PACR: Position-Aware Protocol for Connectivity Restoration in Mobile Sensor Networks

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have gained global attention in recent times due to their vast applications in various fields. These networks can face the disruption of data transmission due to sensor node failures when placed in harsh, inaccessible, and adverse environments such as battlefields or monitoring in enemy territory. The specific tasks performed by the collaboration among the sensor nodes in WSNs by internode connectivity may be terminated. Besides this, due to the failure of sensor nodes, the area covered by the network may be limited, which can cause damage to the objectives for such a network, as there might be an unaware danger in the lost area. Connectivity is a big problem in mobile WSNs due to the mobility of nodes. Researchers have developed a lot of algorithms that are capable enough for connectivity problems, but they do not emphasize the loss of coverage. We try to fill these gaps by proposing the new hybrid algorithm PACR (Position-Aware protocol for Connectivity Restoration). The concept behind PACR is the same as a person who writes his will before death on a deathbed. In the same way, when the sensor energy is below the threshold, it is converted into a recovery coordinator and generates a recovery plan. This accelerates the recovery by decreasing the time needed for failure identification. For the recovery process, the neighbor’s nodes do not travel to the exact position of the failed node. Instead, they just move to the distance where they can build communication links with other nodes. This greatly prolongs the network lifetime. The simulation results show that PACR outperforms other techniques present in the literature.