Prolonging Network Lifetime in Wireless Sensor Networks with Path-Constrained Mobile Sink

Basilis G.

doi:10.14569/ijacsa.2014.051012

Abstract

Many studies in recent years have considered the use of mobile sinks (MS) for data gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSN), so as to reduce the need for data forwarding among the sensor nodes (SN) and thereby prolong the network lifetime. Moreover, in practice, often the MS tour length has to be kept below a threshold, usually due to timeliness constraints on the sensors data (delay-critical applications). This paper presents a modified clustering and data forwarding protocol combined with a MS solution for efficient data gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with delay constraints. The adopted cluster formation method is based in the 'residual energy' of the SNs and it is appropriately modified in order to fit properly to the requirement of length-constrained MS tour, which involves, among else, the need for inter-cluster communication and increased data forwarding. In addition, a suitable data gathering protocol is designed, based on an approximated TSP route that satisfies the given length constraint, whereas the proper application of reclustering phases guarantees the effective handling of the 'energy holes' caused around the CHs involved in the MS route. Extended simulation experiments show the stable and energy-efficient behavior of the proposed scheme (thus leading to increased network lifetime) as well as its higher performance in comparison to other competent approaches from the literature.

Highlights

The interest in the use of wireless sensor networks (WSN) has grown enormously during the last decade, pointing out the crucial need for efficient and reliable routing and data gathering protocols in corresponding application environments
Proceeding to the experiments with specific delay constraints, we present in fig. 9 the network lifetime achieved by the two protocols, for varying values of L
A residual energy based data gathering solution for WSNs with delay constraints is presented throughout this paper

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The interest in the use of WSNs has grown enormously during the last decade, pointing out the crucial need for efficient and reliable routing and data gathering protocols in corresponding application environments. A usual alternative towards the same direction is to employ more than one MSs. More concretely, many of the most recent attempts in the literature focus on the appropriate generalization of the ideas used with a single MS, on large and very large WSN environments with the use of multiple MSs ([18,25,26]) or the use of mobile relay nodes (MRNs [27,28,29]), in order to achieve both low energy consumption and reduced total data gathering delay (when compared to the case of a single MS).

THE INITIAL CLUSTERING ALGORITHM

THE PROPOSED MS ORIENTED CLUSTERING ALGORITHM

THE DATA GATHERING PHASE

Our Basic Data Gathering Protocol

An Alternative Data Gathering Approach

Handling the energy holes around the MS

SIMULATION RESULTS

Measurements for different values of

Comparing the two TSP route alternatives

CONCLUSION