Dynamic reconfiguration of wireless sensor networks: A survey

Abstract

To control the lifetime and optimize the energy consumption of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), while ensuring that application needs are met, it is essential to dynamically reconfigure the network by adjusting the parameters of its nodes. A great deal of research has been devoted to proposing methods for reconfiguring WSNs. However, there are no comprehensive studies analyzing the different reconfiguration parameters, architectures or strategies. For this reason, this paper proposes the first systematic literature review on reconfiguration mechanisms for self-organized wireless sensor networks (SOWSNs) and those controlled by an external controller, following the principles of software-defined wireless sensor networks (SDWSNs), with a particular focus on energy optimization. The main objective of this work is to explore reconfiguration strategies in depth from three different aspects: the parameters adjusted to optimize energy (What?), the architectures used for decision making (Who?), and the moments of reconfiguration implementation (When?). In addition, this study identifies unexploited areas in this field and suggests that hybrid and predictive approaches could be a promising way of overcoming these gaps.