COMPUSOFT, An international journal of advanced computer technology, 3 (4), April-2014 (Volume-III, Issue-IV)

ISSN:2320-0790

ENERGY EFFICIENT TRACKING S YSTEM USING

WIRELESS SENSORS
Thankaselvi Kumaresan1 , Sheryl Mathias 2 , Digja Khanvilkar3 , Prof. Smita Dange 4
Depart ment of Co mputer Engineering
Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology
Sector 9-A, Vashi, Nav i Mu mbai
Abstract: One of the most important applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is surveillance system,
which is used to track moving targets. WSN is co mposed of a large nu mber of lo w cost sensors which operate on the
power derived fro m batteries. Energy efficiency is an important issue in WSN, which determines the network
lifetime. Due to the need for continuous monitoring with 100% efficiency, keeping all the sensor nodes active
permanently leads to fast draining of batteries. Hence there is a need to design a tracking system wh ich conserves
energy without affecting its ability to track accurately.
In our paper, we present energy efficient tracking system wh ich keeps sensor nodes in sleep mode and awakens only
those nodes which lie on the path of target. By allowing the nodes to be in sleep mode for maximu m amount of t ime,
this algorithm saves lot of energy. This is proved by simu lating our system using OMNeT++ simu lator and Castalia
framework.
Keywords: WSN, energy, target tracking, sleep scheduling, duty cycling, Castalia, SPAN
In this paper, we have discussed energy efficient target
tracking system using wireless sensors. The proposed
system makes use of sensors which are put to sleep mode
initially. Only those nodes which lie in the path of the
target are awakened and others are allowed to sleep. In this
way, all sensors are not active all the time, thereby leading
to a considerable reduction in the amount of energy
utilized. Th is system makes use of the concept of duty
cycling and sleep scheduling wherein the awakening of
nodes is controlled by the presence of target near them.

I. INTRODUCTION
Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in the use
of sensor networks for a variety of applications in different
fields. This has been facilitated due to the diverse and
distinguishing features of sensors. Sensors are tiny devices
which are capable of sensing, processing and transmitt ing
the required information. So me of the known applications
of sensor networks include environ mental mon itoring,
warfare, child education, surveillance, micro -surgery,
industrial monitoring, agricu lture [1].Though there are many
advantages provided by wireless sensor networks, we also
face many constraints and challenges during the use of
sensors. The main difficult ies that arise are related to
hardware designing so as to achieve efficient
communicat ion. But the biggest and most important issue
in wireless sensor networks is energy management. Energy
is a non renewable resource. For the sensors to function
properly, continuous power supply is a must. But the
amount of communicat ion and other processing required to
be performed by the sensors drains out the power at a
considerably faster rate. Also, it is difficu lt to replace the
power supply of a sensor. Hence there is a need to devise
methods for minimizing energy consumption in sensor
networks.

II. WIRELESS NETWORKS

A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of spatially
distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical or
environmental conditions such as temperature, sound,
pressure, etc. and to cooperatively pass their data through
the network to a main location. WSNs are used to collect
data fro m the environ ment. They consist of large number of
sensor nodes and one or more Base Stations. The nodes in
the network are connected via wireless communicat ion
channels. Each node has capability to sense data, process
the data and send it to rest of the nodes or to Base Station.
[6]

The WSN is built of "nodes" - from a few to several

hundreds or even thousands, where each node is connected
to one (or sometimes several) sensors. Each such sensor
network node has typically several parts:
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homogeneous networks, initial energy of all nodes is same

while in heterogeneous network, all nodes have different
initial energy. It is difficult to implement an energy aware
heterogeneous clustering algorithm due to the complex
energy configuration of the network. So me of the previous
clustering algorithm for ho mogenous networks are LEACH
(Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy), PEGASIS
and HEED and non-homogenous one's are SEP and DEEC.

A radio transceiver with an internal antenna or

connection to an external antenna
A microcontroller, an electronic circuit for interfacing
with the sensors
An energy source, usually a battery or an embedded
form of energy harvesting.
A sensor converts the physical parameter into a signal
which can be measured electrically.

[9]

III. ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN WSN

V. TARGET TRA CKING SYSTEM S

Energy is a factor of outmost importance in WSNs. The

wireless sensor node, being a micro-electronic device, can
only be equipped with a limited power source (<0.5 Ah, 1.2
V). Sensor node lifetime, therefore, shows a strong
dependence on battery lifet ime. Energy is a very scarce
resource for sensor systems and has to be used wisely in
order to extend the life of the sensor nodes for the duration
of a particular mission. Energy consumption in a sensor
node could be due to either useful or wasteful sources.
Useful energy consumption can be due to transmitting or
receiving data, processing query requests, and forward ing
queries and data to neighbouring nodes. Wasteful energy
consumption can be due to one or more of the fo llowing
factors: idle listening to the channel, Retransmitting,
overhearing, over-emitting. [13]
Considering the above-mentioned facts, a correctly
designed protocol must be considered to prevent these
energy wastes. Also it is important to design sensor
networks aiming to maximize their life expectancy. Data
communicat ion is responsible for the greatest weight in the
energy budget when compared with data sensing and
processing. Therefore, it is desirable to use short range
instead of long-range communicat ion between sensor nodes
because of the transmission power required.

Target tracking in WSNs is an impo rtant problem with a

large spectrum of applications, such as surveillance, natural
disaster relief, traffic monitoring, border security etc.
However, the use of sensor networks for target tracking
presents a number of new challenges. These challenges
include limited energy supply and communicat ion
bandwidth, distributed algorithms and control, and
handling the fundamental performance limits of sensor
nodes, especially as the size of the network beco mes large.
The environment plays a key ro le in determining the size of
the network, the deployment scheme, and the network
topology. Power consumption is the most important design
factor for WSNs.
A. Algorithms for Vehicle Detection and Tracking
Target tracking algorith ms usually focus on the aspect of
the sensor nodes interaction with a target after the target
has already been detected within the area the sensor nodes
cover. Once the object has been detected, the nodes collect
informat ion and then use one of many different types of
algorith ms to calculate the current location of the object
relative to the sensor nodes locations. From here, it is the
goal of the sensor network to track the object as it moves
through the network. This may or may not involve
predicting the next location of the object when it moves. In
order to forewarn those nodes it will be heading towards to
prepare to capture data. Some of the tracking algorith ms
are Simp le triangulation, Clusters (Hierarch ical super
nodes, Dynamic clustering, Probabilistic Localization,
Distributive predict ive tracking), Particle filtering, Rooted
tree. [1]

IV. SOLUTIONS FOR MINIMIZING ENERGY

CONSUMPTION
A. Duty cycling approach
The main energy conserving method is to put the radio
transceiver in low power mode when communication is not
needed. Ideally, the radio should be switched off as soon as
there is no more data to send/receive and should be
resumed as soon as a new data packet becomes ready. In
this way, nodes alternate between active and sleep periods
depending on network activity. So there is a constant
switching between sleep and active states. This is duty
cycling. Duty cycle represents the fraction of time the
nodes are active. A sleep/wake up scheduling algorith m
should accompany any duty cycling scheme which is a
distributed algorithm based on which sensor nodes decide
when a transit fro m act ive to sleep state is needed. [5]

B. Existing systems
The role of WSN in border surveillance, as in most WSN
applications, focuses on information gathering fro m various
types of sensors, such as seismic, camera, thermal camera,
and motion detectors. Some advanced WSN process these
raw data and send an abstracted alarm or aggregated data to
the command centre, wh ich, in turn, takes the appropriate
defence action. Examp les of this kind of usage include
intrusion detection, geo-fencing (along with background
monitoring) and area mon itoring.
Some of the existing intrusion detection systems used by
US military and Govern ment agencies are:

B. Protocols used for efficient energy consumption

The clustering algorith m is considered as a kind of key
technique used to reduce energy consumption. It can help
in increasing the stability period and network life time.
Clustering can be done in two types of networks,
homogeneous
and
heterogeneous
networks .
In

1) Self-Powered Ad-hoc Network (SPAN)[12]: Aerospace

and defense company Lockheed Martin has launched a new
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wireless-sensor mesh-network system designed for

detecting intrusion, monitoring secured areas or tracking
structure stress, using small devices that contain active
RFID tags and can incorporate energy-harvesting
technology. For the detection of movement at a border
crossing, Self-Powered Ad-hoc Network (SPA N) nodes
may be equipped with ground-vibration or acoustic sensors,
while for structural-integrity applications, stress sensors
would be employed. SPAN system is a network of Field and Forget ground sensors that provides unobtrusive,
continuous surveillance wh ich can support a variety of
missions and applications, such as border protection, area
surveillance and even bridge, pipeline, aircraft and other
structural monitoring requirements. SPAN is a mesh
network of self-organizing, self-healing
sensors.
Information fro m this mesh is processed using proprietary
algorith ms that reduce false alarms, providing intelligent
situational awareness for military, border patrol and
structural monitoring applications. This smart sensor
network can cue a camera or unmanned aerial vehicle to
further study an area or call an engineer when a pipeline or
bridge structure is in danger of fracture. The SPAN system
also operates with extremely low power, thereby making it
possible to power it via energy-harvesting technology, such
as solar panels. Its ultra lo w sensor cost is predicated on the
fact that each node within the SPAN network incorporates
an energy harvesting subsystem that re-charges itself using
simp le energy sources in its surrounding environment.

homogeneous static sensor network wherein the nodes are

put to sleep initially. We assume that every node is aware
of its own location and all sensor nodes are locally time
synchronized. In sleep mode, the sensor nodes continue to
sense, while the radio module is incapable of performing
any operations. Thus, idle listening is avoided. As soon as
the target arrives, only the nodes closer to the target
awaken. These are the nodes whose sensor readings are
important for tracking of target. The nodes remain active
till the target is nearby them. As soon as the target moves
away fro m the sensors, they again go to sleep mode. Thus
in this way, nodes do not remain act ive unnecessarily thus
saving energy. Here the radios of sensors do not indulge in
unnecessary transmission of packets. Thus radio module is
optimized in order to avoid wastage of energy. When the
nodes are active, they send their readings to the
controller/sink node. In this manner, transmitting redundant
values which are not needed is prevented. Hence power
consumption is reduced.
VII. WORKING OF PROPOSED SYSTEM
The following flo wchart depicts the working of our
proposed
system.

2) MicroObserver System [13]: MicroObserver system is a

next-generation Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) solution
that provides situational awareness for applications ranging
fro m perimeter defense and force protection to border
security and law enforcement. With its advanced tracking
and seismic detection technology, the MicroObserver
system provides detection, classification and tracking of
people and vehicles. Identification of targets is possible
with sensor-cued infrared imaging sensors that utilize
proven target detection algorithms to capture a series of
mini-video images. Micro Observer sensor nodes are buried
in the ground with no partincluding the antenna, visible
above the surface. The nodes utilize battery power to
operate a vibration sensor and transmit data to other sensor
nodes. The MicroObserver solution has been commercially
available since 2008.Leverag ing a radio optimized for lowpower operation, the Micro Observer system is capable of
both short- and long-term emplacements, with sensor node
battery life options of 30-days for tactical operations and
greater than two-years for permanent, long-term perimeter
security deployment scenarios.
VI. PROPOSED SYSTEM
There are many techniques to track a mobile target such as
the proactive wake up which awakens all the neighbouring
nodes in the area where the target is expected to arrive
without any differentiation. However, this consumes a lot
of energy. In order to reduce the energy consumption we
propose a system based on sleep scheduling. We designed a
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COMPUSOFT, An international journal of advanced computer technology, 3 (4), April-2014 (Volume-III, Issue-IV)

VII. TARGET TRA CKING IM PLEM ENTATION

in the range of 3-4 mW. Whereas when we simulated our

proposed system, the energy consumption was just 0.7-0.9
mW.
The screenshots of output are as shown below:

Target tracking will be implemented using a popular

discrete event simulator OMNeT++ with Castalia
framework. OMNeT++ is a discrete event simulat ion
environment. Its primary application area is the simulat ion
of communicat ion networks. OMNeT++ provides
component
architecture
for
models.
Co mponents (modules) are programmed in C++, and then
assembled into larger co mponents and models using a highlevel language (NED).An OMNeT++ based simulator is
built fro m elements called modules. Simp le module is a
basic unit of execution and is written in C++. Co mpound
module consists of other modules (simple or co mpound)
that are lin ked by connections. Top-level co mpound
module is called network module. Modules communicate
via messages that are sent via connections or directly fro m
module to module. [15]
Example o f a WSN simu lator built on top of OMNeT++ is
Castalia. It is a generic simu lator intended for the first order
validation of high-level algorith ms before moving to a
specific sensor platform [16]. In Castalia, sensor nodes are
implemented as compound modules, consisting of sub modules that represent, for instance, network stack layers,
application, and sensor. Node modules are connected to
wireless channel and physical process modules.
To plot the positions of all the nodes and the path of the
target, we used software called Gnup lot.
The main coding work fo r our proposed system spanned
across Sensor manger, Application, Radio, Routing and
MAC. The following types of files are used:
1. Omnetpp.ini: It specifies the structure information,
specific parameters and their values. The language
used here is NED.
2. .h files: Every module has a .h file wh ich is a
typical C header file. It has the names of all the
variables and function declarations.
3. .cc files: Th is is the C/C++ file where the actual
code is written to implement a g iven functionality.
4. .msg files: Contain the structure of messages to be
used for co mmunication.

Fig 1 Output of Gnu plot

Table I: Simulation parameters

Sr.no
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Parameter
Simu lation time
Physical process
Inter arrival time between cars
Maximu m nu mber of cars
present at a time
Filed size
Nu mber of sensors
Deploy ment
Distance between sensors in
uniform deploy ment

Value
50 secs
Car
1.5 secs
1

Fig 2 Screenshot of result file

100x10
61
1.Unifo rm
2. Rando m
5cm
Fig 5 Nodes in sleep mode

When we kept all the sensors active without putting them

to sleep at any point of time, the energy consumption was
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COMPUSOFT, An international journal of advanced computer technology, 3 (4), April-2014 (Volume-III, Issue-IV)

Fig 3 Location of nodes mentioned in trace file

Fig 6 Transitions in state of node 40

VIII. TESTING
We first simulated an instance of existing system wherein
all the nodes were active. They were never put in sleep
mode. We tested the proposed system by simu lating it for
different kinds of scenarios. The parameters were assigned
varied values and the consistency of results was checked.
Basically there were two types of application
environments: One with uniform p lacement of nodes and
the other with random placement of nodes. Parameters
specifying the size of the field, inter arrival time of cars,
simu lation time and the number of nodes were modified
and the simulation was executed. The system worked well
in each of these scenarios. The only case in which the
system consumed the same amount of energy as that of the
existing system was when the number of cars present
simu ltaneously in the road was high(indicating h igh
traffic). Otherwise the performance of system was as
desired. This is an indication to the fact that our proposed
system is ideal for use in border surveillance, intrusion
detection or roads with light traffic.

Fig 4 Putting nodes to sleep (Initial state is Rx)

IX. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we studied the problem of energy efficiency
in wireless sensor networks especially target tracking
systems. We studied the various reasons for need of energy
conservation and commonly used solutions. We have
proposed an energy efficient tracking systems based on
sleep scheduling. This method is simp ler than other
solutions like energy harvesting. We have simulated this
algorith m using OMNeT++ and Castalia framework.
Simu lation results indicate that this system consumes lesser
amount of energy.
ACKNOW LEDGEM ENT
First and foremost, we would like to thank Pro f.
H.K.Kaura, Head of Co mputer Engineering Depart ment,
for providing us with all the facilities required by us for the
successful complet ion of this paper. We would also like to
thank Prof.Kiruthika, coordinator of Co mputer Engineering
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COMPUSOFT, An international journal of advanced computer technology, 3 (4), April-2014 (Volume-III, Issue-IV)
[11] http://home.iitk.ac.in/~rajeevs/snw.html

Depart ment, for her encouragement and support. We

express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Smita Dange, our
internal guide for her constant guidance, advice and
supervision. Without her expert ise and experience, we
would not have been able to prepare this paper. We also
owe our profound gratitude to Prof. MritunjayOjha, who
took keen interest in our project and guided us all along the
way, by providing all the necessary information required
for this project. We also extend our thankfulness to all the
faculty members of Co mputer Engineering Depart ment for
their co-operation and assistance.

[12] http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/span.html
[13] http://www.textrondefense.com/products/brigade-combat-teammodernization
[14] http://www.intechopen.com/books/wireless-sensor-networkstechnology-and-applications/power-optimization-for-wirelesssensor-networks
[15] OMNet++ Installation guide version 4.3
[16] Athanassios Boulis, Castalia User manual
[17] Emad Felemban, Advanced Border Intrusion Detection and
Surveillance Using Wireless Sensor Network Technology, Int. J.
Communications, Network and System Sciences, 2013, pg 251
[18] Gnu plot user manual

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