Optimal anchor guiding algorithms for maximal node localization in mobile sensor networks

Localization of mobile nodes is a challenging problem especially when both anchor and node are mobile. In this paper, algorithms for optimal anchor guiding, to localize maximum number of nodes, are proposed. The algorithms are based on the principle of jointly maximizing a grid benefit criterion and the number of nodes localized. The advantage of these algorithms is that, that both the anchors and nodes can be deployed randomly and can traverse the region with varying speeds. Additionally, the optimal path for the anchor is decided in such a way that the maximum number of nodes are localized. The proposed algorithms are extensively analyzed for their performance by conducting experiments on both, NI and Crossbow set-up. The results obtained from localization error analysis indicate that the algorithms discussed in this work perform reasonably better than the similar conventional algorithms available in literature. Additional analysis performed on energy consumption indicate that the proposed algorithms are energy efficient.