Mobility Aware Loose Clustering for Mobile Ad hoc Network

Abstract

Mobile ad hoc network comprises of nodes that may often possess dissimilar characteristics. These characteristics include computation power, transmission range, battery backup, etc. Such heterogeneity makes the wireless channel asymmetric due to presence of some unidirectional links. The more powerful nodes enhance the scalability, coverage area, and network lifetime. However, the interference caused by the high power nodes may result in reduced throughput. An effective clustering algorithm renders longer cluster lifetime and incurs low maintenance overhead. However, the mobility of nodes adversely affects the hierarchical structure. Therefore, selecting quasi-mobile nodes for the role of cluster head is a preferred option that makes the clustering structure more stable. In the proposed algorithm, we present a stable loose clustering algorithm by considering more powerful however less mobile nodes as cluster heads. The simulation analysis confirms that our algorithm delivers more stable clusters with low maintenance effort.