Abstract. In the literature there exist many proposed architectures for sensor fusion applications. This paper briefly reviews some of the most common approaches, i. e., the JDL fusion architecture, the Waterfall model, the Intelligence cycle, the Boyd loop, the LAAS architecture, the Omnibus model, Mr. Fusion, the DFuse framework, and the Time-Triggered Sensor Fusion Model, and categorizes them into abstract models, generic and rigid architectures. While an abstract model does not guide the designer in the concrete implementation, the generic architectures provide a generic design but leave open several design decisions regarding operating system, hardware, communication system, or database system. Rigid architectures specify at least some of these aspects and therefore provide existing hardware designs, tools, and source code at the cost of flexibility. 1

In a distributed real-time wireless communication system the timely delivery of data in the presence of interference and competition for the medium is a key requirement. Typically this is addressed by employing time division multiple access style approaches. The modification of a transmission schedule in such a system- in order to cater for example failed transmissions- requires the consensus of participating hosts. Reaching this consensus may require the exchange of a number of messages, resulting in high latency for messages of failed transmissions and ultimately mean the missing of real-time deadlines. We propose a framework that reduces the amount of coordination among participating hosts and that permits individual hosts to make autonomous localised decisions about their transmission schedule. This autonomy is achieved through a restructuring of the original TDMA approach and allows hosts to focus on the fulfillment of their individual deadlines, which in turn should increase the meeting of deadlines in the overall system. 1