System-level evaluation of sensor networks deployment strategies: Coverage, lifetime and cost

In wireless sensor networks, sensor nodes can be organized either randomly or deterministically according to regular deployment patterns. Due to the trade-offs between performance and cost, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of node deployment strategies are fundamental issues to be solved. In this paper, we present a framework for analyzing node deployment schemes in terms of three performance metrics: coverage, lifetime, and cost. Based on the proposed coverage analysis model, energy model and cost model, we compare the performance of two node deployment schemes: rectangle mesh and uniformly random. The results show that the rectangle mesh scheme is generally better than the uniformly random scheme in terms of coverage and network lifetime. Our method can be used to evaluate the benefits of different deployment schemes and thus provide guidelines for network designers.