Range-Based Sleep Scheduling (RBSS) for wireless sensor networks

Sleep scheduling in a wireless sensor network is the process of deciding which nodes are eligible to sleep (enter power-saving mode) after random deployment to conserve energy while retaining network coverage. Most existing approaches toward this problem require sensor's location information, which may be impractical considering costly locating overheads. This paper proposes range-based sleep scheduling (RBSS) protocol which needs sensor-to-sensor distance but no location information. RBSS attempts to approach an optimal sensor selection pattern that demands the fewest working (awake) sensors. Simulation results indicate that RBSS is comparable to its location-based counterpart in terms of coverage quality and the reduction of working sensors.