A RSSI-based probabilistic distribution localization algorithm for wireless sensor network

Wireless sensor network localization is an important area that attracted significant research interest. Recently, received signal strength indicator (RSSI)-based range measurement technology is widely used in sensor network for its low-cost. But the radio signal transmission is influenced by the factors of channel attenuation and shielding obstacles, etc. Therefore, the accuracy of RSSI-based localization algorithm is not high. In this paper, a new localization algorithm which is based on the probability distribution model is proposed. Firstly, the anchor node which is nearest to the unknown node is made as the reference node in order to correct the RSSI-based ranging distance. Secondly, the common communication area where the unknown nodes may exist is divided into a number of spatial grids. And then, the confidence degree of each grid is calculated out according to the probability model of radio signal space transmission. Finally, based on the centroids of spatial grids, the coordinates of the unknown nodes are calculated out. Through this algorithm, the localization accuracy is improved greatly compared with conventional RSSI-based localization algorithms, which has been demonstrated by the simulating results.