A Stochastic and Optimized Energy Efficient Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor network consisting of a large number of small sensors of low-power transceiver is effective for gathering data in a variety of environments. Since the network is built with low-cost sensor nodes of limited battery power, it is a challenging task to design an efficient routing scheme maximizing the network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a new clustering protocol reducing the energy taken for routing, and thus extending the network lifetime. The proposed scheme is based on a newly developed model of optimal number of clusters in the network with which the energy consumption can be minimized. It also includes a method of cluster-head rotation inside each cluster, which avoids the clustering operation during normal operation and evenly distributes the load among the nodes. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared with the clustering-based routing protocols, Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH), LEACH-Centralized (LEACH-C), and Adaptive and Energy Efficient Clustering (AEEC) algorithm. Simulation results show that it significantly reduces energy consumption and improves network lifetime. It is thus expected to be effective for large-scale semantic sensor web.