Patent ID: 7277401

Claim:
A method for locating nodes in a multi-hop sensor network, which comprises: providing the nodes with: unlocated nodes; and reference nodes each having a defined location; separating the nodes from one another into different subsets dependent upon given characteristics by categorizing the nodes into three different groups dependent upon respective given characteristics by the steps of: a first of the three groups having all nodes linked to at least three other nodes not on a same geometric line selected from the group consisting of: the reference nodes; and nodes of the first group; a second of the three groups having all nodes linked to at most two other ones of the unlocated nodes or the references nodes not including other nodes of the second group; and a third of the three groups having all remaining nodes not in the first or second groups; defining links between the nodes; forming groups from the nodes of one subset; forming at least one rigid body from at least one of the groups; forming a reduced order model of the network with the at least one rigid body; and evaluating a location capability of the at least one rigid body based upon the reduced order model.