Elastic Localization

Numerous wireless sensor network algorithms assume that individual sensors possess location information. However, state of the art localization algorithms often achieve acceptable performance only under restrictive assumptions. For instance, some algorithms necessitate regular sensor deployment or centralized computations. Other algorithms require a high proportion of position aware nodes or the ability to accurately infer emission distance or emission direction of received radio signals. We propose the Elastic Localization Algorithm (ELA), a distributed, scalable, robust and efficient localization algorithm. ELA only presumes that a few percent of the sensors know their location and that an estimation of the maximum communication range is available. We provide extensive simulation data describing the precision, the convergence speed, and the communication load of ELA, using networks composed of thousands of sensors. In addition, we submit ELA to testing considering the influence of maximum range and beacon position misestimation, irregular radio patterns, asynchronous nodes, packet losses, particular topologies, and sensor mobility.