Ballistic Deployment of WSN Nodes using Model Rockets

Wireless sensor networks consisting of a large number of relatively inexpensive nodes are used in a variety of tasks. When being used in difficult to access terrain, or dangerous surroundings, such as often encountered in disaster scenarios, the deployment of a WSN becomes a challenge. In this paper we introduce a novel approach for deploying a WSN: We propose using small-scale model rockets as a cheap, reliable and time-efficient way to deploy a WSN. We discuss advantages and disadvantages over other approaches and provide experimental results to give an idea about realistic deployment costs, expected distribution of nodes and feasible launch vehicle configurations.