Optimal placement of drones for fast sensor energy replenishment using wireless power transfer

Lifetime is the main issue of wireless sensors networks. Since the nodes are often placed in inaccessible places, the replacement of their battery is not an easy task. Moreover, the node maintenance is a costly and time consuming operation when the nodes are high in numbers. Energy harvesting technologies have recently been developed to replenish part or all of the required energy that allows a node to function. In this paper, we use dedicated chargers carried by drones that can fly over the network and transmit energy to the nodes using radio-frequency (RF) signals. We formulate and optimally solve the Optimal Drone Placement and Planning Problem (OD3P) by using a given number of flying drones, in order to efficiently recharge wireless sensor nodes. Unlike other works in the literature, we assume that the drones can trade altitude with coverage and recharge power, while each drone can move across different positions in the network to extend coverage. We present a linear program as well as a fast heuristic algorithm to meet the minimum energy demands of the nodes in the shortest possible amount of time. Our simulation results show the effectiveness of our approaches for network scenarios with up to 50 sensors and a 50 × 50m terrain size.