  In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the base station (BS) is a critical
sensor node whose failure causes severe data losses. Deploying multiple fixed
BSs improves the robustness, yet requires all BSs to be installed with large
batteries and large energy-harvesting devices due to the high energy
consumption of BSs. In this paper, we propose a scheme to coordinate the
multiple deployed BSs such that the energy supplies required by individual BSs
can be substantially reduced. In this scheme, only one BS is selected to be
active at a time and the other BSs act as regular sensor nodes. We first
present the basic architecture of our system, including how we keep the network
running with only one active BS and how we manage the handover of the role of
the active BS. Then, we propose an algorithm for adaptively selecting the
active BS under the spatial and temporal variations of energy resources. This
algorithm is simple to implement but is also asymptotically optimal under mild
conditions. Finally, by running simulations and real experiments on an outdoor
testbed, we verify that the proposed scheme is energy-efficient, has low
communication overhead and reacts rapidly to network changes.
