Localization of Anchor Nodes for Wireless Sensor Networks

Many localization methods for wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been proposed by far. These methods are usually aimed at how to locate unknown nodes or how to improve performance of localization under a certain density of anchor nodes. However, localization method for anchor nodes is limited to GPS or hand-placing method merely. It is imperative to explore another method that is efficient and cost-effective to realize localization of anchor nodes. And how new anchor nodes replace old anchor nodes is also a problem because of power consuming. This paper addresses the problem of locating anchor nodes in WSN and presents a new method to locate anchor nodes. The method presented herein relies on magnetic localization technique. Based on the magnetic dipole model, the algorithm of locating anchor nodes is derived. Also, the method can resolve easily the problem that new anchor nodes replace old anchor nodes. The simulation results show its performance.