Coverage Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks: Review and Future Directions

The coverage problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be generally defined as a measure of how effectively a network field is monitored by its sensor nodes. This problem has attracted a lot of interest over the years and as a result, many coverage protocols were proposed. In this survey, we first propose a taxonomy for classifying coverage protocols in WSNs. Then, we classify the coverage protocols into three categories (i.e. coverage aware deployment protocols, sleep scheduling protocols for flat networks, and cluster-based sleep scheduling protocols) based on the network stage where the coverage is optimized. For each category, relevant protocols are thoroughly reviewed and classified based on the adopted coverage techniques. Finally, we discuss open issues (and recommend future directions to resolve them) associated with the design of realistic coverage protocols. Issues such as realistic sensing models, realistic energy consumption models, realistic connectivity models and sensor localization are covered

Planning the deployment of multiple sinks and relays in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are subject to failures. Deployment planning should ensure that when a data sink or sensor node fails, the remaining network can still be connected, and so may require placing multiple sinks and relay nodes in addition to sensor nodes. For network performance requirements, there may also be path-length constraints for each sensor node. We propose four algorithms, Greedy-MSP and GRASP-MSP to solve the problem of multiple sink placement, and Greedy-MSRP and GRASP-MSRP for the problem of multiple sink and relay placement. Greedy-MSP and GRASP-MSP minimise the deployment cost, while ensuring that each sensor node in the network is double-covered, i.e. it has two length-constrained paths to two sinks. Greedy-MSRP and GRASP-MSRP deploys sinks and relays to minimise the deployment cost and to guarantee that all sensor nodes in the network are double-covered and noncritical. A sensor node is noncritical if upon its removal, all remaining sensor nodes still have length-constrained paths to sinks. We evaluate the algorithms empirically and show that these algorithms outperform the closely-related algorithms from the literature for the lowest total deployment cost

Power Beacon’s deployment optimization for wirelessly powering massive Internet of Things networks

Abstract. The fifth-generation (5G) and beyond wireless cellular networks promise the native support to, among other use cases, the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). Different from human-based cellular services, IoT networks implement a novel vision where ordinary machines possess the ability to autonomously sense, actuate, compute, and communicate throughout the Internet. However, as the number of connected devices grows larger, an urgent demand for energy-efficient communication technologies arises. A key challenge related to IoT devices is that their very small form factor allows them to carry just a tiny battery that might not be even possible to replace due to installation conditions, or too costly in terms of maintenance because of the massiveness of the network. This issue limits the lifetime of the network and compromises its reliability. Wireless energy transfer (WET) has emerged as a potential candidate to replenish sensors’ batteries or to sustain the operation of battery-free devices, as it provides a controllable source of energy over-the-air. Therefore, WET eliminates the need for regular maintenance, allows sensors’ form factor reduction, and reduces the battery disposal that contributes to the environment pollution. In this thesis, we review some WET-enabled scenarios and state-of-the-art techniques for implementing WET in IoT networks. In particular, we focus our attention on the deployment optimization of the so-called power beacons (PBs), which are the energy transmitters for charging a massive IoT deployment subject to a network-wide probabilistic energy outage constraint. We assume that IoT sensors’ positions are unknown at the PBs, and hence we maximize the average incident power on the worst network location. We propose a linear-time complexity algorithm for optimizing the PBs’ positions that outperforms benchmark methods in terms of minimum average incident power and computation time. Then, we also present some insights on the maximum coverage area under certain propagation conditions

Energy efficient in cluster head and relay node selection for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are defined as networks of nodes that work in a cooperative way to sense and control the surrounding environment. However, nodes contain limited energy which is the key limiting factor of the sensor network operation. In WSN architecture, the nodes are typically grouped into clusters where one node from each cluster is selected as the Cluster Head (CH) and relays utilisation to minimise energy consumption. Currently, the selection of CH based on a different combination of input variables. Example of these variables includes residual energy, communication cost, node density, mobility, cluster size and many others. Improper selection of sensor node (i.e. weak signal strength) as CH can cause an increase in energy consumption. Additionally, a direct transmission in dual-hop communication between sensor nodes (e.g. CH) with the base station (BS) uses high energy consumption. A proper selection of the relay node can assist in communication while minimising energy consumption. Therefore, the research aim is to prolong the network lifetime (i.e. reduce energy consumption) by improving the selection of CHs and relay nodes through a new combination of input variables and distance threshold approach. In CH selection, the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) scheme, residual energy, and centrality variable were proposed. Fuzzy logic was utilized in selecting the appropriate CHs based on these variables in the MATLAB. In relay node selection, the selection is based on the distance threshold according to the nearest distance with the BS. The selection of the optimal number of relay nodes is performed using K-Optimal and K-Means techniques. This ensures that all CHs are connected to at least one corresponding relay node (i.e. a 2-tier network) to execute the routing process and send the data to BS. To evaluate the proposal, the performance of Multi-Tier Protocol (MAP) and Stable Election Protocol (SEP) was compared based on 100, 200, and 800 nodes with 1 J and random energy. The simulation results showed that our proposed approach, refer to as Energy Efficient Cluster Heads and Relay Nodes (EECR) selection approach, extended the network lifetime of the wireless sensor network by 43% and 33% longer than SEP and MAP, respectively. This thesis concluded that with effective combinations of variables for CHs and relay nodes selection in static environment for data routing, EECR can effectively improve the energy efficiency of WSNs

The Application of Ant Colony Optimization

The application of advanced analytics in science and technology is rapidly expanding, and developing optimization technics is critical to this expansion. Instead of relying on dated procedures, researchers can reap greater rewards by utilizing cutting-edge optimization techniques like population-based metaheuristic models, which can quickly generate a solution with acceptable quality. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is one the most critical and widely used models among heuristics and meta-heuristics. This book discusses ACO applications in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), multi-robot systems, wireless multi-hop networks, and preventive, predictive maintenance

Improving Multicast Communications Over Wireless Mesh Networks

In wireless mesh networks (WMNs) the traditional approach to shortest path tree based multicasting is to cater for the needs of the poorest performingnode i.e. the maximum permitted multicast line rate is limited to the lowest line rate used by the individual Child nodes on a branch. In general, this meansfixing the line rate to its minimum value and fixing the transmit power to its maximum permitted value. This simplistic approach of applying a single multicast rate for all nodes in the multicast group results in a sub-optimal trade-off between the mean network throughput and coverage area that does not allow for high bandwidth multimedia applications to be supported. By relaxing this constraint and allowing multiple line rates to be used, the mean network throughput can be improved. This thesis presents two methods that aim to increase the mean network throughput through the use of multiple line rates by the forwarding nodes. This is achieved by identifying the Child nodes responsible for reducing the multicast group rate. The first method identifies specific locations for the placement of relay nodes which allows for higher multicast branch line rates to be used. The second method uses a power control algorithm to tune the transmit power to allow for higher multicast branch line rates. The use of power control also helps to reduce the interference caused to neighbouring nodes.Through extensive computer simulation it can be shown that these two methods can lead to a four-fold gain in the mean network throughput undertypical WMN operating conditions compared with the single line rate case

The Doppel system for controlled testing of sensor network apps

Application software or apps for wireless sensor networks vary widely and are customized to run on resource-constrained sensor nodes. This places restrictions on how it can be tested especially when running on the target hardware and operating as a network. Any changes to the app for testing could result in non-trivial observer effects especially if the testing methodology requires use of the already scarce resources. This leads us to the question of whether a system capable of testing sensor network apps while not using resources of the sensor nodes could be built. The objective of this research was to answer this question by designing and building the Doppel system which allows testing sensor network apps operating as a network. We present an architecture that utilizes sensor nodes to provide the required sensory input and exercise control over the sensor nodes that are executing the app under test. In our architecture, each sensor node executing the app under test is paired with a modified sensor node called the control node. We showcase an implementation of the architecture using the MICAz sensor node platform and TinyOS operating system software. Evaluation results in a network setting are also presented. Our architecture provides the benefits of both hardware-based and software-based approaches to testing sensor network apps. To manage the system efficiently when scaling up the system, there arises a need to find the optimal placement of base stations, what data each base station holds for operating the system and how the data needs to be routed. We modeled this optimization problem as the well-known facility location problem, and provided a hybrid algorithm that uses simulated annealing and a standalone solver to solve the problem.Ph.D., Electrical Engineering -- Drexel University, 201