Energy-efficient K-cover problem in hybrid sensor networks

Sensing coverage is one of the most important performances of sensor networks, which characterizes how well a sensing area is monitored. Due to the limited energy supply, a minimized subset of sensor nodes should be selected to meet the requirements of coverage. Meanwhile to acquire accurate and rich information, hybrid sensor networks are designed to monitor multi-targets separately or cooperatively. In this paper, we consider the energy-efficient K-cover problem in hybrid sensor networks. First, the K-cover problem is investigated in the situation that each node is equipped with various types of sensors. Then, it is appropriately formulated as a coverage game and proved that the optimal solution is a pure Nash equilibrium. Finally, a new K-cover algorithm is designed based on game theory, where the different sensing ranges of sensors are fully considered. Simulating results validate that the proposed algorithm has high performance in coverage and can extend the network lifetime.