A cellular learning automata-based deployment strategy for mobile wireless sensor networks

One important problem which may arise in designing a deployment strategy for a wireless sensor network is how to deploy a specific number of sensor nodes throughout an unknown network area so that the covered section of the area is maximized. In a mobile sensor network, this problem can be addressed by first deploying sensor nodes randomly in some initial positions within the area of the network, and then letting sensor nodes to move around and find their best positions according to the positions of their neighboring nodes. The problem becomes more complicated if sensor nodes have no information about their positions or even their relative distances to each other. In this paper, we propose a cellular learning automata-based deployment strategy which guides the movements of sensor nodes within the area of the network without any sensor to know its position or its relative distance to other sensors. In the proposed algorithm, the learning automaton in each node in cooperation with the learning automata in the neighboring nodes controls the movements of the node in order to attain high coverage. Experimental results have shown that in noise-free environments, the proposed algorithm can compete with the existing algorithms such as PF, DSSA, IDCA, and VEC in terms of network coverage. It has also been shown that in noisy environments, where utilized location estimation techniques such as GPS-based devices and localization algorithms experience inaccuracies in their measurements, or the movements of sensor nodes are not perfect and follow a probabilistic motion model, the proposed algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of network coverage.     

Decomposition algorithms for maximizing the lifetime of wireless sensor networks with mobile sinks

We address the problem of maximizing the lifetime of a wireless sensor network with energy-constrained sensors and a mobile sink. The sink travels among discrete locations to gather information from all the sensors. Data can be relayed among sensors and then to the sink location, as long as the sensors and the sink are within a certain threshold distance of each other. However, sending information along a data link consumes energy at both the sender and the receiver nodes. A vital problem that arises is to prescribe sink stop durations and data flow patterns that maximally prolong the life of the network, defined as the amount of time until any node exhausts its energy. We describe linear programming and column generation approaches for this problem, and also for a version in which data can be delayed in its transmission to the sink. Our column generation approach exploits special structures of the linear programming formulations so that all subproblems are shortest path problems with non-negative costs. Computational results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms.     

Selection and navigation of mobile sensor nodes using a sensor network

Hybrid sensor networks comprise of mobile and static sensor nodes set up for the purpose of collaboratively performing tasks like sensing a phenomenon or monitoring a region. In this paper, we present a novel approach for navigating a mobile sensor node (MSN) through such a hybrid sensor network. The static sensor nodes in the sensor network guide the MSN to the phenomenon. One or more MSNs are selected based on their proximity to the detected phenomenon. Navigation is accomplished using the concepts of credit based field setup and navigation force from static sensor nodes. Our approach does not require any prior maps of the environment, thus cutting down the cost of the overall system. The simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In each of the simulation runs, the static sensor nodes were able to successfully guide the MSN towards the phenomenon.     

Time-optimized contextual information forwarding in mobile sensor networks

We study on the forwarding of quality contextual information in mobile sensor networks (MSNs). Mobile nodes form ad-hoc distributed processing networks that produce accessible and quality-stamped information about the surrounding environment. Due to the dynamic network topology of such networks the context quality indicators seen by the nodes vary over time. A node delays the context forwarding decision until context of better quality is attained. Moreover, nodes have limited resources, thus, they have to balance between energy conservation and quality of context. We propose a time-optimized, distributed decision making model for forwarding context in a MSN based on the theory of optimal stopping. We compare our findings with certain context forwarding schemes found in the literature and pinpoint the advantages of the proposed model.     

Distributed network control for mobile multi-modal wireless sensor networks

A sensor network operates on an infrastructure of sensing, computation, and communication, through which it perceives the evolution of events it observes. We propose a fusion-driven distributed dynamic network controller, called MDSTC, for a multi-modal sensor network that incorporates distributed computation for in-situ assessment, prognosis, and optimal reorganization of constrained resources to achieve high quality multi-modal data fusion. For arbitrarily deployed sensors, a certain level of data quality cannot be guaranteed in sparse regions. MDSTC reallocates resources to sparse regions; reallocation of network resources in this manner is motivated by the fact that an increased density of sensor nodes in a region of interest leads to better quality data and enriches the network resilience. Simulation results in NS-2 show the effectiveness of the proposed MDSTC. ¹     

Efficient localization for mobile sensor networks based on constraint rules optimized Monte Carlo method

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been widely used in many fields. The issue of node localization is a fundamental problem in WSNs. And it is the basis and prerequisite for many applications. Due to the mobility of the sensor nodes, it is more challenging to locate nodes in the mobile WSNs than in the static ones. The existing localization schemes for mobile WSNs are almost based on the Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) localization method. The SMC-based schemes may suffer from low sampling efficiency resulted from a large sampling area, which makes them difficult to achieve high localization accuracy and efficiency. Some schemes try to reduce the sampling area by further employing position relationship with neighbor common nodes, while we have found that the movements of the neighbor beacon nodes have not been fully exploited. Addressing this issue, in this paper, some new constraint rules are developed and some existing constraint rules are optimized with the consideration of the moving distance and direction of neighbor beacons. A series of distance constraint conditions are further created, by which, the scope/size of the sampling area can be further reduced, and the samples can be filtered more accurately. The performance of our algorithm is evaluated by extensive simulation experiments. The simulation results show that the localization error and computation cost of our proposed algorithm are lower than those of the existing ones, even when the speed of the sensor nodes is relative high.     

A smart node architecture for adding mobility to wireless sensor networks

Adding a few mobile nodes into the conventional wireless sensor networks can greatly improve the sensing and control capabilities of the networks and can help researchers solve many challenges such as network deployment and repair. This paper presents an enhanced node architecture for adding controlled mobility to wireless sensor networks. The structural model, the power model and the networking model of the proposed mobile node have been built respectively for better node control. And it provides a novel robotic platform for experimental research in hybrid sensor networks or other distributed measurement and control systems. A testbed has finally been created for validating the basic functions of the proposed mobile sensor node. The results of a coverage experiment show that the mobile node can provide additional support for network coverage and can ensure that the sensor network will work properly in undesirable environments.     

Stochastic sensor activation for distributed state estimation over a sensor network

We consider distributed state estimation over a resource-limited wireless sensor network. A stochastic sensor activation scheme is introduced to reduce the sensor energy consumption in communications, under which each sensor is activated with a certain probability. When the sensor is activated, it observes the target state and exchanges its estimate of the target state with its neighbors; otherwise, it only receives the estimates from its neighbors. An optimal estimator is designed for each sensor by minimizing its mean-squared estimation error. An upper and a lower bound of the limiting estimation error covariance are obtained. A method of selecting the consensus gain and a lower bound of the activating probability is also provided.     

Distributed clustering algorithms for data-gathering in wireless mobile sensor networks

One critical issue in wireless sensor networks is how to gather sensed information in an energy-efficient way since the energy is a scarce resource in a sensor node. Cluster-based architecture is an effective architecture for data-gathering in wireless sensor networks. However, in a mobile environment, the dynamic topology poses the challenge to design an energy-efficient data-gathering protocol. In this paper, we consider the cluster-based architecture and provide distributed clustering algorithms for mobile sensor nodes which minimize the energy dissipation for data-gathering in a wireless mobile sensor network. There are two steps in the clustering algorithm: cluster-head election step and cluster formation step. We first propose two distributed algorithms for cluster-head election. Then, by considering the impact of node mobility, we provide a mechanism to have a sensor node select a proper cluster-head to join for cluster formation. Our clustering algorithms will achieve the following three objectives: (1) there is at least one cluster-head elected, (2) the number of cluster-heads generated is uniform, and (3) all the generated clusters have the same cluster size. Last, we validate our algorithms through an extensive experimental analysis with Random Walk Mobility (RWM) model, Random Direction Mobility (RDM) model, and a Simple Mobility (SM) model as well as present our findings.     

水下移动无线传感器网络研究综述

水下移动传感器网络是水下机器人与水下传感器网络的结合,解决了传统水下监控网络存在的无法自动实现节点投放与回收,容易存在监测盲区以及不能动态组网等问题,按照自下而上的体系结构,对水下移动传感器网络的研究内容及发展方向进行了归纳阐述,包括水下节点设计、节点互联和动态组网,即点、线、面的层次结构;着重分析了节点移动特性对水下传感器网络的影响及相应的解决方法.虽然水下移动传感器网络的研究面临很多挑战,但它必将具有广阔的应用前景.     

Adaptive location updates for mobile sinks in wireless sensor networks

Mobile sinks can be used to balance energy consumption for sensor nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Mobile sinks are required to inform sensor nodes about their new location information whenever necessary. However, frequent location updates from mobile sinks can lead to both rapid energy consumption of sensor nodes and increased collisions in wireless transmissions. We propose a new solution with adaptive location updates for mobile sinks to resolve this problem. When a sink moves, it only needs to broadcast its location information within a local area other than among the entire network. Both theoretical analysis and simulation studies show that this solution consumes less energy in each sensor node and also decreases collisions in wireless transmissions, which can be used in large-scale WSNs.

基于最短路径的异类传感器网络分布式拓扑控制

针对异类传感器网络提出了一种基于最短路径的分布式拓扑控制（SPD/TC）算法。该算法利用网络中所有节点的局部信息保持网络的连通性,同时,利用最短路径算法计算链接权值的大小来进行拓扑结构的调整。将该算法与DRNG算法的节点度和平均链接长度进行仿真分析,仿真结果表明：该算法能更有效降低干扰,节省网络能量,提高了网络的性能。     

Proactive Highly Ambulatory Sensor Routing (PHASeR) protocol for mobile wireless sensor networks

This paper presents a novel multihop routing protocol for mobile wireless sensor networks called PHASeR (Proactive Highly Ambulatory Sensor Routing). The proposed protocol uses a simple hop-count metric to enable the dynamic and robust routing of data towards the sink in mobile environments. It is motivated by the application of radiation mapping by unmanned vehicles, which requires the reliable and timely delivery of regular measurements to the sink. PHASeR maintains a gradient metric in mobile environments by using a global TDMA MAC layer. It also uses the technique of blind forwarding to pass messages through the network in a multipath manner. PHASeR is analysed mathematically based on packet delivery ratio, average packet delay, throughput and overhead. It is then simulated with varying mobility, scalability and traffic loads. The protocol gives good results over all measures, which suggests that it may also be suitable for a wider array of emerging applications.     

一种无线传感器网络的密钥管理机制

介绍了一种用于无线传感器网络(WSNs)的密钥预分配机制:多密钥空间哈希随机密钥预分配(HARPMS)机制。该机制针对group-based节点投放模型,将密钥空间划分成多个子空间,在密钥分配和建立时使用Hash链技术,以提高网络的抗节点俘获能力。分析表明:相比传统的用于group-based投放模型的随机密钥预分配机制,HARPMS获得了同等的连通性,但却有更好的抗节点俘获能力。     

HIPaG: An energy-efficient in-network join for distributed condition tables in sensor networks

In sensor networks, the event-detection process can be considered as a join of two relations, i.e., a sensor table and a condition table, where a condition table is a set of tuples each of which contains condition information about a certain event. When join operations are used for event-detection, it is desirable, if possible, to perform ‘in-network’ joins in order to reduce the communication cost. In this paper, we propose an in-network join algorithm, called HIPaG. In HIPaG, a condition table is partitioned into several fragments. Those fragments are stored either in paths from the base station to sensor nodes, or in groups of nodes each of which are within the broadcast range among each other. By distributing a condition table in this way, a distributed join of a sensor table and a condition table can be effectively performed in the network. The experimental results show that our proposed HIPaG works much better than the existing method.     

基于VWMC的传感器网络移动节点定位算法

为了解决无线传感器网络移动节点定位精度低、计算方法复杂以及响应时间长的问题,提出了一种基于VWMC的传感器网络移动节点定位算法(VWMCL).该算法利用Monte Carlo算法作为移动节点的基本定位算法,并在预测阶段加入航位推算方法,通过减少预测角度的误差来提高粒子位置预测的精度;并把Voronoi图和权值融合在MCL算法的粒子过滤阶段,采用Voronoi图和权值的双重筛选的机制,提高粒子过滤的准确性.仿真结果表明,该算法可以显著改善定位精度,减少算法的计算量,从而提高定位的效率.     

一种基于移动节点的无线传感器网络修复方法

传感器节点的随机部署不均匀或者由于负载不均导致有的节点能量提前耗尽,导致无线传感器网络出现覆盖空洞.针对已检测到的覆盖空洞,提出一种基于相切圆的修复算法,并从理论上证明该算法的可行性.算法的基本原理是以相邻2个边界传感器节点求它们相切圆的圆心位置,即新增加的移动节点的位置,通过反复求解相切圆的圆心位置来达到修复的目的.通过仿真实验证明:算法不仅能达到90％的修复覆盖率,而且修复后的冗余度相比其他算法也较低.     

Efficient Bayesian spatial prediction with mobile sensor networks using Gaussian Markov random fields

In this paper, we consider the problem of predicting a large scale spatial field using successive noisy measurements obtained by mobile sensing agents. The physical spatial field of interest is discretized and modeled by a Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF) with uncertain hyperparameters. From a Bayesian perspective, we design a sequential prediction algorithm to exactly compute the predictive inference of the random field. The main advantages of the proposed algorithm are: (1) the computational efficiency due to the sparse structure of the precision matrix, and (2) the scalability as the number of measurements increases. Thus, the prediction algorithm correctly takes into account the uncertainty in hyperparameters in a Bayesian way and is also scalable to be usable for mobile sensor networks with limited resources. We also present a distributed version of the prediction algorithm for a special case. An adaptive sampling strategy is presented for mobile sensing agents to find the most informative locations in taking future measurements in order to minimize the prediction error and the uncertainty in hyperparameters simultaneously. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is illustrated by numerical experiments.