Trading sensing coverage for an extended network lifetime

One of the main benefits of using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is that they can be deployed in remote locations without any prior infrastructure. Because of this nodes are normally battery powered. This limits the lifetime of the network. In this paper, we propose a novel method of scheduling nodes based on a user's sensing coverage requirement. Through the use of our proposed scheduling algorithm (Ncut-GA), it is shown that the duration for which the user's coverage requirement is met can be extended. When compared with a previously published algorithm (Greedy-MSC), the proposed algorithm is able to increase coverage duration by up to 80%. Furthermore it is also shown that the time until the first node dies can be improved by up to 200% through the use of Ncut-GA.