Coverage hole detection and restoration algorithm for wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), preserving coverage of the target area by the sensor nodes is crucial to deliver certain services. However, a few sensor nodes die during the network operation due to energy constraints which may break the coverage of the target area. We refer this as a coverage hole problem. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm called CHD-CR which attempts to restore the coverage after detecting a coverage hole in the target area. The proposed algorithm mainly consists of coverage hole detection (CHD) and coverage restoration (CR) phases. We design an efficient local mechanism for coverage hole detection and energy efficient technique for its restoration. We test the performance of the proposed algorithm through simulation and the results are compared with the existing algorithms. Simulation results show that the proposed CHD-CR algorithm outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of coverage preservation for longer time.