Sensing Coverage Algorithm of Sparse Mobile Sensor Node with Trade-Off between Packet Loss Rate and Transmission Delay

To solve the problem of sensing coverage of sparse wireless sensor networks, the movement of sensor nodes is considered and a sensing coverage algorithm of sparse mobile sensor node with trade-off between packet loss rate and transmission delay (SCA_SM) is proposed. Firstly, SCA_SM divides the monitoring area into several grids of same size and establishes a path planning model of multisensor nodes’ movement. Secondly, the social foraging behavior of Escherichia coli in bacterial foraging is used. A fitness function formula of sensor nodes’ moving paths is proposed. The optimal moving paths of all mobile sensor nodes which can cover the entire monitoring area are obtained through the operations of chemotaxis, replication, and migration. The simulation results show that SCA_SM can fully cover the monitoring area and reduce the packet loss rate and data transmission delay in the process of data transmission. Under certain conditions, SCA_SM is better than RAND_D, HILBERT, and TCM.