Ant-based Energy Efficient Routing Algorithm for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Abstract

In this paper, an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based Energy Efficient Shortest Path Routing (AESR) algorithm is developed for Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET). The Mobile Ad hoc Network consists of a group of mobile nodes that can communicate with each other without any predefined infrastructure. The routing process is critical for this type of network due to its dynamic topology, limited resources and wireless channel. The technique incorporated in this paper for optimizing the routing in a Mobile ad hoc network is Ant Colony Optimization. The ACO algorithm is used to solve network problems related to routing, security, etc. in wired and wireless networks. This proposed work is used for selecting the energy efficient shortest route between the source and the destination of the network. This routing technique uses important parameters such as residual energy of the nodes, minimum residual energy of the path, the distance between the nodes, trip time and hop count to select the optimal route for communication to extend the lifetime of the network by reducing the energy consumption. The proposed routing protocol is compared with other conventional routing protocols. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed AESR routing protocol outperforms the existing protocols in terms of performance metrics such as Packet Delivery Ratio, Average Path Length, Network Lifetime, Number of Dead nodes and Average Energy Consumption in high mobility networks.