Analysis of Mobility and Sharing of WSNs by IP Applications

Movement of wireless sensor and actuator networks and of nodes between WSANs is becoming more commonplace. However, enabling remote usage of sensory data in multiple applications, remote configuration, and actuation is still a big challenge. This paper describes logistic and person monitoring scenarios, where different types of movements take place. These mobility types and their implications are categorized and analyzed. Different degrees of support for these mobility types are analyzed in the context of the mobility scenarios. Additionally, different schemes are analyzed for shared use of mobile WSANs by multiple applications. In conclusion, guidelines are provided for dealing with mobile and overlapping WSANs and the most promising scheme for shared use of mobile WSANs by IP applications.