Distributed Hybrid Localization Using RSS Threshold Based Connectivity Information and Iterative Location Update

Resource constraints of wireless ad hoc and sensor networks prohibit high accuracy range-based localization schemes which require specialized hardware for ranging. On the other hand, cost-effective range-free schemes offer lower accuracy and grant their applicability only to large-scale networks. This paper proposes an efficient distributed hybrid solution which integrates received signal strength (RSS) based ranging and connectivity-based range-free approaches to improve the localization accuracy without any extra ranging hardware and to be adaptable to any network size. First, it configures the connectivity information using available RSS measurements and a predefined RSS threshold. Optimal RSS threshold value that minimizes the error for a particular network to be localized is derived as a function of the total number of nodes and the network size. And then, localization accuracy is further improved by introducing the use of regulated hop-count values. Finally, locations of the nodes are iteratively updated using both connectivity information and RSS-based distance information between the nodes to get more precise localization accuracy. Effectiveness of the proposed scheme is evaluated with both experiments and simulations, and results show that the proposed scheme achieves significant performance improvement over existing schemes.