WSN 3D localization algorithm based on Tikhonov regularization method

3-dimension (3D) node localization plays a critical role in wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. Received signal strength indicator (RSSI) based node localization does not need additional cost, has less power consumption and meets the development requirements of WSN. But the distance measurement error caused by multi-path attenuation leads to ill-posed problem, which manifests as unstable solution or no solution in 3D localization. In this paper, a localization algorithm based on Tikhonov regularization method is proposed for the ill-posed problem in 3D localization; the location model and regularization parameter α are studied. Test results show that the localization precision of the proposed algorithm is better than that of the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method, and the localization error is less than 2 meters while regularization parameter α is about 55.