Energy efficient fixed-cluster architecture for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Dynamic and frequent re-clustering of nodes along with data aggregation is used to achieve energy-efficient operation in wireless sensor networks. But dynamic cluster formation supports data aggregation only when clusters can be formed using any set of nodes that lie in close proximity to each other. Frequent re-clustering makes network management difficult and adversely affects the use of energy efficient TDMA-based scheduling for data collection within the clusters. To circumvent these issues, a centralized Fixed-Cluster Architecture (FCA) has been proposed in this paper. The proposed scheme leads to a simplified network implementation for smart spaces where it makes more sense to aggregate data that belongs to a cluster of sensors located within the confines of a designated area. A comparative study is done with dynamic clusters formed with a distributive Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) and a centralized Harmonic Search Algorithm (HSA). Using uniform cluster size for FCA, the results show that it utilizes the available energy efficiently by providing stability period values that are 56% and 41% more as compared to LEACH and HSA respectively.