An optimal local map registration technique for wireless sensor network localization problems

In this paper, we present an optimal local map registration algorithm for constructing global maps from local relative maps for wireless sensor network localization applications. In the algorithm, local maps are transformed into a global map using a set of affine transforms with each consisting of a rotation, a reflection and a translation for each individual local map. The optimal transform is found by minimizing the discrepancies, in the global map, of the common sensor nodes shared by different local maps. A computationally efficient gradient projection algorithm is developed for finding the optimal transforms. The local map registration approach can solve many of the problems encountered by pairwise map merging based approaches and is able to achieve global optimal performance. It provides a systematic approach for constructing global maps from local maps. Computer simulations are used to demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.