A Learning Automata Based Area Coverage Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

One way to reduce energy consumption in wireless sensor networks is to reduce the number of active nodes in the network. When sensors are redundantly deployed, a subset of sensors should be selected to actively monitor the field (referred to as a "cover"), whereas the rest of the sensors should be put to sleep to conserve their batteries. In this paper, a learning automata based algorithm for energy-efficient monitoring in wireless sensor networks (EEMLA) is proposed. Each node in EEMLA algorithm is equipped with a learning automaton which decides for the node to be active or not at any time during the operation of the network. Using feedback received from neighboring nodes, each node gradually learns its proper state during the operation of the network. Experimental results have shown that the proposed monitoring algorithm in comparison to other existing methods such as Tian and LUC can better prolong the network lifetime.