Abstract: Focusing on the problem of sensor scheduling in sensor networks with many redundant sensor nodes, an algorithm without geographic location information is designed which is named redundant node scheduling based on closed embracing (RNSCE). Firstly, the concept of closed embracing is defined, and some of its correlative properties are also presented. Then, based on the closed embracing approach, the decision rules of redundant nodes and nodes on a coverage-hole's boundary are addressed. Furthermore, the redundant node scheduling scheme is proposed, which includes node sleeping scheduling and coverage-hole patching. Simulation results show that, our algorithm can maintain the initial coverage quality of networks, and effectively reduce the number of active nodes.