%0 Journal Article %T Information Potential Fields Navigation in Wireless Ad-Hoc Sensor Networks %A Wei Wei %A Yong Qi %J Sensors %D 2011 %I MDPI AG %R 10.3390/s110504794 %X As wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly being deployed in some important applications, it becomes imperative that we consider application requirements in in-network processes. We intend to use a WSN to aid information querying and navigation within a dynamic and real-time environment. We propose a novel method that relies on the heat diffusion equation to finish the navigation process conveniently and easily. From the perspective of theoretical analysis, our proposed work holds the lower constraint condition. We use multiple scales to reach the goal of accurate navigation. We present a multi-scale gradient descent method to satisfy usersĄŻ requirements in WSNs. Formula derivations and simulations show that the method is accurately and efficiently able to solve typical sensor network configuration information navigation problems. Simultaneously, the structure of heat diffusion equation allows more flexibility and adaptability in searching algorithm designs. %K wireless sensor networks %K information field %K diffusion equation %K variation model %U http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/11/5/4794