Power Aware Routing in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Recent advances in micro-electromechanical (MEMS) technology have led to the development of small, low-cost, and low-power sensors Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are large-scale networks of such sensors, dedicated to observing and monitoring various aspects of the physical world In such networks, data from each sensor is agglomerated using data fusion to form a single meaningful result, which makes time synchronization between sensors highly desirable This paper surveys and evaluates existing clock synchronization protocols based on a palette of factors like precision, accuracy, cost, and complexity The design considerations presented here can help developers either in choosing an existing synchronization protocol or in defining a new protocol that is best suited to the specific needs of a sensor-network application Finally, the survey provides a valuable framework by which designers can compare new and existing synchronization protocols

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Clock synchronization for wireless sensor networks: a survey

Sensor deployment is an important issue in designing sensor networks. We design and evaluate distributed self-deployment protocols for mobile sensors. After discovering a coverage hole, the proposed protocols calculate the target positions of the sensors where they should move. We use Voronoi diagrams to discover the coverage holes and design three movement-assisted sensor deployment protocols, VEC (vector-based), VOR (Voronoi-based), and minimax based on the principle of moving sensors from densely deployed areas to sparsely deployed areas. Simulation results show that our protocols can provide high coverage within a short deploying time and limited movement.

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Movement-assisted sensor deployment

-Adequate coverage is very important for sensor networks to fulfill the issued sensing tasks. In many working environments, it is necessary to make use of mobile sensors, which can move to the correct places to provide the required coverage. In this paper, we study the problem of placing mobile sensors to get high coverage. Based on Voronoi diagrams, we design two sets of distributed protocols for controlling the movement of sensors, one favoring communication and one favoring movement. In each set of protocols, we use Voronoi diagrams to detect coverage holes and use one of three algorithms to calculate the target locations of sensors it holes exist. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our protocols and give insight on choosing protocols and calculation algorithms under different application requirements and working conditions.

The enormous potential for wireless sensor networks to make a positive impact on our society has spawned a great deal of research on the topic, and this research is now producing environment-ready systems. Current technology limits coupled with widely-varying application requirements lead to a diversity of hardware platforms for different portions of the design space. In addition, the unique energy and reliability constraints of a system that must function for months at a time without human intervention mean that demands on sensor network hardware are different from the demands on standard integrated circuits. This paper describes our experiences designing sensor nodes and low level software to control them.In the ZebraNet system we use GPS technology to record fine-grained position data in order to track long term animal migrations [14]. The ZebraNet hardware is composed of a 16-bit TI microcontroller, 4 Mbits of off-chip flash memory, a 900 MHz radio, and a low-power GPS chip. In this paper, we discuss our techniques for devising efficient power supplies for sensor networks, methods of managing the energy consumption of the nodes, and methods of managing the peripheral devices including the radio, flash, and sensors. We conclude by evaluating the design of the ZebraNet nodes and discussing how it can be improved. Our lessons learned in developing this hardware can be useful both in designing future sensor nodes and in using them in real systems.

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Hardware design experiences in ZebraNet

We develop distributed algorithms for self-organizing sensor networks that respond to directing a target through a region The sensor network models the danger levels sensed across its area and has the ability to adapt to changes It represents the dangerous areas as obstacles A protocol that combines the artificial potential field of the sensors with the goal location for the moving object guides the object incrementally across the network to the goal, while maintaining the safest distance to the danger areas We give the analysis to the protocol and report on hardware experiments using a physical sensor network consisting of Mote sensors

http://wsn.cse.wustl.edu/images/7/71/Wsn-nav.pdf

Michael De Rosa

Papers

Distributed algorithms for guiding navigation across a sensor network