An energy-efficient, coalition game theory based hierarchical routing protocol for WSNs

Abstract

ABSTRACT A WSN is an interconnected set of sensor nodes with limited battery capacity which makes energy efficiency an important parameter in the design of any protocol for WSNs. A clustering approach is used to reduce the energy consumption and hence increase the network lifetime. The use of coalition game theory helps identify the optimum clusters that the nodes can form, wherein they receive a payoff for being a part of a cluster and incur a cost for being cluster head (CH). Hybrid Game Theory based Distributed clustering (HGTD) is a method where the nodes calculate the probability of becoming a tentative CH as well as the final CH. This approach, however, does not ensure an even energy distribution across the nodes as the nodes at the edge of the network can be seen to die early. This issue has been tackled by the proposed Coalition Game theory based Hierarchical Routing (CGHR) protocol. CGHR combines the use of coalition game theory, variable communication radius, and CH routing protocol to ensure energy consumption is evenly spread across the network leading to an increased network lifetime. Simulation results show that CGHR achieves better results in comparison with existing protocols such as HGTD and LEACH in terms of network lifetime.