Movement-Based Solutions to Energy Limitation in Wireless Sensor Networks: State of the Art and Future Trends

Energy limitation is a big bottleneck which severely hinders the survival and advancement of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Employing mobile elements is an efficient solution to this problem. This article provides a review on move-ment-based solutions to the energy limitation problem in WSNs. We analyze the performance criteria of mobile WSNs and present a movement-based solution taxonomy, in which these solutions are classified into two categories: mobile data collection and mobile energy provision. The two categories are further divided into different kinds according to various evaluation standards. Moreover, several representative movement solutions in different categories are described and analyzed in detail. In addition, these movement solutions are compared in terms of several attributes based on the proposed taxonomy. Finally, we present several open issues that need to be explored.