A big picture on localization algorithms considering sensor logic location

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been applied in areas such as military surveillance, environmental monitoring, habitat and structural monitoring, domotics, battlefield surveillance and robotics. The aim of this survey is to present the state-of-the-art in localization algorithms which consider the combination of different factors such as localization schemes, propagation models, communication protocols, traffic patterns analysis and sensor logic location. The latter represents the inherent characteristic of the object to which the sensor is attached to. We believe that the precision of the localization algorithms can be improved when these factors are considered as whole rather than isolated effects. A classification and the main solutions for each factor are presented. The advantages, performance issues and the relation of the solutions with the other factors are discussed. The article concludes with opened research questions and possible further research directions.