Data Communication in Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

A Mobile Wireless Sensor Network (M-WSN) derives its name by considering either mobile sink or mobile sensor nodes within the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). As the sensor nodes are energy constrained, energy efficiency is the main aspect to be considered in any applications. By considering mobile sensor nodes in WSN, we can have better energy efficiency, improved coverage, and enhanced target tracking in Wireless Sensor Network. Due to mobility of nodes, a mobile WSN has dynamic topology. For all data gathering applications, the topology of mobile WSN depends on either the path of mobile sink or position of mobile nodes. Hence whole WSN topology keeps on changing as either sink is mobile or sensor nodes are mobile. That is, we have dynamic topology. Depending on application scenario, we may use a mobile sink to collect information from a static WSN or a dynamic WSN. In general static WSN uses multihops for data communication from sensor node to sink. Hence sensor node closer to sink is always in use and its energy gets exhausted quickly, thereby it dies down first, breaking link to sink and whole network collapses. This is one of the serious problems to be considered. Mobile WSN is one of approach that can increase life time of network because nodes close sink keeps on changing so that no particular node will be always close to sink. It is also possible by controlled mobility of nodes, all nodes in turn can take role of being close to sink and provide necessary services. Also by providing mobility to nodes in controlled manner it also possible to reduce number of hops to sink from a node, there by errors in communication gets reduced. In this article we consider two general application areas, studying the conditions of disastrous area where in static sensor nodes are deployed in disastrous area and a mobile sink agent which is outside the boundary moves around predefined path to gather information’s of disastrous area, a battle field where in two way data communication between captain and soldiers is required where both captain and soldiers may have low mobility. The networking required in both cases is mobile WSN. We propose proper architecture and data communication in these contexts.