On the effects of multiple beacons on localization for wireless sensor networks

This paper concerns the simulation-based investigation of two localization protocols for wireless sensor networks, namely, RBC and MEC². In particular, for these two range-based protocols, that use information on inter-nodal distance and angle of arrival, we demonstrate their effectiveness in producing accurate localization as well as in containing the propagation of the localization error as the localization process progresses away from the beacon (i.e., from the node that knows its exact location). Our aim here is threefold. We demonstrate the advantages of jointly using range and AoA for increasing localization accuracy. We show the effects of deploying multiple beacons on localization accuracy, and we quantify the improvements. We finally show the differences and possible improvements of manual beacon placement vs. scattering the beacons randomly among the network nodes.