Improved 3D DV-HOP algorithm using scatteredness between beacon nodes for calculation of the hopsize for stochastic wireless sensor network
Arundhati D Warade, Abhinesh Kaushik · Physica Scripta · 2025
Abstract In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), the range-free Distance Vector Hop (DV-HOP) localization technique is widely adopted due to its simplicity and low maintenance cost. However, in practical 3D WSN deployments, it suffers from low localization accuracy due to approximations in hop count and hopsize calculations. To address these limitations, this paper introduces a novel enhancement to DV-HOP—named Scattered Hopsize Multi-Communication Threshold Particle Swarm Optimization (SPSO-DVHOP). The proposed method incorporates multiple communication radii to calculate more accurate fractional hop counts and introduces a range threshold to manage computational complexity. The average hopsize is further refined by accounting for beacon node dispersion through a scatteredness-based correction model. Additionally, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is employed to minimize localization errors caused by zig-zag path estimation. Simulation results demonstrate that SPSO-DVHOP significantly improves localization accuracy compared to existing techniques. Specifically, it achieves an average improvement of up to 59% over DV-HOP, 55% over I3D-DVLAIN, and 22% over HDC-DVHOP. The consistent enhancements across various node densities, beacon distributions, and communication ranges highlight the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method. Overall, SPSO-DVHOP represents a substantial advancement in 3D WSN localization, combining algorithmic efficiency with practical accuracy.