Energy-Efficient Routing Algorithm Based on Localization and Clustering Techniques for Agricultural Applications

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks offer an interesting solution for problems related to farming resources optimization, decision making support, and land monitoring. They offer real-time information about the changes in the field and about the state of crops and make the harvest better through precision farming. In agricultural applications, the use of spatially distributed WSNs is expected to increase. Thereby, energy-efficiency techniques have been investigated and become much more important as the number of distributed sensor nodes increases. Wireless communication can lead in general to excessive demands of energy. Thus, a routing algorithm is proposed which combines localization and clustering to reduce the energy consumption of the network. A localization-based RSSI algorithm is proposed to determine the nodes position. After that, a fuzzy-based unequal clustering algorithm is developed to balance the energy consumption among all sensor nodes. A real implementation of energy aware routing algorithm is carried out on the wireless sensor node PanStamp NRG 2.0. This network structure can be easily integrated on IoT systems to monitor and control different environmental and agricultural applications.