A Map Registration Localization Approach Based on Mobile Beacons for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, a new sensor localization approach is presented, which is based on the use of a mobile beacon and a map registration algorithm for wireless sensor network applications. The localization system consists of a mobile beacon and beacon receiving modules on each sensor node. Internode distances are obtained during the stage of sensor node deployment using the mobile beacon. The map registration algorithm uses inter-node distance measurements to estimate the sensor node locations. The algorithm is able to improve localization performance for sparse networks and networks with irregular topology. The proposed localization approach is a GPS-less solution, which makes it attractive for applications where GPS access is not available. Computer simulations are used to evaluate the localization performance of the proposed approaches under different scenarios.