Self-deployment of mobile nodes in hybrid sensor networks by AHP

The proper deployment of sensors is very important for the successful completion of the sensing tasks due to the inevitable relation with the physical world. This paper presents a novel method for the redeployment of mobile nodes in a hybrid sensor network consisting of a collection of both static nodes and mobile nodes. In such a sensor network, the locomotion ability of mobile nodes helps the autonomous deployment to enhance the network coverage. An optimal decision of a sensor node moving direction is made based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Four factors contributing to the optimal deployment are considered and they are coverage hole, obstacle avoidance, hot spot, and the boundary effect, respectively. The moving style is flip by flip until the stable status is achieved. Simulation results show that our approach can provide high coverage with limited movement distance as well as ensuring connectivity.