Robust Optimization Models for Energy-Limited Wireless Sensor Networks under Distance Uncertainty

The distance between nodes in a wireless sensor network (WSN) is an important factor in the performance that can be extracted from the network for many tasks. However, the distance values are typically subject to uncertainty as they might have been indirectly estimated through signal strength or have changed because of node movement. In this paper we propose robust optimization models that take this uncertainty into account for three operational problems in energy limited WSNs: maximizing the data extracted, minimizing the energy consumed, and maximizing the network lifetime. In a robust optimization model the uncertainty is represented by considering that the uncertain parameters belong to a bounded, convex uncertainty set U. A robust solution is the one with best worst case objective over this set U. We show that solving for the robust solution in these problems is just as difficult as solving for the problem without uncertainty. Our computational experiments show that as the uncert...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2008
• Where: TWC
• Authors: Wei Ye, Fernando Ordóñez
• Keywords: Robust Optimization Model, Robust Solution, TWC 2008, Wireless Sensor Network