A method for deciding node densities in non-uniform deployment of wireless sensors

In a wireless sensor network, if the sensors are deployed uniformly across the network, they experience different traffic intensities, thereby, different energy depletion rates depending on their locations. Usually, the sensors near the sink tend to deplete their energy sooner; when enough of them exhaust their energy, they leave holes in the network, causing the remaining nodes to be disconnected from the sink. One of the solutions to this energy-hole problem is to deploy the sensors non-uniformly. This paper describes a method for deciding the sensor deployment densities so as to equalize the energy consumption rates of all nodes. The method is general and can be applied to other objectives and constraints.