Joint Design for Energy Replenishment and Data Collection in AUV-Based Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) rely heavily on data collection from underwater sensors, which is crucial for the functionality of these networks. However, the limited energy of sensors depletes over time as tasks are performed, leading to sensor failures and subsequently reducing the network's lifespan. While most existing research introduces autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for close-range data collection to mitigate sensor energy consumption, this method cannot prevent the ultimate death of the network. To enhance the functionality of UWSNs, we jointly consider energy replenishment and data collection for UWSNs. Therefore, an AUV-based charging and data collection scheme (CDCS) is proposed. CDCS will allow the AUV to charge sensors closely and plan a charging path for the AUV. In addition, CDCS proposes that during the charging time of sensors, the AUV performs cluster-based data collection from sensors to fully utilize the charging time. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the scheme.