Mobile Data Collection from Sensor Networks with Range-Dependent Data Rates

An algorithm, Travelling Salesperson Problem for Data Collection (TSP-DC), is presented which can plan tours for collected data from sensor nodes using a mobile sink. This is the first work which can deal with multiple different data ranges and data loads for each sensor node. Linear programming is used to schedule data transmissions to different nodes to reduce the overall tour time. Simulation results show that the algorithm reduces tour time by up to 70% compared to previous approaches. A further enhancement, TSP-DA (TSP with Dynamic Adjustment) is able to dynamically recalculate tours when the actual data loads at nodes become known, and in some cases, it can outperform tours with prior knowledge of data loads.