A new quantum-inspired clustering method for reducing energy consumption in IOT networks

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) allows electronic devices to exchange collected information with other devices in the same network. Such networks can include up to millions of devices and managing them requires sophisticated methods. In this article, we examine how energy consumption by IoT networks may be optimized by solving the network clustering problem using a quantum-inspired metaheuristic based on the firefly algorithm and particle swarm optimization. In this approach, the cluster head selection vector is modeled as an n-Qbit and the algorithm motions are used to explore the space of feasible solutions by rotating the Qbit angles of inadequate solutions to yield new and more advantageous solutions. Simulations performed on networks consisting of 10 –100 nodes show that the proposed method is efficient and offers energy savings reaching 15.48% within acceptable time.