Adaptive triangular deployment algorithm for unattended mobile sensor networks

In this paper, we present a novel sensor deployment algorithm, called the adaptive triangular deployment (ATRI) algorithm, for large-scale unattended mobile sensor networks. The ATRI algorithm aims at maximizing coverage area and minimizing coverage gaps and overlaps by adjusting the deployment layout of nodes close to equilateral triangulation, which is proven to be the optimal layout to provide the maximum no-gap coverage. The algorithm only needs the location information of nearby nodes, thereby avoiding communication cost for exchanging global information. By dividing the transmission range into six sectors, each node adjusts the relative distance to its one-hop neighbors in each sector separately. The distance threshold strategy and the movement state diagram strategy are adopted to avoid the oscillation of nodes. The simulation results show that the ATRI algorithm achieves a much larger coverage area and smaller average moving distance of nodes than existing algorithms. We also show that the ATRI algorithm is applicable to practical environments and tasks such as working in both bounded and unbounded areas and avoiding irregularly shaped obstacles. In addition, the density of nodes can be adjusted adaptively to different requirements of tasks.