Exploiting cooperative sensing for accurate target tracking in industrial Internet of things

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks are a cornerstone of the Internet of things with many applications. An important aspect of such applications is target tracking using self-positioned known sensor nodes. Over the years, many schemes have been proposed to locate and track the target path. However, accuracy and reliable tracking remain an open area of research. In this article, we propose a dynamic cooperative multilateral sensing scheme for indoor industrial environments to improve target localization and tracking accuracy. The scheme is designed to select reliable nodes based on the distance between nodes within-cluster and to the target for reduced positioning error. Furthermore, a cluster node is dynamically selected based on distance from the base station. We simulate the proposed technique in scenarios with tracking at regular intervals and with the complete path. Furthermore, the performance of the scheme is also tested under different sensor coverage areas. The results show that the proposed scheme provides better target tracking with up to 19% higher accuracy in comparison to the traditional trilateration scheme.