Range-Free Localization With a Mobile Beacon via Motion Compensation in Underwater Sensor Networks

Localization accuracy is crucial for achieving reliable location tagging for underwater missions. However, the accuracy of conventional range-free localization schemes with a mobile beacon is distorted by ship dynamics (i.e., pitch, roll, and heave) over oceanic conditions, and the schemes suffer from two uncertainties: beacon point and geometric shape uncertainties. To reduce the effects of these uncertainties, we herein propose LMB-MC, a novel range-free localization scheme. LMB-MC compensates beacon point errors and employs an accurate geometric model instead of an unconditional circle-shaped model. Furthermore, we adopted real-world motion measurements from an operating ship and used motion data to support diverse simulation settings (i.e., Douglas sea scales). Result of extensive simulation studies verified that LMB-MC provided improved accuracy and reliability compared to the existing solutions in the considered oceanic environments.