Single anchor node based localization in mobile underwater wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSN) provide a promising solution for aquatic applications. Localization in Mobile Underwater Sensor Networks is very challenging because of the harsh environmental characteristics and limitations of radio communication. Minimization of energy utilization is another critical issue in UWSN domain. Hence, networking protocols with least communication overhead are desirable. In this paper, we propose a single anchor node based localization scheme to minimize communication packets required for location estimation. A sensor node estimates its location using Time of Arrival and Angle of Arrival measurements. Location of mobile anchor nodes is updated periodically by adopting the mobility pattern of particles in ocean waves. We analyzed the performance of the scheme with real geographic coordinates of different locations in the Arabian ocean collected using Google Earth. Experimental results showed that the proposed method provided better performance for short range sensor nodes.