Maximum Data Collection Rate in Rechargeable Wireless Sensor Networks with Multiple Sinks

In rechargeable wireless sensor networks, a sensor cannot be always benefi cial to conserve energy when a network can harvest excessive energy from the environment due to its energy replenished continually and limited energy storage capacity. Therefore, surplus energy of a node can be utilized for strengthening packet delivery efficiency and improving data collection rate. In this work, we propose an algorithm to compute an upper data generation rate that maximizes it as an optimization problem for a network with multiple sinks, which is formulated as a linear programming problem. Subsequently, a dual problem by introducing Lagrange multipliers is constructed, and subgradient algorithms are used to solve it in a distributed manner. The resulting algorithms are guaranteed to converge to an optimal data generation rate, which are illustrated by an example in which an optimum data generation rate is computed for a network of randomly distributed nodes. Through extensive simulation and experiments, we demonstrate our algorithm is efficient to maximize data collection rate in rechargeable wireless sensor networks.