On Connected Target k-Coverage in Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

Coverage and connectivity are two important performance evaluation indices for wireless sensor network (WSNs). In this paper, we focus on the connected target k-coverage (CTCk) problem in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs). A distributed connected target k-coverage algorithm (DCTCk) is proposed in order to generate connected cover sets for energy efficient connectivity and coverage maintenance. It aims at gaining minimum connected target k-coverage in HWSNs, where each target in the monitored region is covered by at least k active sensor nodes while minimizing the necessary total number of active sensor nodes and guaranteeing that each sensor node can be connected to sinks such that the sensed data can be forwarded to them. Theoretical analysis and simulation show that our algorithm outperforms the existing connected k-coverage protocol for HWSNs.