Effect of heterogeneity on coverage, energy consumption and connectivity of wireless sensor networks

Coverage, connectivity and energy consumption are three important metrics used to evaluate the quality of service of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we consider a heterogeneous WSN (HWSNs) with different types of sensors distributed randomly in a rectangular field of interest (FoI) and study the effect of heterogeneity on network's coverage and energy consumption. Mathematical models for coverage and energy consumption of HWSNs are obtained and their behavior with varying the number sensors of different types is examined. In addition, probability of connectivity in a rectangular FoI is calculated using a probabilistic approach. Finally, coverage maximizing and energy consumption minimizing numbers of sensors of different types are obtained via simulations.