in 2006 and 2009, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in Control Science and Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2013. From September 2010 to September 2012, he was a Visiting Ph.D. Student in the Department of Information Systems and Computing, Brunel University, U.K. From May 2014 to April 2016, he was an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow at the University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany. From January 2018 to January 2021, he was a research fellow at the University of South Wales, Cardiff, U.K. He is a Professor and Ph.D. supervisor in the Department of Mathematics, Harbin University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150080, China. His research interests include nonlinear control, filtering and fault estimation, time-varying systems and complex networks. He has published more than 80 papers in refereed international journals. Prof. Hu serves as a reviewer for Mathematical Reviews, as an editor for Neurocomputing, Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, Neural Processing Letters, Systems Science and Control Engineering, and as a guest editor for International Journal of General Systems and Information Fusion. 

Hongjian Liu

Hongjian Liu received the B.Sc. degree in Applied Mathematics in 2003 from Anhui University, Hefei, China and the M.Sc. degree in Detection Technology and Automation Equipments in 2009 from Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China, and the Ph.D. degree in Control Theory and Control Engineering in 2018 from Donghua University, Shanghai, China. He is currently a Professor in the School of Mathematics and Physics, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, China. His current research interests include filtering theory, memristive neural networks and network communication systems. He is a very active reviewer for many international journals.  

Xiaojian Yi

Xiaojian Yi received the B.S. degree in control technology from the North University of China, Taiyuan, China, in 2010, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in reliability engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China, in 2012 and 2016, respectively. During 2015 and 2016, he was a jointly trained Ph.D. student with the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada, to study robot reliability and maintenance. From 2016 to 2020, he was an Associate Professor with the China North Vehicle Research Institute. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Beijing Institute of Technology. He is the author of two books and more than 100 articles, and is also the holder of eight patents. His research interests include system reliability analysis, intelligent control, fault diagnosis, and health management.