LEBRP a Lightweight and Energy Balancing Routing Protocol for Energy Constrained Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

A wireless ad hoc network typically refers to any set of wireless networks where all devices have equal status on the network and are free to associate with any other wireless ad hoc network devices in their range. Due to their nature, these networks commonly do not have external power supplies, and each node has a limited internal power source. In this paper, we put forward a new routing protocol that is light enough for energy constrained networks, and find routes on the basis of remaining power of each node. Besides, we have also taken some other factors into consideration. These factors include the ratio of remaining power of a node to the distance of the node from next receiving node and the ratio of the remaining power of current node to the average remaining power of the whole network. This protocol puts emphasis on routing in such a way that the network stays heterogeneous in terms of remaining power of nodes. This homogeneity brings on a longer network lifetime. In addition, the presented protocol does not impose a high computational load on the network. Hence, it is lightweight enough to be used in networks with low computational power and constrained power resources.