Mobile Anchor-Assisted Localization for Mobile Sensor Networks

Abstract

Localization is a fundamental research in the sensor networks' community. Several localization schemes have been proposed for sensor position determination. However, few localization schemes are aimed at mobile wireless sensor networks. This paper proposes a distributed localization scheme for sensors and anchors capable of movement. The scheme consists of two stages: anchor-assisted localization and self-localization. In the first stage, each anchor broadcasts its location information as it moves within the sensing field. Each sensor node based on its moving direction and distance then estimates its own location by applying basic geometrical principles to the location information it receives from the anchors. After determining its location from the first stage, the sensor node then estimates its own location by itself in the second stage. The scheme avoids the need for any interaction between the individual sensor nodes and is independent of network densities. The scheme has been evaluated based on the network simulator ns-2. The simulation results demonstrate that the localization scheme outperforms other localization schemes for mobile sensor networks.