An energy-efficient mobile triangulation-based coverage scheme

In triangulation-based coverage, a group of three mobile sensor nodes (MSNs) position themselves to form an equilateral triangle. A larger area is covered with many such smaller triangles as three MSNs move from one triangle to another. Such a scheme has several applications in localization, 3D imaging and coordinated search operation. In this work, we introduce an efficient mobile traversal algorithm (MTA) that provides a triangulation-based coverage of a field that can be approximated as a rectangle. We analyze the MTA in terms of the MSNs' travel distance and time taken to complete the traversal process. The bounds derived are also useful in determining the amount of energy consumption by the MSNs.