A Joint Energy Replenishment and Data Collection Algorithm in Wireless Rechargeable Sensor Networks

Energy constraint is a critical issue in the development of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) because sensor nodes are generally powered by batteries. Recently, wireless rechargeable sensor networks (WRSNs), which introduce wireless mobile chargers (MCs) to replenish energy for nodes, have been proposed to resolve the root cause of energy limitations in WSNs. However, existing wireless charging algorithms cannot fully leverage the mobility of MCs because unity between the energy replenishment process and mobile data collection has yet to be realized. Thus, in this paper, a joint energy replenishment and data collection algorithm for WRSNs is proposed. In this algorithm, the network is divided into multiple clusters based on a K-means algorithm. Two MCs visit the anchor point in each cluster by moving along the shortest Hamiltonian cycle in opposite directions. The positions of anchor points are calculated by the base station (BS) based on the energy distribution in each cluster. A spare MC is assigned to the network in case either of the two MCs depletes its energy before reaching the BS. After the two MCs' current tours are over, a semi-Markov model is proposed for energy prediction so anchor points can be updated in the next round. Simulation results demonstrate the semi-Markov-based energy prediction model is highly precise, and the proposed algorithm can replenish energy for network energy effectively.