An optimal sensor deployment scheme to ensure multi level coverage and connectivity in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

This paper introduces an optimal deployment algorithm of sensors in a given region to provide desired coverage and connectivity for a wireless sensor network. Our paper utilizes two separate procedures for covering different regions of a symmetrical rectangular area. The proposed method divides the given area of interest into two distinct sub-regions termed as the central and edge regions. In each region, a unique scheme is used to determine the number and location of sensors required to monitor and completely cover the region keeping the connectivity and coverage ranges of the sensors, their hardware specification and the dimensions of the region concerned as the constraints. Our scheme reduces the overhead in determining the position of sensors for deployment by following a coverage and connectivity algorithm of lesser complexity rather than those present in related schemes. Finally, we compare our deployment scheme with the interpolation scheme of [2] in regions of different dimensions and different coverage and connectivity levels with different sensing ranges of the sensors to show our cost efficiency over the latter.