Mobile entities in wireless sensor networks: comparative study and performance analysis

Abstract

Traditionally, wireless sensor network (WSN) was static, but due to the necessity of today's applications, there has been a paradigm shift from a static WSN to dynamic mobile WSN. This dynamism can be realised by adding extra network elements called mobile entities (MEs) like mobile sinks (MSs), mobile cluster heads (MCHs), mobile relays (MRs), mobile sensor nodes (MSNs), mobile agents (MAs) and mobile chargers (MCs) to a static network. The full potential of MEs can be harnessed to yield maximum benefits in static WSN. In this work, first we have analysed the parameters that affect the lifetime when an ME is added to a static network. Second, we present a survey and performance analysis of each of the MEs discussed in literature. Finally, this paper concludes with the simulations and summaries of each of the MEs. This paper intends to spark new interest and development in mobile-assisted WSN.