This study presents an energy-efficient location estimation method aimed for mobile nodes in wireless sensor networks. The proposed method is a combination of two operations. Trilateration method is combined with a vector based incremental updates which is implemented by using a digital compass and a speedometer to estimate the location of the mobile node. This combined operation decreases the power consumed from the mobile node trying to locate itself. The proposed method has been implemented on an arduino-based mobile robot with wireless communication peripherals. The implementation shows that the location estimation accuracy is between 0.69-1.97 m from the actual location of the mobile node. The average location estimation error is comparable to other proposed methods for locating mobile sensor nodes. Based on the actual measurement of the test system, the energy consumption of the proposed method is 20 less than the trilateration method alone. © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2014.