A Review on Localization in Wireless

Sensor Networks

Jeril Kuriakose, Sandeep Joshi, R. Vikram Raju, and Aravind Kilaru

Abstract. Localization is extensively used in Wireless Sensor Networks

(WSNs) to identify the current location of the sensor nodes. A WSN con-
sist of thousands of nodes that make the installation of GPS on each sensor
node expensive and moreover GPS will not provide exact localization results
in an indoor environment. Manually configuring location reference on each
sensor node is also not possible in the case of dense network. This gives rise
to a problem where the sensor nodes must identify its current location with-
out using any special hardware like GPS and without the help of manual
configuration. Localization techniques makes the deployment of WSNs eco-
nomical. Most of the localization techniques are carried out with the help
of anchor node or beacon node, which knows its present location. Based on
the location information provided by the anchor node or beacon node, other
nodes localize themselves. In this paper we present a succinct survey on the
localization techniques used in wireless sensor networks covering its problems
and research gap.

1 Introduction
Wireless sensor devices have a wide range of application in surveillance and
monitoring. Most of the devices or nodes in wireless sensor network are made
up of off-the-shelf materials and deployed in the area of surveillance and mon-
itoring. The responsibility of each sensor node is to identify the changes in its
particular region or area. The changes are like movement of animals, increase
or decrease in temperature or rainfall and these changes are periodically re-
ported to the aggregation point or the central server. The central server or the
Jeril Kuriakose · Sandeep Joshi · R. Vikram Raju · Aravind Kilaru
School of Computing and Information Technology (SCIT),
Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur
e-mail: [email protected]

S.M. Thampi, A. Gelbukh, and J. Mukhopadhyay (eds.), Advances in Signal Processing 599
and Intelligent Recognition Systems, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 264,
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-04960-1_52,  c Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
600 J. Kuriakose et al.

aggregation server identifies the area with the help of the location reference
sent by the sensor node.
Initially during deployment each sensor nodes are given their location refer-
ence. This is done either manually or the sensor nodes automatically calculate
the distance with the help of GPS devices attached to it. Installing a GPS de-
vice or manually calculating the location may not be possible in the context
of large network because of the excessive cost and workforce involved, respec-
tively. To overcome this sensor nodes are made to identify their locations with
the help of neighbouring nodes. This paper focuses on the localization tech-
niques used by the sensor nodes to identify their location. Several researches
are going on in the field of localization to identify the exact location.
The location of the nodes plays a significant role in many areas like routing,
surveillance and monitoring, and military. The sensor nodes must know their
location reference in order to carry-out Location-based routing (LR) [1 -
4]. So as to find out the shortest route, the Location Aided Routing (LAR)
protocol [5 - 7] makes use of the locality reference of the sensor nodes. In some
industries the sensor nodes are used to identify minute changes like pressure,
temperature and gas leak, and in military, robots are used to detect land-
mines, where in both the cases location information plays a key part.
Organization of the paper - Section 2 and 3 covers the concepts and
problems in localization. Section 4 covers the localization techniques. Section
5 and 6 presents the performance, discussion and future events. Section 7
concludes the paper.

2 Concepts and Properties of Localization

In most of the localization techniques, localization is carried out with the
help of neighbouring nodes. Initially few nodes are made available with their
location reference either by manual configuration or using GPS devices. Sev-
eral localization techniques are discussed in this paper. Fig. 1 illustrates the
different techniques or methods used to identify the location of the nodes.
The localization can be classified as known location based localization,
proximity based localization, angle based localization, range and distance
based localization. In fig. 1 the range and distance based localization are
categorized separately, though both are same. For range based localization,
special hardware is required to find out the range, however it is not required
for distance based localization.

2.1 Known Location Based Localization

In this type of localization the sensor nodes know their location in prior.
This is done either by manually configuring or using a GPS [8 - 12] device.
Manual configuration of the sensor node is done with the help of GPS. The
GPS device can be effective where there are no reference nodes available to
A Review on Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks 601

Fig. 1 Overview of localization

Fig. 2 (a) Working of GPS receiver installed in a sensor node. (b) Localization
using triangulation with orientation information.

get localized. The location of the sensor node is calculated with the help of
GPS satellites. A minimum of four satellites are required to calculate the
location of the GPS receiver. Fig. 2a shows the working of GPS receiver.
The distance between the GPS receiver and the GPS satellites are cal-
culated using the time taken for the signal to reach the device. Once the
distances are known, the GPS receiver uses triangulation [24] or trilatera-
tion [29] technique to determine its location. It has a good accuracy with a
standard deviation of 4 to 10 meters.

2.2 Proximity Based Localization

In this type of localization the wireless sensor network is divided into sev-
eral clusters. Each cluster has a cluster head which is equipped with a GPS
device. Using Infrared (IR) or Bluetooth, the nodes find out the nearness or
proximity location. When comparing proximity based localization with range
602 J. Kuriakose et al.

based localization, proximity based localization does not suffer fading [30].
Proximity based localization will not be applicable when the power threshold
drops below a threshold value i.e., the range or power (signal strength) of the
central node. Consider two nodes X and Y with a power threshold P1 , then
the localization eligibility is calculated as follows: [30]

1, Px,y ≥ P1
Qx,y =
0, Px,y < P1

where,
Px,y is the measured received power at node X transmitted by node Y.

2.3 Angle Based Localization

Angle based localization uses the received signals angle or Angle of Arrival
(AoA) [14 - 16] to identify the distance. Angle of Arrival can be defined as
angle between the received signal of an incident wave and some reference
direction [14]. The reference direction is called orientation, which is a fixed
direction and against that the measurement of AoA is carried out. Placing
antenna array on each sensor node is the most common approach. Using
antenna array with orientation can be used to identify the angular sector of
the signal. Once the AoA is determined, triangulation [24] is used to identify
the location co-ordinates. Fig. 2b shows the localization using triangulation
with orientation information.

2.4 Range Based Localization

This localization is carried out based on the range. The range is calculated
using the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) [17] or Time of Arrival
(ToA) [18, 19] or Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) [20]. In RSSI based lo-
calization the receiver sends the signal strength with reference to the sender,
and sender calculates the distance based on the signal strength. ToA and
TDoA use timing to calculate the range. Time synchronization is an impor-
tant factor when using ToA and TDoA.

2.5 Distance Based Localization

Distance based localization technique uses hop distance between the sender
and receiver node to identify the location reference. It uses DV-hop
propagation method [21, 22] or DV-distance [22] propagation method for
localization.
A Review on Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks 603

3 Problems in Localization Techniques

There are few limitations encountered during localization. The problems are
listed as follows,

3.1 Known Location Based Localization

The cost of a GPS device is around $500 - $1000, and installing a GPS
for all the nodes is a dense network is not recommended. There are some
situations where the GPS fail to find out the exact location reference such
as in an underground, underwater or indoor environment. A small amount of
accuracy can be reduced due to multipath propagation. Satellite availability
also plays a key role in location estimation.

3.2 Proximity Based Localization

In this type of localization the nodes estimate the proximity location with
the assistance of a central node. Larger the range of central node smaller is
the accuracy. Localization is not achievable when the central server is down.
This technique is an economical one with less accuracy.

3.3 Angle Based Localization

Special antennas are required for Angle based localization. The node that
wants to localize does it with the help of three or more nodes, which have
the special antenna installed in them. The angle measurement error can vary
from 1 ◦ to 25 ◦ as an effect of noise. As angle based localization technique
requires special antenna’s that are expensive, AoA is generally used in Base
Station’s (BS) or cell phone tower’s.

3.4 Range Based localization

Link reliability and noise interference plays a significant role in reducing the
accuracy of range measurements. Other factors like multipath fading and
environmental changes also decrease the accuracy in range measurement.

3.5 Distance Based Localization

In this type of localization the accuracy can be improved only if the network is
dense. For a sparse network the localization accuracy is reduced considerably.
604 J. Kuriakose et al.

4 Localization Techniques
The localization techniques can be grouped into two types namely range
based and range free approach. Fig. 3 shows the localization techniques
grouped into different types.

Fig. 3 Categorizing localization techniques

4.1 Range Based Approach

This method uses the range information to calculate the distance between
each node. The localization can be carried out with or without the anchor
nodes.

4.1.1 Using Anchor Nodes

During the deployment of wireless sensor network, few sensor nodes are made
configured with their location reference either manually or using GPS. These
nodes act as the anchor nodes. Other nodes localize themselves with the
support of anchor nodes.
Localization is carried out using the range or angle based techniques dis-
cussed in the previous section. Each sensor node must be equipped with
special hardware to achieve localization. In RSSI based distance measure-
ment, the distance is calculated with respect to the sender’s signal strength.
A node can calculate the distance using the signal strength measurement re-
ceived from the sender. The signal strength gradually decreases as the node
moves away. Fig. 4a shows the typical signal strength or coverage area of a
node.
Next type of localization technique that uses range to identify the distance
is ToA based localization. The nodes that use ToA for localization must be
time synchronized. The transmitted and received time are used by the sender
to calculate the distance. Fig. 5a shows the working of range estimation using
A Review on Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks 605

ToA. The distance between the sender and receiver are calculated as follows:
[19]
1 y
x
dxy = [(Trecv − Ttrans
x
) − (Ttrans − Trecv
y
)]
2
where,
dxy is the distance between node X and node Y,
x
Trecv is the received power of node X,
x
Ttrans is the transmitted power of node X,
y
Trecv is the received power of node Y,
y
Ttrans is the transmitted power of node Y.

Fig. 4 (a) Typical signal strength or coverage area of a node. (b) Range estimation
using RSSI.

Fig. 5 (a) Range estimation using ToA. (b) Range estimation using TDoA.

Once the distances are discovered, multilateration or trilateration [29] tech-

nique is implemented to find out the location reference of the node. RF signal
travel at the speed of light, this make the RF propagation to get varied in
indoor environments and gives rise to a high localization overhead. In order
to overcome the RF propagation in indoor environment, in [13], a combina-
tion of RF signals with Ultrasound was proposed. The speed of Ultrasound
is less when compared to the speed of light. Based on the TDoA of the two
signals, the distance is calculated. Fig. 5b shows the working of range es-
timation using TDoA. Another method for locating a node using TDoA is
606 J. Kuriakose et al.

done by observing the time for a signal to reach two or more receivers. It is
made sure that all the receiver nodes are time synchronized. The TDoA is
calculated as follows: [23]
(r2 − r1 )
τ=
c
where,
τ is the TDoA,
r1 &r2 are the range from the transmitter to the two receivers,
c is the speed of propagation.

4.1.2 Without Using Anchor Nodes

A device that has GPS attached need not require a support from anchor nodes
for localization. Triangulation [24] technique is used in GPS to identify the
location of the node. The assistance of satellites are required for finding out
the location of the sensor node that has a GPS device installed.

4.2 Range Free Approach

There are few localization techniques that do not require special hardware for
localization, they compute their distance using on DV hop or DV distance.
The range free approach can be broadly classified into two types as follows:

4.2.1 Using Anchor Nodes

Techniques, namely Probability Grid [21] and Kcdlocation [24] works on DV
based distance localization. In these techniques few nodes act as anchor nodes,
which in turn are used by other nodes for localizing themselves. Ad Hoc Po-
sitioning System (APS) [22] can be used as an extension for GPS and its uses
hop by hop positioning algorithm. In APS few nodes act as the anchor nodes,
based on which other nodes localize using hop by hop positioning technique.
Fig. 6 shows the DV hop localization technique. The average distance for one
hop is the distance between the anchor nodes over the total number of hops
between the anchor nodes. The equation to compute average distance for one
hop is as follows: [22]
 2 2
(Ai − Aj ) + (Bi − Bj )
Hd = 
h

where,
Hd is average distance for one hop,

h is the total number of hops,
(Ai , Bi )&(Aj , Bj ) are the location co-ordinates of the anchor nodes.
A Review on Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks 607

Fig. 6 Hop by hop localization technique

4.2.2 Without Using Anchor Nodes

Convex Position Estimation technique [28] works without an anchor node.
The network is modelled by a central sever giving equations for relating the
distance between the nodes. It uses a good optimization technique to find
out the location of the nodes based on the equations.

5 Performance of Localization Schemes

Table 1 shows the performance comparison of different localization schemes.
Each localization techniques serve different purposes. More the number of
anchor nodes, less the localization error. In a closed environment with more
obstructions, the localization error tends to increase. This can be controlled
by making the network dense.

Table 1 Comparison of localization techniques

Localization Accuracy (in Limitations

Techniques meters)
used
GPS 2 to 15 Indoor localization is not possible in
many cases
Proximity based 1 to 30 Depends on the range of the signal
used
Angle based ap- 1 to 8 Require special antenna
proach
Range based ap- 4 to 10 Require special hardware and time
proach synchronization
DV based ap- 10 to 20 Accuracy can be improved in a
proach dense network
608 J. Kuriakose et al.

6 Discussion and Future Events

The localization techniques discussed identifies the distance between two
nodes. Only the distance between the anchor node (or the node that knows its
location) and the requesting node (node that needs to find out its location) is
obtained with the help of range and distance based localization techniques.
So, the same method is carried out by the requesting node with three or
more different anchor nodes. Once obtaining three different range’s i.e., from
three different anchor nodes, trilateration or triangulation or multilateration
technique [24, 29] can be used to identify the location reference or loca-
tion coordinate. Among these three techniques, trilateration [29] is generally
preferred. In the present scenario there is a trade-off between localization ac-
curacy and algorithm runtime. The localization techniques discussed here are
based in the consideration of a static network. Monitoring and surveillance
has become painless because of wireless sensor network.
Several researches are being carried out in the field of localization. Few fu-
ture events still remain unaddressed in the 3-D localization, security, mobility
and energy conservation. 2-D scenario is generally used for localization and
there will be a requirement for new localization techniques for 3-D scenario.
As most of the localization techniques require the help of neighbouring nodes
to identify their localization, there must be a surety that the neighbouring
nodes are valid. Localization fails in presence of a mole in the network. Sev-
eral security measures are required to secure the network as well as the sen-
sor node from attacks. Localization can be easily carried out for fixed nodes.
There exist a dire fall in localization accuracy, for mobile sensor nodes. De-
signing an energy efficient localization technique is an essential consideration
for wireless sensor network.

7 Conclusion
There is a considerable rise in the use of wireless sensor network because of
their cost and size. The localization techniques discussed in this paper, help
in reducing the deployment cost of dense wireless sensor networks. Several
techniques with abridged hardware which can identify their current location
has been discussed in this paper along with their key features and drawbacks.
Since a wireless sensor nodes are provided with limited resources there is a
need in designing an intelligent power aware and secure localization approach
in both 2D and 3D scenario.

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