Lifetime-aware geographic routing under a realistic link layer model in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Maximising the lifetime of wireless sensor networks under constrained resources is an interesting problem that has gained increasing attention. Most methods assume an ideal link layer model when increasing the lifetime of wireless sensor networks and energy saving techniques using geographic routing remains largely unexplored. Based on a realistic link layer model, we propose a novel geographic routing algorithm to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. In our method, a packet is forwarded to the optimal neighbour by evaluating each neighbour’s characteristic based on four important factors: packet reception rate (PRR), forwarding history, progress and remaining energy. Simulation and comparison results show that our algorithm can greatly increase the lifetime of wireless sensor networks.