An Efficient Trajectory-Based Routing using Virtual Coordinates for Low-Power WSNs with Mobile Sinks

We present a trajectory-based routing (TBR) protocol, which efficiently routes data to a mobile sink on the shortest path in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Using the idea of vector images (sensors representing pixels), we use two kinds of geometric shapes, hyperbola and arc as the smallest elements within the shortest routing path. Our protocol let sink nodes transmit the compressed routing request to source nodes through a routing path. Each individual node uses the DV-Hop (Distance Vector Hop) of the virtual anchor nodes as the dictionary which helps in efficiently decipher a compressed routing request. Finally, the routing path is distributed to each individual node within the path. The mobile sink can integrate updated routing path to the existing active path by sending new requests. Our protocol relaxes the constraints such as use of nodes' GPS information, the reliability of nodes, and also, places no restrictions on the sink's moving speed and direction. Using a WSN test-bed, and simulations on TOSSIM, we show that our trajectory-based routing protocol using DV-Hop is faster, reliable against node failures, provide location anonymity of nodes, and transmits less routing packets than two other known approaches.