Mobile Wireless Sensor Network: Architecture and Enabling Technologies for Ubiquitous Computing

Abstract

A mobile wireless sensor network owes its name to the presence of mobile sink or sensor nodes within the network. The advantages of mobile WSN over static WSN are better energy efficiency, improved coverage, enhanced target tracking and superior channel capacity. In this paper we present and discuss hierarchical multi-tiered architecture for mobile wireless sensor network. This architecture is proposed for the future pervasive computing age. We also elaborate on the impact of mobility on different performance metrics in mobile WSN. A study of some of the possible application scenarios for pervasive computing involving mobile WSN is also presented. These application scenarios will be discussed in their implementation context. While discussing the possible applications, we also study related technologies that appear promising to be integrated with mobile WSN in the ubiquitous computing. With an enormous growth in number of cellular subscribers, we therefore place the mobile phone as the key element in future ubiquitous wireless networks. With the powerful computing, communicating and storage capacities of these mobile devices, the network performance can benefit from the architecture in terms of scalability, energy efficiency and packet delay, etc.