Although the wireless sensor nodes available today may be equipped with rechargeable batteries, the minimal energy capacity and low recharge rates hinder the sensor's lifetime and achievable performance. Sensor loses energy predominantly because of the redundant transmissions of sensed data. To avoid this, a sensor is modeled to transmit only the changes sensed in the event occurrence process, referred to as Transitions or Crucial Edges.For the proposed sensor model, we have developed a near-optimal decision-making policy. The policy, designed for a single rechargeable sensor, addresses the question“how long should the sensor sleep, and how long to stay active?”

Paper presented to the 6th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 23, 2010.Research completed at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering