CWSC: Connected k-coverage working sets construction algorithm in wireless sensor networks

One of the most important issues for wireless sensor networks is to get a long network lifetime without affecting either communication connectivity or sensing coverage. Many sensors that are deployed randomly in a dense sensor network in a redundant way waste a lot of energy. One effective way to save energy is to let only a subset of sensors work at any given time. In this paper, we mainly consider such a problem. Selecting the minimum number of connected sensor nodes that can provide k-coverage (k ≥ 1), i.e., selecting a subset S of working sensors, such that almost every point in the sensing region can be covered by at least k sensors and the sensors in S can form a connected communication subgraph. We propose a connected k-coverage working sets construction algorithm (CWSC) based on Euclidean distance to k-cover the sensing region while minimizing the number of working sensors. CWSC can produce different coverage degrees according to different applications, which can enhance the flexibility of the sensor network. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm, which can conserve energy and prolong the lifetime of the sensor network, is better than the previous algorithms.