Maximizing network lifetime on the line with adjustable sensing ranges

Abstract

Given n sensors on a line, each of which is equipped with a unit battery charge and an adjustable sensing radius, what schedule will maximize the lifetime of a network that covers the entire line? Trivially, any reasonable algorithm is at least a 1/2-approximation, but we prove tighter bounds for several natural algorithms. We focus on developing a linear time algorithm that maximizes the expected lifetime under a random uniform model of sensor distribution. We demonstrate one such algorithm that achieves an average-case approximation ratio of almost 0.9. Most of the algorithms that we consider come from a family based on RoundRobin coverage, in which sensors take turns covering predefined areas until their battery runs out. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.