In this work, we present an energy efficient hierarchical cooperative clustering scheme for wireless sensor networks. Communication cost is a crucial factor in depleting the energy of sensor nodes. In the proposed scheme, nodes cooperate to form clusters at each level of network hierarchy ensuring maximal coverage and minimal energy expenditure with relatively uniform distribution of load within the network. Performance is enhanced by cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication ensuring energy efficiency for WSN deployments over large geographical areas. We test our scheme using TOSSIM and compare the proposed scheme with cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (CMIMO) clustering scheme and traditional multihop Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) routing approach. Performance is evaluated on the basis of number of clusters, number of hops, energy consumption and network lifetime. Experimental results show significant energy conservation and increase in network lifetime as compared to existing schemes.
Keywords: cooperative communication; energy conservation; hierarchical clustering; wireless sensor networks.