Energy efficient and minimal path selection of nodes to cluster head in homogeneous wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) provide the availability of small and low-cost sensor nodes with capability of sensing physical and environmental conditions, data processing, and communication. These sensor nodes have limited transmission range, processing and storage capabilities as well as their energy resources. Routing protocols for wireless sensor networks are responsible for maintaining the energy efficient routes in the network and have to ensure extended network lifetime. In this paper, we propose and analyze a new approach of routing by clustering. The new cluster head selection approach by a homogeneous sensor node (having same initial energy) in wireless sensor network has been proposed, which involves choosing the cluster head which lies closest to the midpoint of the base station and the sensor node. Our proposed routing algorithm is related with energy and distance factors of each nodes. This scheme is then compared with the traditional LEACH protocol which involves selecting the cluster head which is nearest to the particular node. We conclude that the proposed protocol effectively extends the network lifetime with less consumption of energy in the network. © 2012 Springer-Verlag GmbH.