Bio-inspired data transmission scheme to multiple sinks for the long-term operation of wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks have a wide range of applications, such as natural environmental monitoring, object tracking, and environmental control in residential spaces or plants. In wireless sensor networks, many sensor nodes with limited resources are placed in an observation area and used to gather information about environments. Therefore, a data gathering scheme (or a routing algorithm) for saving and balancing the energy consumption of each sensor node is needed to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. This article proposes a new bio-inspired data transmission scheme for the long-term operation of wireless sensor networks. By using the proposed scheme, autonomous load-balancing data transmission to multiple sinks can be actualized. We evaluate the proposed scheme using computer simulations to verify its effectiveness, and also discuss its development potential.