A study on efficient path selection algorithms for propagating data messages with a goal of optimising energy dissipation in WSN

Abstract

Energy saving is one of the biggest challenges in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The original Directed Diffusion algorithm chooses the best (shortest) path to transmit data from the source node to the destination (sink) node. In this algorithm, a particular set of nodes could be used more frequently, for message transmission. So, owing to high congestions, the energy of those nodes might get exhausted and an energy hole may be created. But if the message transmission load is distributed by considering both the parameters, namely the remaining energy and the remaining path length, then the problem could be solved. In this paper, we suggest a scheme for reducing energy dissipation in WSN. The scheme is an extension of the concept introduced in Hwang et al. (2006). We provide theoretical analysis to prove the efficiency of the proposed scheme. We also provide theoretical basis of choosing the values of certain parameters for optimising energy dissipation in the network.