AN ENERGY EFFICIENT CROSS-LAYER NETWORK OPERATION MODEL FOR MOBILE WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are modern technologies used to sense/control the environment whether indoors or outdoors. Sensor nodes are miniatures that can sense a specific event according to the end user(s) needs. The types of applications where such technology can be utilised and implemented are vast and range from households’ low end simple need applications to high end military based applications. WSNs are resource limited. Sensor nodes are expected to work on a limited source of power (e.g., batteries). The connectivity quality and reliability of the nodes is dependent on the quality of the hardware which the nodes are made of. Sensor nodes are envisioned to be either stationary or mobile. Mobility increases the issues of the quality of the operation of the network because it effects directly on the quality of the connections between the nodes

Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks - OMCO NET

The mini conference “Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks” focuses on advanced methods for search and optimisation applied to wireless communication networks. It is sponsored by Research & Enterprise Fund Southampton Solent University. The conference strives to widen knowledge on advanced search methods capable of optimisation of wireless communications networks. The aim is to provide a forum for exchange of recent knowledge, new ideas and trends in this progressive and challenging area. The conference will popularise new successful approaches on resolving hard tasks such as minimisation of transmit power, cooperative and optimal routing

A novel cooperative opportunistic routing scheme for underwater sensor networks

Increasing attention has recently been devoted to underwater sensor networks (UWSNs) because of their capabilities in the ocean monitoring and resource discovery. UWSNs are faced with different challenges, the most notable of which is perhaps how to efficiently deliver packets taking into account all of the constraints of the available acoustic communication channel. The opportunistic routing provides a reliable solution with the aid of intermediate nodes’ collaboration to relay a packet toward the destination. In this paper, we propose a new routing protocol, called opportunistic void avoidance routing (OVAR), to address the void problem and also the energy-reliability trade-off in the forwarding set selection. OVAR takes advantage of distributed beaconing, constructs the adjacency graph at each hop and selects a forwarding set that holds the best trade-off between reliability and energy efficiency. The unique features of OVAR in selecting the candidate nodes in the vicinity of each other leads to the resolution of the hidden node problem. OVAR is also able to select the forwarding set in any direction from the sender, which increases its flexibility to bypass any kind of void area with the minimum deviation from the optimal path. The results of our extensive simulation study show that OVAR outperforms other protocols in terms of the packet delivery ratio, energy consumption, end-to-end delay, hop count and traversed distance

A Review of Range-based RSSI Algorithms for Indoor Wireless Sensor Network Localization

The secure localisation of unknown nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is a crucial research topic due to the vast range of applications of WSNs. These applications drive the development of WSNs, as real-world obstacles typically motivate them. WSN technology is rapidly evolving, and this paper provides a brief overview of WSNs, including key research findings on energy conservation and node deployment. The paper discusses the applications of WSNs in medical health, environment and agriculture, intelligent home furnishing and construction, and military, space, and marine exploration. The paper focuses on the research of RSS-based locating algorithms in WSNs and is divided into two sections. Firstly, accurate location depends on the accurate RSSI received from nodes. This experiment analyses the distribution trend of RSSI and derives the loss model of signal propagation by processing experimental data. Secondly, Gaussian fitting calculates the distance between receiving and sending nodes by processing individual RSSI at different distances. The primary challenge in studying this RSSI range-based technique is the low positioning accuracy, low energy, and high error rate. To solve this problem, a recommended GA is used to find the optimal site by minimising error, providing the best feasible solution, and being energy-sensitive, with accuracy based on the least error inside the network. The proposed approach aims to optimise sensor placements for improved performance

A robot swarm assisting a human fire-fighter

Emergencies in industrial warehouses are a major concern for fire-fighters. The large dimensions, together with the development of dense smoke that drastically reduces visibility, represent major challenges. The GUARDIANS robot swarm is designed to assist fire-fighters in searching a large warehouse. In this paper we discuss the technology developed for a swarm of robots assisting fire-fighters. We explain the swarming algorithms that provide the functionality by which the robots react to and follow humans while no communication is required. Next we discuss the wireless communication system, which is a so-called mobile ad-hoc network. The communication network provides also the means to locate the robots and humans. Thus, the robot swarm is able to provide guidance information to the humans. Together with the fire-fighters we explored how the robot swarm should feed information back to the human fire-fighter. We have designed and experimented with interfaces for presenting swarm-based information to human beings

Indoor localisation by using wireless sensor nodes

This study is devoted to investigating and developing WSN based localisation approaches with high position accuracies indoors. The study initially summarises the design and implementation of localisation systems and WSN architecture together with the characteristics of LQI and RSSI values. A fingerprint localisation approach is utilised for indoor positioning applications. A k-nearest neighbourhood algorithm (k-NN) is deployed, using Euclidean distances between the fingerprint database and the object fingerprints, to estimate unknown object positions. Weighted LQI and RSSI values are calculated and the k-NN algorithm with different weights is utilised to improve the position detection accuracy. Different weight functions are investigated with the fingerprint localisation technique. A novel weight function which produced the maximum position accuracy is determined and employed in calculations. The study covered designing and developing the centroid localisation (CL) and weighted centroid localisation (WCL) approaches by using LQI values. A reference node localisation approach is proposed. A star topology of reference nodes are to be utilized and a 3-NN algorithm is employed to determine the nearest reference nodes to the object location. The closest reference nodes are employed to each nearest reference nodes and the object locations are calculated by using the differences between the closest and nearest reference nodes. A neighbourhood weighted localisation approach is proposed between the nearest reference nodes in star topology. Weights between nearest reference nodes are calculated by using Euclidean and physical distances. The physical distances between the object and the nearest reference nodes are calculated and the trigonometric techniques are employed to derive the object coordinates. An environmentally adaptive centroid localisation approach is proposed.Weighted standard deviation (STD) techniques are employed adaptively to estimate the unknown object positions. WSNs with minimum RSSI mean values are considered as reference nodes across the sensing area. The object localisation is carried out in two phases with respect to these reference nodes. Calculated object coordinates are later translated into the universal coordinate system to determine the actual object coordinates. Virtual fingerprint localisation technique is introduced to determine the object locations by using virtual fingerprint database. A physical fingerprint database is organised in the form of virtual database by using LQI distribution functions. Virtual database elements are generated among the physical database elements with linear and exponential distribution functions between the fingerprint points. Localisation procedures are repeated with virtual database and localisation accuracies are improved compared to the basic fingerprint approach. In order to reduce the computation time and effort, segmentation of the sensing area is introduced. Static and dynamic segmentation techniques are deployed. Segments are defined by RSS ranges and the unknown object is localised in one of these segments. Fingerprint techniques are applied only in the relevant segment to find the object location. Finally, graphical user interfaces (GUI) are utilised with application program interfaces (API), in all calculations to visualise unknown object locations indoors

Location aware sensor routing (LASeR) protocol for mobile wireless sensor networks

Location aware sensor routing (LASeR) protocol is a novel solution to the challenges of routing in mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs). It addresses the high reliability and low latency requirements of emerging applications. The protocol uses location information to maintain a gradient field even in highly mobile environments, whilst reducing the routing overhead. This allows the protocol to utilise a blind forwarding technique to propagate packets towards the sink. The protocol inherently utilises multiple paths simultaneously to create route diversity and increase its robustness. LASeR is designed for use in a high variety of MWSN applications with autonomous land, sea or air vehicles. Analytical expressions are derived and evaluated against the simulations. Extensive modelling and simulation of the proposed routing protocol has shown it to be highly adaptable and robust. It is compared with the recent MWSN proactive highly ambulatory sensor routing protocol, the high performance mobility adaptive cross-layer routing protocol, as well as ad-hoc on-demand distance vector and optimised link state routing. Protocols are evaluated on packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delay, overhead, throughput and energy consumption. The results highlight both the high performance of LASeR in various challenging environments and its superiority over the state-of-the-art