Antenna Radiation Pattern Influence on the Localization Accuracy in Wireless Sensor Networks

• Main Authors: COCA, E., POPA, V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava 2013-05-01
• Series: Advances in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Subjects: wireless sensor node; radiation pattern; positioning accuracy; error correction; received signal strength indicator
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4316/AECE.2013.02007
• ISSN: 1582-7445; 1844-7600

Localization or position determination is one of the most common applications for the wireless sensor networks. Many investigations have been made during the last decade, most of the effort being concentrated in the direction of improving the accuracy of the positioning results by using complex filtering and correction algorithms, and other techniques such as radio maps or directive antennas for the reference nodes. The most common sources of errors include reflections on nearby objects, radio frequency noise, and variable characteristics of the communication channel. In the vast majority of cases, several assumptions have been made in order to simplify the computing algorithms or the complexity of nodes, and finally their cost. The omnidirectional radiation pattern of the node antennas is such an assumption. In this paper we investigate theoretically and validate by measurements the influence of the radiation pattern on the localization accuracy of a wireless sensor node network. By taking into consideration the orientation of nodes, which could be provided by a local digital compass on each node, we demonstrate that the position accuracy could be improved with a minimum of resources. All measurements were made in radio emissions controlled environment - a semi-anechoic chamber, without affecting the generality of the proposed solution.