Distributed Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks under Multiplicative Fading via Generalized Score-tests

In this paper, we address the problem of distributed detection of a non-cooperative (unknown emitted signal) target with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). When the target is present, sensors observe an (unknown) deterministic signal with attenuation depending on the unknown distance between the sensor and the target, multiplicative fading, and additive Gaussian noise. To model energy-constrained operations within Internet of Things (IoT), one-bit sensor measurement quantization is employed and two strategies for quantization are investigated. The Fusion Center (FC) receives sensor bits via noisy Binary Symmetric Channels (BSCs) and provides a more accurate global inference. Such a model leads to a test with nuisances (i.e. the target position xT) observable only under H1 hypothesis. Davies framework is exploited herein to design the generalized forms of Rao and Locally-Optimum Detection (LOD) tests. For our generalized Rao and LOD approaches, a heuristic approach for threshold-optimization is also proposed. Simulation results confirm the promising performance of our proposed approaches.