Reliable and energy-efficient data collection in sparse sensor networks with mobile elements

Sparse wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are emerging as an effective solution for a wide range of applications, especially for environmental monitoring. In many scenarios, a moderate number of sparsely deployed nodes can be sufficient to get the required information about the sensed phenomenon. To this end, special mobile elements, i.e. mobile data collectors (MDCs), can be used to get data sampled by sensor nodes. In this paper we present an analytical evaluation of the data collection performance in sparse WSNs with MDCs. Our main contribution is the definition of a flexible model which can derive the total energy consumption for each message correctly transferred by sensors to the MDC. The obtained energy expenditure for data transfer also accounts for the overhead due to the MDC detection when sensor nodes operate with a low duty cycle. The results show that a low duty cycle is convenient and allows a significant amount of correctly received messages, especially when the MDC moves with a low speed. When the MDC moves fast, depending on its mobility pattern, a low duty cycle may not always be the most energy efficient option.