Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Elements

TLDR

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely used, traditionally relying on densely deployed static nodes, but recent architectures employ mobile elements to improve data collection. This article defines WSNs with mobile elements and presents a comprehensive taxonomy of their architectures based on the mobile elements’ roles. It reviews the data‑collection process in such networks, identifies key issues and challenges, and surveys related literature. The authors compare existing approaches, highlight open problems, and suggest future research directions.

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as an effective solution for a wide range of applications. Most of the traditional WSN architectures consist of static nodes which are densely deployed over a sensing area. Recently, several WSN architectures based on mobile elements (MEs) have been proposed. Most of them exploit mobility to address the problem of data collection in WSNs. In this article we first define WSNs with MEs and provide a comprehensive taxonomy of their architectures, based on the role of the MEs. Then we present an overview of the data collection process in such a scenario, and identify the corresponding issues and challenges. On the basis of these issues, we provide an extensive survey of the related literature. Finally, we compare the underlying approaches and solutions, with hints to open problems and future research directions.