Controlled Deployments of Sensor Networks

Controlled deployments of sensor networks are feasible when positions of individual nodes can be altered. We study how position control can be leveraged for obtaining desired levels of coverage and connectivity. We arrive at a topology construction mechanism based on purely local and geometric conditions that can guarantee certain global network properties. The construction requires each node to have at least one neighbor in every theta (NET) angle sector of its communication range. We present analysis to show that (i) for specific values of θ, the NET condition guarantees various proximity graphs such as the relative neighborhood graph and, (ii) sensing area coverage of the resulting NET graphs can be maximized by symmetric placement of each node’s neighbors on the edges of its communication range. Algorithms for controlled deployment are presented to demonstrate how the NET condition can be integrated with positioning of nodes for desirable topology construction. Simulations establish that varying this single parameter θ can provide a wide range of coverage and connectivity tradeoffs.