The role of recharging in energy efficiency for wireless sensor networks

Energy efficiency is a primary concern in the design of algorithms and protocols for wireless sensor networks. For a long time, researchers have made great efforts to efficiently utilize the limited energy storage of sensors. Recently, it was shown that external energy resources can be harvested by the sensors in order to increase their lifetime. This paper elaborates on the role of recharging in energy efficiency for wireless sensor networks. Particularly, several energy efficiency scenarios with recharging are discussed. The new facets brought by recharging are highlighted. A representative example is provided to show the advantage of recharging in sensor networks. This paper is dedicated to serve as a tutorial which calls for more attention to the exciting research topic-recharging for wireless sensor networks.