Cellular Underwater Wireless Optical CDMA Network: Potentials and Challenges

Underwater wireless optical communications is an emerging solution to the expanding demand for broadband links in oceans and seas. In this paper, a cellular underwater wireless optical code division multiple-access (UW-OCDMA) network is proposed to provide broadband links for commercial and military applications. The optical orthogonal codes (OOC) are employed as signature codes of underwater mobile users. Fundamental key aspects of the network such as its backhaul architecture, its potential applications and its design challenges are presented. In particular, the proposed network is used as infrastructure of centralized, decentralized and relay-assisted underwater sensor networks for high-speed real-time monitoring. Furthermore, a promising underwater localization and positioning scheme based on this cellular network is presented. Finally, probable design challenges such as cell edge coverage, blockage avoidance, power control and increasing the network capacity are addressed.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Dynamic symmetrical topology models for pervasive sensor networks

The success of pervasive computing environments using ubiquitous loco-dynamic sensing devices is very dependent upon the sensor deployment topology (DT) employed. This paper presents a systematic mathematical model for efficient sensor deployment and provides a comparison with other popular topologies. The model focuses upon blanket coverage of a surveillance area using a minimum number of sensing devices, with minimal infra-sensor overlapping to reduce collisions and co-existence problems. Simulation results are presented for the hexagonal, triangular and square grid topologies for various dimensions of surveillance area. The results confirm that the hexagonal model gives optimal performance in terms of requiring the minimal number of sensors. The paper also highlights the improved performance of ubiquitous wireless sensor networks when a hexagonal topology (HT) is used

Target tracking in wireless sensor networks

The problem being tackled here relates to the problem of target tracking in wireless sensor networks. It is a specific problem in localization. Localization primarily refers to the detection of spatial coordinates of a node or an object. Target tracking deals with finding spatial coordinates of a moving object and being able to track its movements. In the tracking scheme illustrated, sensors are deployed in a triangular fashion in a hexagonal mesh such that the hexagon is divided into a number of equilateral triangles. The technique used for detection is the trilateration technique in which intersection of three circles is used to determine the object location. While the object is being tracked by three sensors, distance to it from a fourth sensor is also being calculated simultaneously. The difference is that closest three sensors detect at a frequency of one second while the fourth sensor detects the object location at twice the frequency. Using the distance information from the fourth sensor and a simple mathematical technique, location of object is predicted for every half second as well. The key thing to note is that the forth sensor node is not used for detection but only for estimation of the object at half second intervals and hence does not utilize much power. Using this technique, tracking capability of the system is increased. The scheme proposed can theoretically detect objects moving at speeds of up to 33 m/s unlike the paper [16] on which it is based which can detect objects moving only up to speeds of 5 m/s. While the earlier system [16] has been demonstrated with four sensors as well, but for that the arrangement of sensor nodes is a square. The technique demonstrated does not involve a change in the arrangement and utilizes the hexagonal mesh arrangement. Some other scenarios have been tackled such as when displacement of the object is zero at the end of one second. Its movement is predicted during that time interval. Also, incase an object moves in a circle, such motions are also tracked

Automatic triangulation positioning system for wide area coverage from a fixed sensors network

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonIn a wide area that many Transmitters (TRs) operate, systems of Fixed Sensors (FS) might be used in order to detect them and find TRs position. The detection and the accurate location of a new TR entering in the area frequently can be missed if the system fails to triangulate accurately the relative readings and analyze the changes in the received data. Additionally, there are cases that a Triangulation Station Network (TSN) can detect the heading as well as the transmitter’s position wrong. This thesis presents the design of a Sensors Network (FSN) system which is able to interact with a user, and exploit the relative data of the Sensors (SRs) in real time. The system performs localization with triangulation and the SRs are detect only TRs bearing data (range free). System design and algorithms are also explained. Efficient algorithms were elaborated and the outcomes of their implementation were calculated. The system design targets to reduce system errors and increase the accuracy and the speed of detection. Synchronously and through interaction with the user and changes of relative settings and parameters will be able to offer the user accurate results on localization of TRs in the area minimizing false readings and False Triangulations (FTRNs). The system also enables the user to apply optimization techniques in order to increase the system detection rate and performance and keep the surveillance in the Field of Interest (FoI) on a high level. The optimization methodology applied for the system proves that the FSN system is able to operate with a high performance even when saturation phenomena appear. The unique outcome of the research conducted, is that this thesis paves the way to enhance the localization via Triangulation for a network of Fixed Sensors with known position. The value of this thesis is that the FSN system performs bearing only detection (Range free) with a certain accuracy and the Area of Interest (AOI) is covered efficiently

Improved Localization Algorithms in Indoor Wireless Environment

Localization has been considered as an important precondition for the location-dependent applications such as mobile tracking and navigation.To obtain specific location information, we usually make use of Global Positioning System(GPS), which is the most common plat- form to acquire localization information in outdoor environments. When targets are in indoor environment, however, the GPS signal is usually blocked, so we also consider other assisted positioning techniques in order to obtain accurate position of targets. In this thesis, three different schemes in indoor environment are proposed to minimize localization error by placing refer- ence nodes in optimum locations, combining the localization information from accelerometer sensor in smartphone with Received Signal Strength (RSS) from reference nodes, and utilizing frequency diversity in Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) environment. Deployments of reference nodes are vital for locating nearby targets since they are used to estimate the distances from them to the targets. A reference nodes’ placement scheme based on minimizing the average mean square error of localization over a certain region is proposed in this thesis first and is applied in different localization regions which are circular, square and hexagonal for illustration of the flexibility of the proposed scheme. Equipped with accelerometer sensor, smartphone provides useful information which out- puts accelerations in three different directions. Combining acceleration information from smart- phones and signal strength information from reference nodes to prevent the accumulated error from accelerometer is studied in this thesis. The combined locating error is narrowed by as- signing different weights to localization information from accelerometer and reference nodes. In indoor environment, RSS technology based localization is the most common way to imply since it require less additional hardware compared to other localization technologies. However, RSS can be affected greatly by complex circumstance as well as carrier frequency. Utilization of diverse frequencies to improve localization performance is proposed in the end of this thesis along with some experiments applied on Software Defined Platform (SDR)

A Feasibility Check for Geographical Cluster Based Routing under Inaccurate Node Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

Localized geographic single path routing along a wireless network graph requires exact location information about the network nodes to assure message delivery guarantees. Node localization in practice however is not exact. Errors ranging from several centimeters up to several meters are usual. How to perform localized routing in practice when such errors are prevalent? In this work we look at a promising routing variant which does not completely overcome this practical problem but which mitigates it. The concept does away with trying to find node positions as precise as possible but allows inaccuracies from the very beginning. It partitions the plane by a regular mesh of hexagons. The only information which is of interest is in which cell of that partitioning a node is located in. Using this node embedding, a virtual geographic overlay graph can then be constructed. To find the node positions we apply three variants of multidimensional scaling, two of them being a node localization approach which has been well studied in the context of sensor networks and one which we apply here for the first time in that context. Using the location information we get from these localization approaches we embed the nodes into the clusters their location falls into. We define two graph metrics to assess the quality of the overlay graph obtained by the embedding. Applying these two metrics in a simulation study, we show that cluster based routing is an eligible approach to support localized geographic routing when location errors are prevalent