Energy efficient optimal node-source localization using mobile beacon in ad-hoc sensor networks

In this paper, a single mobile beacon based method to localize nodes using principle of maximum power reception is proposed. Optimal positioning of the mobile beacon for minimum energy consumption is also discussed. In contrast to existing methods, the node localization is done with prior location of only three nodes. There is no need of synchronization, as there is only one mobile anchor and each node communicates only with the anchor node. Also, this method is not constrained by a fixed sensor geometry. The localization is done in a distributed fashion, at each sensor node. Experiments on node-source localization are conducted by deploying sensors in an ad-hoc manner in both outdoor and indoor environments. Localization results obtained herein indicate a reasonable performance improvement when compared to conventional methods.