A Novel Energy-Aware Distributed Clustering Algorithm for Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks in the Mobile Environment

Sensors (Basel). 2015 Dec 10;15(12):31108-24. doi: 10.3390/s151229836.

Abstract

In order to prolong the network lifetime, energy-efficient protocols adapted to the features of wireless sensor networks should be used. This paper explores in depth the nature of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, and finally proposes an algorithm to address the problem of finding an effective pathway for heterogeneous clustering energy. The proposed algorithm implements cluster head selection according to the degree of energy attenuation during the network's running and the degree of candidate nodes' effective coverage on the whole network, so as to obtain an even energy consumption over the whole network for the situation with high degree of coverage. Simulation results show that the proposed clustering protocol has better adaptability to heterogeneous environments than existing clustering algorithms in prolonging the network lifetime.

Keywords: collaborative information processing; distributed clustering algorithm; energy efficient; heterogeneous wireless sensor networks; mobile sensor; sensor computing.