Self-deployment Algorithms for Mobile Sensors on a Ring

Abstract. We consider the self-deployment problem in a ring for a network of identical sensors: starting from some initial random placement in the ring, the sensors in the network must move, in a purely decentralized and distributed fashion, so to reach in finite time a state of static equilibrium in which they evenly cover the ring. A self-deployment algorithm is exact if within finite time the sensors reach a static uniform configuration: the distance between any two consecutive sensors along the ring is the same, d; the self-deployment algorithm is -approximate if the distance between two consecutive sensors is between d - and d + . We prove that exact self-deployment is impossible if the sensors do not share a common orientation of the ring. We then consider the problem in an oriented ring. We prove that if the sensors know the desired final distance d, then exact self-deployment is possible. Otherwise, we present another protocol based on a very simple strategy and prove that it i...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: ALGOSENSORS
• Authors: Paola Flocchini, Giuseppe Prencipe, Nicola Santoro
• Keywords: ALGOSENSORS 2006, Consecutive Sensors, Finite Time, Sensor Networks, Sensors