A Survey of DV-Hop Localization Methods in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are used to observe and monitor events in different environments. The successful operation of WSNs depends on locating the sensor nodes. The location of the nodes must be available to detect the occurrence of events and receive packets sent by nodes. Therefore, a key step in the design phase of WSNs is to determine localization algorithms. One of the known algorithms for locating unknown nodes is the DV-Hop algorithm. DV-Hop localization algorithm is a classic range free localization algorithm in WSNs. This algorithm operates based on distance and number of steps and uses beacon nodes to detect the location of unknown nodes. But positioning error is one of the main problems in DV-Hop. Researchers have used a variety of methods to correct positioning errors. In this paper, we divide the methods used to improve DV-Hop into four categories (meta-heuristic algorithms, RSSI, Distance Vector, and Weighted Centroid Localization (WCL)). Each method, based on its own performance has capabilities and features that help reduce DV-Hop error. This paper covers all DV-Hop literature in Elsevier, Springer, IEEE and other journals. Based on the performed studies on different methods in order to improve DV-Hop, we conclude that the distance vector method is more efficient. The improvement in DV-Hop using the Distance Vector compared to other methods is equal to 38%. The Distance Vector method includes more accurate localization information by varying the distance and number of steps.