Applications
of wireless sensor network (WSN) often expect knowledge of the precise location
of the nodes. One class of localization protocols patches together
relative-coordinate, local maps into a global-coordinate map. These protocols
require some nodes that know their absolute coordinates, called anchor nodes.
While many factors influence the node position errors, in this class of
protocols, using Procrustes Analysis, the placement of the anchor nodes can
significantly impact the error. Through simulation, using the Curvilinear
Component Analysis (CCA-MAP) protocol, we show the impact of anchor node placement
and propose a set of guidelines to ensure the best possible outcome, while
using the smallest number of anchor nodes possible. Scientists and researchers
using sensor networks are thus enabled to focus on the sensed data with
confidence in the node localization results.