Efficient Data Collection using Aerial Mobile Sinks for Delay Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks

To overcome the lack of connectivity for collecting data in large white areas, we propose to provide long-range communication between aircraft and sensors on land. Our study is based on the use of commercial flights, with aircraft acting as mobile sinks, to collect data as they fly over an area of interest where sub-sinks are disseminated. Using relay nodes, the data can be collected even if the sensors are not located in the aircraft corridors. We investigate the feasibility of such a scheme by efficiently placing relay nodes to connect sources to sub-sinks which are covered by aerial corridors. The sources reach sub-sinks using a shortest path routing algorithm that reduces delays and balances the load among the sub-sinks. Simulation results and comparisons with well-known algorithms show the effectiveness of our algorithms which improve load-balancing by considering the throughput, the buffer capacity and the sub-sinks position.