On the longest vulnerable path inside sensor networks from boundary regions

Abstract

One of the most fundamental problems in wireless sensor network is coverage problem. Higher coverage contributes to improving the quality of services provided by a sensor network. Many researchers are putting their efforts in finding and improving coverage problem. In this thesis work, we have investigated the coverage problem in heterogeneous sensor network from an intruder's point of view. We argue that a well covered area may still be vulnerable to attack if there exist some paths that are not being monitored by any sensor. Intruders that follow these paths cannot be detected by any sensors. In this work, we have defined these vulnerable paths and weak entry points and also discussed their properties in detail. We have also presented an efficient algorithm with O(nlogn) time complexity to find the longest vulnerable path from a given weak point located on the boundary. We claim that additional sensor deployment based on the algorithm reduces vulnerability and improves the quality of service of the system. We present simulation results to support our claim.