Mobility in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Both sensor and sink mobility in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can have several advantages when compared to static setups. Mobile sensors can be used to eliminate coverage holes, can follow the monitored events, or can concentrate on interesting areas of the monitored region, to supply more detailed measurements where needed. On the other hand, mobile sink nodes can move close to areas where some event is reported (reducing thus the communication distances), can move close to isolated sensors and collect data if multi-hop transmission is not possible, or can balance the load on the relaying sensors and thus the energy consumption in the network. In this chapter, we will discuss in detail the different solutions for sensor and sink mobility, their advantages and drawbacks, and outline the impact they might have on issues such as Medium Access Control (MAC) or routing.