A Virtual Cluster Based Mobile Beacon Aided Localization Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

Node localization is one of the important issues in wireless sensor networks. In order to lower the cost of a sensor network and improve localization accuracy and efficiency, we put forward a virtual cluster based mobile beacon aided localization algorithm (VCMBLA) in this paper. A multi-hop distance estimation method based on neighbor distribution (MDEND) is presented and a path planning strategy based on the minimal 3-hop 3-dominating set is proposed. Simulation results show that VCMBLA can meet the requirements of certain wireless sensor networks application scenarios.