A Method for Self-Organizing Communication in WSN Based Localization Systems: HashSlot

Localization of objects within space is a common problem in WSN research. Besides the location estimation itself, wireless communication is a central aspect within such systems. We present the novel HashSlot method for assured and collision-free transmission of radio packets from multiple sources to a common destination within a constant and predictable time. Due to self-organization, our approach needs no prior active coordination between sensor nodes and offers various techniques like selectable quality of service levels to dynamically limit the number of returned information during runtime. Thereby, precision and speed of the localization process can be adjusted, fault tolerance can be achieved and energy consumption will be reduced. This paper describes theory and application of the HashSlot method within a real WSN based localization system.