Distributed localization in wireless sensor networks: a quantitative comparison

  • Authors:

  • Koen Langendoen;Niels Reijers

  • Affiliations:

  • Faculty of Information Technology and Systems, Delft University of Technology, 2828 CD Delft, Netherlands;Faculty of Information Technology and Systems, Delft University of Technology, 2828 CD Delft, Netherlands

  • Venue:
  • Computer Networks: The International Journal of Computer and Telecommunications Networking - Special issue: Wireless sensor networks
  • Year:
  • 2003

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Abstract

This paper studies the problem of determining the node locations in ad-hoc sensor networks. We compare three distributed localization algorithms (Ad-hoc positioning, Robust positioning, and N-hop multilateration) on a single simulation platform. The algorithms share a common, three-phase structure: (1) determine node-anchor distances, (2) compute node positions, and (3) optionally refine the positions through an iterative procedure. We present a detailed analysis comparing the various alternatives for each phase, as well as a head-to-head comparison of the complete algorithms. The main conclusion is that no single algorithm performs best; which algorithm is to be preferred depends on the conditions (range errors, connectivity, anchor fraction, etc.). In each case, however, there is significant room for improving accuracy and/or increasing coverage.