A Localization Algorithm for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks with the Surface Deployed Mobile Anchor Node

Localization is one of the most important technologies in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs), since it plays a critical role in many applications. As the variable speed of sound and the long propagation delays under water, using the traditional localization algorithms become difficult and impractical in UWSNs. In this paper, a new localization algorithm for UWSNs is presented. By deploying the mobile anchor node on the surface, the position of the underwater node underwater can been calculated according to the positions information of four non-coplanar nodes and their distances to the mobile anchor node. The evaluation results show that the proposed algorithm can greatly reduce localization errors while the ranging error increases.