Efficient Deployement Algorithms for Mobile Sensor Networks

Sensor deployment problem is one of the important problems in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) since it represents the first phase that most of the network operations depends on. Sensor deployment strategies can be classified into two classes which are deterministic and autonomous (random) deployment. In the deterministic deployment, the deployment field is assumed accessible as well as the number of sensors is small to be manually deployed in specific locations. On the other hand, with large number of sensors and in inaccessible fields, the random deployment to the sensors turns out to be the solution. However, random deployment requires sensors to be automatically located (move) for coverage and connectivity purposes. In addition, after a period of time, the sensors topology might change due to some sensor hardware failure or deplaned energy. Therefore, redeployment and/or sensors relocation process is essential. Nevertheless, mobility consumed energy as well as sensor load balancing are essential factors to be considered during the initial deployment and relocation processes. This paper proposes two deployment algorithms to manage those situations. Those algorithms achieve sensor energy balancing and small amount of deployment energy consumption. A set of simulation experiments are conducted to compare between the proposed algorithm and the existing work in terms of coverage performance, average moving distance, and message complexity. Keywords—mobile sensor networks, deployment, clustering, potential field, redundant sensors.