Age of Information Optimization in Distributed Sensor Networks with Half-Duplex Channels

2026-04-15

AI Summary

This work addresses the age of information (AoI) optimization problem in distributed multi-user sensor networks under half-duplex constraints. Building upon the ALOHA protocol, the authors model the dynamic switching of users between transmit and receive modes, derive a closed-form expression for the average AoI, and formulate an optimization problem with transmission probabilities as decision variables. By establishing the convexity of this problem and leveraging tools from graph theory and probabilistic analysis, they characterize optimal transmission strategies for general network topologies. Closed-form optimal solutions are further derived for d-regular graphs, while computable optimality conditions are provided for star topologies. The proposed mechanism adaptively configures optimal transmission probabilities tailored to each network structure, achieving significant AoI reduction.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Search and Optimization: Distributed Search
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization

Application Category

• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Algorithms and analysis for incomplete, noisy, or partially observed Web-related graphs
• Social Networks and Social Media: Influence propagation, information diffusion, and the prediction on networks
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Content-based information diffusion

Abstract

Motivated by cooperative distributed networks in which users dynamically alternate between transmit and receive modes under half-duplex constraints, this paper studies the Age of Information (AoI) in a distributed multi-user network using an ALOHA-based protocol. We derive closed-form expressions for the average AoI and formulate an optimization problem over transmission probabilities. After proving the convexity of the problem, we leverage the derived optimality conditions to characterize optimal policies for general network graphs, obtain closed-form solutions for $d$-regular topologies, and derive tractable optimality conditions for star topologies. Numerical results confirm that the proposed mechanism can effectively and adaptively determine user-specific optimal transmission probabilities across varying network topologies. These findings contribute to the design of adaptive and efficient distributed networks with enhanced information freshness.

Problem

• Age of Information
• Distributed Sensor Networks
• Half-Duplex Channels
• Information Freshness
• Multi-user Network

Innovation

• Age of Information
• Half-Duplex
• Distributed Sensor Networks
• ALOHA Protocol
• Convex Optimization