Title: Exploration of sensor technology under simulation and measurement approaches

Authors: Naser Zaeri, Sami Habib

Addresses: Faculty of Computer Studies, Arab Open University, P.O. Box 3322, Safat 13033, Kuwait. ' Computer Engineering Department, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait

Abstract: In this paper, we have explored the wireless sensor technology to cover a service area utilising two different approaches: simulation and measurement. In the simulation approach, we have developed a custom-made searching tool based on genetic algorithm to determine the minimal number of sensors needed to cover the service area. In the measurement approach, we have validated our simulation outcomes by utilising a commercial sensor kit developed by Crossbow. The measurement results for estimating the physical coverage coincide with the simulation results with an acceptable margin of error with respect to two factors: the area to be covered and the power to be consumed.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks; WSNs; coverage simulation; coverage measurement; modelling; optimisation; genetic algorithms; GAs; wireless networks; service areas; service coverage; number of sensors; power consumption; energy consumption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICT.2011.041743

International Journal of Information and Communication Technology, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.116 - 130

Published online: 20 Oct 2014 *

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