Hierarchical data gathering schemes in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to balance the total energy consumption and the transmission delay for data gathering application in wireless sensor networks.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts a hierarchical grid structure to reduce the total energy consumption, and utilizes a tree architecture to decrease the transmission delay.FindingsIn the results, the proposed method performs better, in terms of the number of rounds and the energy × delay cost, than other data gathering protocols with different network sizes and node densities. Moreover, the proposed method also provides good coverage preservation in different environments.Research limitations/implicationsIn this paper, sensor nodes are assumed to be uniformly distributed, homogenous, energy‐constrained. Each sensor node also has ability to adjust its transmission power. For practice, the proposed method needs location information of sensor nodes and the radio interference between sensor nodes during data transmissions should be considered.Practical implicationsThe proposed method can significantly reduce the delay time and may be suitable for real‐time data gathering applications.Originality/valueThis paper combines hierarchical grid structure with tree architecture to minimize the energy × delay cost for data gathering application.