A hybrid localization algorithm for multi-hop mobile underwater acoustic networks

Self-localization is an essential issue for mobile underwater acoustic networks. Recently most localization schemes focus on the static networks, while only a few methods are for MUANs which also have some drawbacks such as low accuracy, small scale, large communication overhead, etc. In this paper, we propose a hybrid localization algorithm which separates the network into some stages. Nodes in different stages will use different methods to localize themselves and both range-based and range-free methods are adopted during the procedure. The proposed algorithm can be used in a multi-hop network and can improve the localization accuracy as well as reducing the communication cost. Besides the advantages above, the algorithm does not need most of the prior knowledge about movement speed which can be more easier to use in underwater environment. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can balance the trade-off between the localization accuracy and the communication cost; meanwhile, the performance of the proposed algorithm is better than the previews and can perform well in the underwater environment.