Maximum likelihood based multihop localization in wireless sensor networks

For data sets retrieved from wireless sensors to be insightful, it is often of paramount importance that the data be accurate and also location stamped. This paper describes a maximum-likelihood based multihop localization algorithm called kHopLoc for use in wireless sensor networks that is strong in both isotropic and anisotropic network deployment regions. During an initial training phase, a Monte Carlo simulation is utilized to produce multihop connection density functions. Then, sensor node locations are estimated by maximizing local likelihood functions of the hop counts to anchor nodes. Compared to other multihop localization algorithms, the proposed kHopLoc algorithm achieves higher accuracy in varying network configurations and connection link-models.