A variable step-size strategy for distributed estimation over adaptive networks

A lot of work has been done recently to develop algorithms that utilize the distributed structure of an ad hoc wireless sensor network to estimate a certain parameter of interest. One such algorithm is called diffusion least-mean squares (DLMS). This algorithm estimates the parameter of interest using the cooperation between neighboring sensors within the network. The present work proposes an improvement on the DLMS algorithm by using a variable step-size LMS (VSSLMS) algorithm. In this work, first, the well-known variants of VSSLMS algorithms are compared with each other in order to select the most suitable algorithm which provides the best trade-off between performance and complexity. Second, the detailed convergence and steady-state analyses of the selected VSSLMS algorithm are performed. Finally, extensive simulations are carried out to test the robustness of the proposed algorithm under different scenarios. Moreover, the simulation results are found to corroborate the theoretical findings very well.