P&P protocol: local coordination of mobile sensors for self-deployment

The use of mobile sensors is of great relevance for a number of strategic applications devoted to monitoring critical areas where sensors can not be deployed manually. In these networks, each sensor adapts its position on the basis of a local evaluation of the coverage efficiency, thus permitting an autonomous deployment. Several algorithms have been proposed to deploy mobile sensors over the area of interest. The applicability of these approaches largely depends on a proper formalization of rigorous rules to coordinate sensor movements, solve local conflicts and manage possible failures of communications and devices. In this paper we introduce P&P, a communication protocol that permits a correct and efficient coordination of sensor movements in agreement with the PUSH&PULL algorithm. We deeply investigate and solve the problems that may occur when coordinating asynchronous local decisions in the presence of an unreliable transmission medium and possibly faulty devices such as in the typical working scenario of mobile sensor networks. Simulation results show the performance of our protocol under a range of operative settings, including conflict situations, irregularly shaped target areas, and node failures.

💡 Research Summary

The paper addresses the problem of autonomously deploying a fleet of mobile sensors over a target area that cannot be manually populated, such as disaster zones, wildfire regions, or battlefields. While many distributed deployment algorithms exist (virtual‑force, fluid‑gas analogies, Voronoi‑based methods, density‑driven grids), they typically lack a concrete communication layer that can reliably coordinate sensor movements, resolve local conflicts, and tolerate communication errors or node failures.
To fill this gap, the authors introduce P&P, a lightweight communication protocol that implements the PUSH‑PULL algorithm described in their earlier work