International Journal of Computer Science Trends and Technology (IJCST) Volume 2 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2014

ISSN: 2347-8578 www.ijcstjournal.org Page 79

A Survey on Localization for Wireless Sensor Network
Ripal Patel
1
, Rutvij Joshi
2
, Paras Gosai
3
, Jitiksha Patel
4

Electronics and communication department, Dr. S & S.S Ghandhy. Engineering College,
Surat-India

ABSTRACT
Wireless sensor networks (WSN) contain tiny, lightweight nodes that are highly distributed and organized in large number
through wireless links that cooperate with each other in order to sense phenomena, collect and process data and transmit sensed
information to the user. Many applications of WSNs require the knowledge of nodes location. Therefore, algorithms that can
compute the location of sensor nodes within a WSN are needed. The process of determining the geographical positions of
sensors is known as localization. This Paper presents a survey on localization techniques. Here in this paper Range based
techniques are discussed in detail. The comparison of various range based techniques is also discussed here.
Keywords WSN (wireless sensor network), Localization, Range based method

I. INTRODUCTION
WITH the advancement in electronics and wireless
communication technology has led the way to the
development of small, low-power, low-cost sensor nodes that
communicate over short distances. In wireless sensor network
(WSN), a large number of these sensor nodes are deployed
across a geographical region through wireless link to detect
phenomena, collect and process data and transmit sensed
information to the user. Now a day sensor network are used in
many applications which require continuous check and
detection of unambiguous actions such as Military application,
Environmental application, Health applications, Home
application, Multimedia application etc. The important
challenge in the design of wireless systems for WSN is the
communication bandwidth and energy which are limited.
There is sudden burst of data when any event takes place in
sensing environment. Due to high volume of sensed data and
limited memory, sensor node experience congestion which
leads packet loss and hence retransmission of packets
becomes necessary.
Wireless sensor networks consist of different types of
sensor nodes such as seismic, thermal, visual, and infrared,
and they monitor a variety of ambient conditions such as
temperature, humidity, pressure and characteristic of object
and their motion [17]. These WSNs create smart environments
by providing access to information regarding the environment
through collecting, processing, analysing, and disseminating
data whenever required.
In wireless sensor networks the positions of individual nodes
are unknown as the nodes are deployed arbitrarily in a
geographical region. Identifying the location of the nodes in a
WSN is of great importance, given that in some applications
such as animal habitat monitoring, brush fire surveillance,
water quality monitoring and precision agriculture, the
measurement data are meaningless without an accurate
knowledge from where in the network the collected data is
coming from. Therefore, we would not make effective use of
WSN. Many network protocols and middleware services rely
on location information, such as geographic routing protocols,
context-based routing protocols, location-aware services, and
enhanced security protection mechanisms require the
knowledge of nodes location information for that [15].
Due to the context of the application and the
potential for a high number of wireless sensor nodes, either
manually configuring location information into each node or
equipping every node with a GPS receiver becomes expensive
and infeasible. The GPS can require high power consumption
which is not feasible in WSN as the node have limited battery
power. Therefore various localization techniques are
developed for finding nodes location in WSN. The process of
determining the geographical positions of sensors is known as
localization. The nodes who know their geographical location
are known as anchor node. Localization algorithms use the
location information of anchors and estimates of distances
between neighbouring nodes to determine the positions of the
rest of the sensors by RSSI, TOA, TDOA and AOA.
This paper is organized as follows. Classification of
Localization techniques are described in section II. In section
III different range based methods are described to calculate
distance and after that different methods of finding position
are described in section IV. Section V represents the
conclusion of the study.

II. CLASSIFICATION OF LOCALIZATION
TECHNIQUES

Localization techniques are classified into four
categories as follow:

A. Centralized versus Distributed algorithm
Localization algorithms can be classified as centralized
[7][12] or distributed [2][14] algorithms based on their
computational organization. In centralized algorithms, nodes
send data to a central location where computation is
performed and the location of each node is determined and
sent back to the nodes. The drawbacks of centralized
algorithms are their high communication costs, high power
consumption and intrinsic delay. In most cases, the intrinsic
International Journal of Computer Science Trends and Technology (IJCST) Volume 2 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2014

ISSN: 2347-8578 www.ijcstjournal.org Page 80

delay of centralized algorithms increases as the number of
nodes in the network increases, thus making centralized
algorithms inefficient for large networks. As a result,
distributed algorithms that distribute the computational load
across the network to decrease delay and to minimize the
amount of inter sensor communication have been introduced
[19]. In distributed algorithms, each node determines its
location by communication with its neighbouring nodes.
Generally, distributed algorithms are more robust and
energy efficient since each node determines its location
locally with the help of its neighbours, without the need to
send and receive location information to and from a central
server. Distributed algorithms can be more complex to
implement.

B. Range Free versus Range Based Localization
Techniques
For determining the location of a sensor node, two types of
techniques exist: range-free[5][7] and range-based[1][4][5][7].
Range-free techniques use connectivity information between
neighbouring nodes to estimate the nodes position. Range-
based techniques however require ranging information that
can be used to estimate the distance between two
neighbouring nodes. On the one hand, range-free techniques
do not require any additional hardware and use proximity
information to estimate the location of the nodes in a WSN,
and thus have less accuracy. On the other hand, range-based
techniques use range measurements such as time of arrival
(TOA), angle of arrival (AOA), received signal strength
indicator (RSSI), and time difference of arrival (TDOA) to
measure the distances between the nodes in order to estimate
the location of the nodes.

C. Anchor Based versus Anchor Free Localization
Techniques
Another classification of localization algorithms for WSNs
is based on whether or not external reference nodes are
needed. These nodes, called anchor nodes (or simply anchors
for short), usually either have a GPS receiver installed on
them or know their position by manual configuration. They
are used by other nodes as reference nodes in order to provide
coordinates in the absolute reference system being used.
Anchor-based algorithms[3][5][7][9] use anchor nodes to
rotate, translate and sometimes scale a relative coordinate
system so that it coincides with an absolute coordinate system.
In such algorithms, a fraction of the nodes must be anchor
nodes or at least a minimum number of anchor nodes are
required for adequate results. For 2-dimensional spaces, at
least three no collinear anchor nodes and for 3-dimensional
spaces, at least four no coplanar anchor nodes are required.
The final coordinate assignments of the sensor nodes are valid
with respect to a global coordinate system or any other
coordinate system being used. A drawback to anchor- based
algorithms is that another positioning system is required to
determine the anchor node positions. Therefore, if the other
positioning system is unavailable, for instance, for GPS-based
anchors located in areas where there is no clear view of the
sky, the algorithm may not function properly. Another
drawback to anchor-based algorithms is that anchor nodes are
expensive as they usually require a GPS receiver to be
mounted on them. Therefore, algorithms that require many
anchor nodes are not very cost effective. Location information
can also be hard-coded into anchor nodes, however, in this
case careful deployment of anchor nodes is required, which
may be very expensive or even impossible in inaccessible
terrains.
In contrast, anchor-free localization algorithms [19] do not
require anchor nodes. These algorithms provide only relative
node locations, i.e., node locations that reflect the position of
the sensor nodes relative to each other. For some applications,
such relative coordinates are sufficient, however. For
example, in geographic routing protocols, the next forwarding
node is usually chosen based on a distance metric that requires
the next hop to be physically closer to the destination, which
can be perfectly expressed with relative coordinates.


Figure 1 Range based localization method [16]
D. Mobile versus Stationary Node Localization
As the number of applications that require mobile sensor
nodes has increased, the problem of mobility in WSNs has
recently gained much interest. Studies conducted on
introducing mobility in WSNs have resulted in an overall
improvement in the network by not only increasing the overall
network lifetime, but also by improving the data capacity of
the network as well as addressing delay and latency
problems[19]. Some authors have proposed algorithms in
which mobile anchor nodes are used in order to aid with the
localization of stationary sensor nodes[5][13]; One of the
example of a such approach is an inventory management. In
other scenarios however, some or all of the sensor nodes are
mobile [5][7][9]; In this type of scenarios mobility creates the
problem of locating and tracking moving sensors in real time.



International Journal of Computer Science Trends and Technology (IJCST) Volume 2 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2014

ISSN: 2347-8578 www.ijcstjournal.org Page 81



III. RANGE ESTIMATION TECHNIQUE

Range based Localization process is divided in to two parts as
shown in figure:
Estimation of range(distance) or angle
Estimation of position of node
As shown in figure 1 Range based system is composed of
three different blocks. The first is location sensing where the
location sensing module sense the signal and desired location
metrics such as Angle of Arrival (AOA), Received Signal
Strength (RSS) or TOA (Time of Arrival) are extracted from
propagation channel. Second, with a certain accuracy, these
parameters are fed into the positioning algorithm block where
it produces the (x, y, z) co-ordinates of the node by using
Trilateration and Triangulation method.

E. Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)
Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is defined as
the amount of power present in a received radio signal. Due to
radio propagation path loss, received signal strength (RSS)
decreases as the distance of the radio propagation increases.
Therefore, the distance between two sensor nodes can be
determined using the RSS value at the receiver by equation 1,
assuming that the transmission power at the sender is either
fixed or known.
p
r
= d
n
p
(1)

Where, p
r
= Received power
d = distance
n
p
= path-loss exponent typically between 2 and 4
An advantage of this technique is that no additional
hardware is required as it uses a standard feature found in
most wireless devices, namely the received signal strength
indicator. Also it does not significantly impact local power
consumption or sensor size and thus cost. The disadvantage of
this technique is its inaccuracy and unreliability because the
multipath environment creates constructive and deconstructive
interference so that a users location will not be correlated
with signal power. This effect is frequency dependent as well,
so a measurement at one carrier frequency will be
uncorrelated with a measurement at another carrier frequency.
For example, if the sensor network is deployed indoors, walls
and other obstacles would severely reduce the precision of the
method due to nonlinearities, noise, interference, and
absorption.

F. Time of Arrival
Time of arrival is defined as the earliest time at which the
signal arrives at the receiver. It can be measured by adding the
time at which the signal is transmitted with the time needed to
reach the destination (time delay). This method requires an
additional hardware at the receiver to measure the arrival time
of signal. Distance or range is calculated by using standard
formula of speed as shown below.

D = S T (2)

Where, D=Distance Between transmitter and receiver
S=Speed of signal
T=Time to reach the signal to the receiver
In TOA, the nodes have to be synchronized and the signal
must include the time stamp information [3]. To overcome
these limitations, Round-trip Time of Arrival (RTOA) and
Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) are developed.

G. Time Difference of Arrival
The Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) technique
requires the nodes to transmit two signals that travel at
different speeds. This is based on the fact that radio waves
travel much faster than sound in air. In this technique, each
node is equipped with a microphone and a speaker. Most
systems use ultrasound while some use audible frequencies as
a second signal and RF signal as a first signal. In TDOA, a RF
signal and ultrasound signal are sent by the transmitter at the
same time. The receiver nodes receive the Radio signal and
note the current time, and then they turn on their ultrasound
receiver to receive the ultrasound signal and again note the
current time. Once they have the different times, the nodes can
compute the distance between themselves and the transmitter
from the following equation.
s
1
s
2
=
d
t
1

d
t
2
(3)

Where, s
1
= speed of radio signal
s
2
= speed of ultrasound signal
d = distance
t
1
and t
2
= time take to reach the radio and
ultrasound signal at the receiver
If line-of-sight conditions are met and the environment is
echo-free, TDOA techniques perform extremely accurately.
The advantage of TDOA method is that synchronization
between nodes is not required. The disadvantage of such
systems is that they require special hardware which must be
built into the sensor nodes. Also, the speed of sound in air
varies with air temperature and humidity, which can introduce
inaccuracies. Lastly, it is very difficult to meet line-of-sight
conditions in many environments such as inside buildings or
in mountainous terrains.

H. Angle of Arrival
Angle of Arrival (AoA) techniques [6][8] gather data
using either radio or antenna arrays. These arrays allow a
receiving node determine the direction of a transmitting node.
Optical communication techniques can also be used to gather
AoA data. In these techniques, a single transmitted signal is
received by several spatially separated antenna array elements.
The phase or time difference between the signals arrivals at
different elements of array is calculated and thus the AoA of
the signal is found.
This technique is accurate to within a few degrees but the
downside is that AoA hardware is bigger and more expensive
International Journal of Computer Science Trends and Technology (IJCST) Volume 2 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2014

ISSN: 2347-8578 www.ijcstjournal.org Page 82

than TDOA ranging hardware, since each node must have the
antenna array [3]. Another important factor is the need for
spatial separation between array elements which will be
difficult to accommodate as the size of sensor nodes decreases.

IV. POSITION ESTIMATION TECHNIQUE

There are various methods to estimate the position of node
or co-ordinate of the node. Some of them are listed below.

A. Trilateration
This method determine the position of a node from the
intersection of 3 circles of 3 anchor nodes that are formed
based on distance measurements between its neighbours. The
radius of the circle is equal to the distance measurement
between the anchor node and the unknown node as shown in
Fig 3.3. However, in a real environment due to the multipath,
the distance measurement is not perfect.

Figure 2 Trilateration [16]
B. Triangulation
This method is used when the direction of the node rather
than the distance is estimated. It uses trigonometry laws of
sines and cosines to calculate the nodes position based on the
angle information from two anchor nodes and their positions
as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Triangulation [16]
C. Maximum Likelihood Multilateration
Trilateration technique cannot accurately estimate the
position of a node if the distance measurements are noisy. A
possible solution is to use the Maximum Likelihood (ML)
estimation, which includes distance measurements from
multiple neighbour nodes as in Figure 3. This method intends
to minimize the differences between the measured distances
and estimated distances. [4]

Figure 4 Maximum Likelihood Multilateration

V. CONCLUSION

After studying various range based techniques, from table
1, we have conclude that TOA/TDOA method gives more
accuracy in distance measurement as compared to RSS
method, but in TDOA/TOA method, extra hardware is needed
in the node while in RSS method no extra hardware is needed.

Geometric
Methods
Advantages Disadvantages
RSS
Simple to implement
(most wireless devices
report power)
Not sensitive to timing
and RF bandwidth
Not accurate
Requires models
specific to application
case and environment
AOA
Only requires 2 anchors
for localization
DP blockage and
multipath affects
accuracy
Requires use of antenna
arrays/ smart antennas
Accuracy is dependent
on RF bandwidth
TOA/TDOA
Accurate
ranging/localization
can be obtained
Can be scaled to
multitude of
applications
Accuracy is dependent
on RF bandwidth
DP blockage might
cause large errors
Table 1 Comparison of range based method



International Journal of Computer Science Trends and Technology (IJCST) Volume 2 Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2014

ISSN: 2347-8578 www.ijcstjournal.org Page 83


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