Utilizing genetic algorithm in a sink driven, energy aware routing protocol for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a self-organized wireless ad-hoc network comprising large number of resource constrained devices called sensors. Usually sensors battery drainage is the main constraint in developing powerful WSN applications. Accordingly, a power conserving strategy must be implemented in all WSN layers. This paper focuses on the network layer which includes routing techniques as a main participant in power conserving applications. The main goal of the present work is to develop a routing technique based on genetic algorithm which aims to minimize total consumed power per round; hence lifetime is maximized compared to other techniques. The proposed technique enables sensor network to continue its operation during the continuous sensor failure without introducing additional control packets. Genetic algorithm is used in the proposed technique to find the minimum power ring which passes through all sensors and the base station. The algorithm operates on the base station only to save sensor's memory, processing resources, and indeed the power consumption. © 2012 Springer-Verlag GmbH.