Using mobile robots to harvest data from sensor fields

Onur Tekdas, Volkan Isler, Jong Hyun Lim, Andreas Terzis

Abstract: We explore synergies among mobile robots and wireless sensor networks in environmental monitoring through a system in which robotic data mules collect measurements gathered by sensing nodes. A proof-of-concept implementation demonstrates that this approach significantly increases the lifetime of the system by conserving energy that the sensing nodes otherwise would use for communication.