Connectivity Maintenance of a Heterogeneous Sensor Network

In this paper we derive connectivity constraints for a heterogeneous sensor network made up of sensing agents and mobile communication relays. With these constraints we develop feasible motion sets that can guarantee network connectivity. We also show how to reduce the number of communication constraints to allow the sensing agents to maximize their feasible motion sets and thus allow for a larger search area while maintaining network connectivity. A technique for shaping the network configuration is also presented that allows for biasing particular communication links within the network. Numerical simulations and preliminary experimental results verify the validity of the proposed approach.

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