Let's move: Adding arbitrary mobility to WSN testbeds

Abstract

Research in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) has been immense during the last years. Since highly resource-constrained, WSNs pose specific challenges to the design and implementation of protocols and algorithms. In order to test, compare, and verify the intended functionality of new approaches, performance evaluations must be conducted in a sound and credible manner. Instead of simulative evaluation, the WSN research community has mostly shown a preference towards experimental evaluation. Being especially important for the evaluation of routing protocols, node mobility is one of the more complex features to facilitate in testbeds. Robots have been the most common means for moving nodes so far, which, however, introduces more costs and limits reproducibility, scalability, and mobility patterns. We present a new software-based approach that essentially combines mobility modeling with link control. Mobility patterns taken from the mobility scenario generator BonnMotion are converted and replayed to create a virtual dynamic topology. Our approach drastically reduces costs, makes mobility reproducible and scalable, and enables the use of a variety of mobility models. © 2012 IEEE.