Localization algorithms based on a mobile anchor in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Localization of nodes is a very crucial issue in many wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. In this paper, we consider a WSN initially consisting of a single location-aware mobile anchor nodes and a number of location-unaware, stationary nodes, and propose two algorithms to localize the unknown nodes using the mobile anchor nodes. We can obtain the location information of the unknown nodes through the transmitted location information of the mobile anchor node, even in the presence of obstacles. Received Signal Strength (RSS) is elaborately used in both the two algorithms. The first algorithm controls the trajectory of the mobile anchor node and uses a geometric property to simplify the estimation of the location of the unknown nodes; the second algorithm exploits to use directional information. The proposed algorithms outperform the conventional algorithm based on RSS in terms of localization accuracy. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.