A Localization Algorithm Using a Mobile Anchor Node Based on Region Determination in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

At present, most underwater positioning algorithms improve the positioning accuracy by increasing the number of anchor nodes which resulting in the increasing energy consumption. To solve this problem, the paper proposes a localization algorithm assisted by mobile anchor node and based on region determination (LMRD), which not only improves the positioning accuracy of nodes positioning but also reduces the energy consumption. This algorithm is divided into two stages: region determination stage and location positioning stage. In the region determination stage, the target region is divided into several sub-regions by the region division strategy with the smallest overlap rate which can reduce the number of virtual anchor nodes and lock the target node to a sub-region, and then through the planning of mobile nodes to optimize the travel path, reduce the moving distance, and reduce system energy consumption. In the location positioning stage, the target node location can be calculated using the HILBERT path planning and trilateration. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the positioning accuracy when the energy consumption is reduced.