• operates in a decentralized way while exhibiting desirable system-wide characteristics
• produces effective local decisions that contribute towards an effective overall system (emerging behavior)
• operates in a computationally efficient manner
• provides reliability in the sense that the loss of network elements does not prevent rest of the system from functioning

We may use game theory-based approaches and content-based interactions to view management of information aggregation activities from an economic point of view and model the desired system-wide behavior using knowledge obtained from utility functions. In order to optimize their individual utility in such environments, strategies will be designed for network elements while keeping in mind the overall protocol of the system. These strategies can be augmented through adaptive behavior (for example, from learning and adjusting actuators) that aims to utilize knowledge gained from past interactions.