The document discusses applying autonomic computing principles to wireless sensor networks (WSNs). It introduces WSNs and their design goals/challenges, which include fault tolerance, power management, efficient routing and data aggregation. Autonomic computing aims to make systems self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing and self-protecting. The document argues that autonomic computing is well-suited for addressing WSN challenges by allowing for self-configuration, recovery from failures, optimized resource usage, and protection. It outlines architectures like MANNA that apply a service-oriented approach to autonomically manage WSNs.