Localizing unknown nodes with an FPGA-enhanced edge computing UAV in wireless sensor networks: Implementation and evaluation

Great interest is directed toward real-time applications to determine the exact location of sensor nodes deployed in an area of interest. In this paper, we present a novel approach using a combination of the Kalman filter and regularized bounding box method for localizing unknown nodes in an area using an FPGA-enhanced edge computing UAV whose trajectory is known and is represented as the position of many anchors. The UAV is equipped with a GPS system that allows it to gather location data of sensor nodes as it moves around its environment. We employ a regularized bounding box to predict the positions of the unknown nodes using regularization factors and we use the Kalman filter algorithm to smooth and improve the accuracy of the sensor nodes to be localized. In order to localize the unknown nodes, the UAV receives the number of hops from each node and uses this information as input to the localization algorithm. Furthermore, the use of an FPGA board allows for real-time processing of sensory data, enabling the UAV to make fast and accurate decisions in dynamic environments. The localization algorithm was implemented on the FPGA board “Zynq MiniZed 7007s evaluation board” using Xilinx blocks in Simulink, and the generated code was converted into VHDL using Xilinx System Generator. The algorithm was simulated and synthesized using “Vivado” software. In fact, the proposed system was evaluated by comparing the performances achieved through two different implementations: Hardware and Software implementation. In effect, the performance of FPGA hardware implementation presents a new achievement in localization due to its easy testing and fast implementation. Our results show that this approach can efficiently locate unknown nodes with good latency and high accuracy. In fact, the execution time of the FPGA-integrated algorithm is reduced by about 60 times compared to the software implementation and the power consumption is about 100 mW, which proves the suitability of FPGA for localization in WSNs, offering a promising solution for various mobile WSN applications.