Extending network tree lifetime with mobile and rechargeable nodes

Abstract

In this paper, we assume network trees consisting of mobile, energy constrained and rechargeable nodes as well as a static sink which collects the monitoring data and it is the root of the tree. Almost exhausted nodes can autonomously move towards a charging point to recharge their battery. However, this action leads to network disconnections and reduced lifetime since one or more predecessor nodes cannot forward their data to the sink. To alleviate this problem and extend network lifetime we examine the feasibility of replacing almost exhausted nodes using nodes with higher remaining energy. Based on this idea we propose a localized algorithm to autonomously replace nodes with high communication burden by the leaves of the tree. Both theoretical and simulation results show a big improvement in terms of network lifetime extension compared to the case where no replacement is performed and to the case where rerouting is considered. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.