An energy-balanced self-deployment algorithm based on virtual force for mobile sensor networks

摘要

One of the major concerns in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is to prolong network lifetime while providing a high quality of service, such as target coverage and network connectivity. Due to the uneven traffic load caused by many-to-one communications in a sensor network, sensors closer to the sink tend to deplete their energy faster than others, which may create an energy hole near the sink, drastically reducing the network lifetime. In this paper, an energy-balanced sensor redistribution problem is addressed systematically through the use of sensor mobility. The variable sensor distributed density is presented to balance energy consumption. Further, a self-deployment algorithm based on virtual force is proposed. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to verify our analysis for mobile sensor networks.