On Mobile Sensor Data Collection Using Data Mules
Abstract
The sensor data collection problem using data
mules have been studied fairly extensively in the literature.
However, in most of these studies, while the mule is mobile, all
sensors are stationary. The objective of most of these studies is
to minimize the time needed by the mule to collect data from all
the sensors and return to the data collection point, from where
it embarked on its data collection journey. The problem studied
in this paper has two major differences with the earlier studies.
First, in this study we assume that both the mule as well as
the sensors are mobile. Second, we do not attempt to minimize
the data collection time. Instead we minimize the number of
mules that will be needed to collect data from all the sensors,
subject to the constraint that the data collection process has to be
completed within some pre-specified time. We show that the mule
minimization problem is NP-Complete and provide a solution by
first transforming it to a generalized version of the minimum
flow problem in a network and then solving it optimally using
Integer Linear Programming. Finally, we evaluate our algorithms
through extensive simulation and present the results.
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