Decentralized Energy-Conserving and Coverage-Preserving Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this article, we propose several decentralized protocols that schedule sensors' active and sleeping periods to prolong the network lifetime while maintain the sensing field sufficiently covered. The proposed protocols are based on a model similar to that of Yan et al. [ 2003], but improve its results in several senses. First, our approach can significantly reduce the computational complexity incurred, and at the same time achieve better accuracy in determining the coverage of the sensing area. Second, we extend the result such that it can support multilayer coverage of the sensing field. Third, we further enhance it [Yan et al. 2003] by proposing several optimization mechanisms to balance or reduce sensors' energy expenditure.