Linear and Planar Array Formation in Wireless Sensor Networks
Abstract
Wireless sensor networking (WSN) is a relatively new field of research with many applications, both military and commercial. In the military applications, WSNs could be used in hostile environments to minimize the need for human presence. A WSN consists of a large number of small sensor nodes that are deployed in an area of interest for collecting information. A subgroup of nodes then collaborate their transmissions to achieve beamforming. The information collected by the WSN is relayed to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is synchronized with the transmission beam of the network. This study investigates the positioning of the nodes in a WSN to find a method that will ensure the best combination of nodes for beamforming given a random distribution in the sensor field. Additionally, the method is expandable in two dimensions and capable of forming a planar antenna array that will improve the beamforming gain. A simulation model was developed in MATLAB code to study the formation of linear and planar antenna arrays of nodes. When the existing iterative method used to form a linear antenna array was compared with the proposed method, the results showed an improvement in linearity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA470075
Entities
People
- Charalampos Gkionis
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School