Localization under anchor node uncertainty for underwater acoustic sensor networks

This paper deals with the problem of sensor node localization in the presence of uncertainty in anchor node location. Aqueous environments are prone to adverse effects of underwater currents. This adversity causes non-negligible mobility to the anchor nodes deployed under water. Localization in the presence of uncertainty in the anchor node location is quite challenging. Also, the authors consider the ray-bending property of underwater medium due to depth dependent sound speed, to furnish the accurate position estimate of the target node. Standard ray equations are used to model the path followed by acoustic rays in water. Maximum likelihood estimation is proposed to estimate the location of target node with uncertainty in anchor node positions and is compared with the scheme with exact knowledge of anchor node positions, and the results are reported. Monte Carlo simulation is used to assess the performance of the proposed method. Also, the Cramer-Rao lower bound with uncertainty in anchor nodes is derived and described. Simulation results of the proposed algorithm outperform the existing algorithm with known anchor location by up to 49.4%, and hence, accuracy is improved in the proposed method.