Wireless sensor networks for building robotic paths: a survey of problems and restrictions

The conjugation of small nodes with sensing, communication and processing capabilities allows for the creation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). These networks can be deployed to measure a very wide range of environmental phenomena and send data from remote locations back to users. They offer new and exciting possibilities for applications and research. This paper presents the background of WSNs by firstly exploring the different fields applications, with examples for each of these fields, then the challenges faced by these networks in areas such as energy-efficiency, node localization, node deployment, limited storage and routing. It aims at explaining each issue and giving solutions that have been proposed in the research literature. Finally, the paper proposes a practical scenario of deploying a WSN by autonomous robot path construction. The requirements for such a scenario and the open issues that can be tackled by it are exposed, namely the issues of associated with measuring RSSI, the degree of autonomy of the robot and connectivity restoration.