Comparison of glider routing algorithms for data acquisition in undersea sensor networks

Data collection in wireless undersea distributed sensor network (DSN) applications is a significant research challenge since it must accommodate the power and bandwidth constraints of the DSN infrastructure and the specific needs posed by the application. Autonomously navigating gliders provide a possible solution for data collection tasks in civilian and military applications. The most important factors in the use of gliders are navigational speeds, routing, the structure of the DSN hierarchy, and the effect of oceanic currents. This paper reviews glider characteristics important for use in data acquisition for target detection and describes some exemplary glider routing algorithms. Simulations were used to compare the time required for the glider to collect data from all sensors in each routing scheme, consider the effect of oceanic currents, and illustrate the behavior of gliders under different network topologies and assumptions.