Range-only distributed navigation protocol for uniform coverage in wireless sensor networks

In this study, the authors propose a novel range-only distributed motion coordination to achieve square-grid blanket coverage for self-deployments of networked multi-robot systems. They specifically address the research question of maximising coverage and minimising local uniformity index (i.e. to achieve uniform coverage) for each sensor node while simultaneously maintaining the connectivity of the whole network in the absence of central coordinated controller. Under the umbrella of intelligent controls, the motion coordination scheme employed in this study is because of the nearest neighbour techniques which are employed for the purpose of clustering and autonomous coordination among sensor nodes in local area (vicinity), that is, to achieve distributed coverage. The author´s research indicates that simple motion coordination schemes have led to intelligent ensemble behaviours at group levels. Compared to the existing algorithms, the superiorities of their decentralised protocol are because of its reliability and robustness against inevitable node failures, scalability and flexibility in the sense of the growth of the networks as well as its uniformity across most of steady-state positions of sensor nodes leading to better network management. They present extensive computer simulations to investigate the effectiveness of their proposed algorithm for self-deployment in challenging deployment regions.