Modeling the lifetime of wireless multimedia sensor networks with a mobile sink

Mobile sink has been a significant means to prolong the lifetime of Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs). However, the mobility of the sink makes the modeling of the WMSNs lifetime a more complex issue. Considering the new properties introduced by a mobile sink, this paper proposed a novel model to define the lifetime of WMSNs with a mobile sink based on energy by taking into account the heterogeneity, network delay, delay jitter, data rate, and data accuracy. Tunable coefficients were introduced into the model for the balance of energy consumption and functions in the network. Both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation validate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed model.