Nodes localization in 3D wireless sensor networks based on multidimensional scaling algorithm

Abstract

In the recent years, there has been a huge advancement in wireless sensor computing technology. Today, wireless sensor network (WSN) has become a key technology for different types of smart environment. Nodes localization in WSN has arisen as a very challenging problem in the research community. Most of the applications for WSN are not useful without a priory known nodes positions. Adding GPS receivers to each node is an expensive solution and inapplicable for indoor environments. In this paper, we implemented and evaluated an algorithm based on multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique for three-dimensional (3D) nodes localization in WSN using improved heuristic method for distance calculation. Using extensive simulations we investigated our approach regarding various network parameters. We compared the results from the simulations with other approaches for 3DWSN localization and showed that our approach outperforms other techniques in terms of accuracy.