Energy Efficient Clustering and Routing Algorithm for WSN

This paper presents a novel Energy Efficient Clustering and Routing Algorithm (EECRA) for WSN. It is a clustering-based algorithm that minimizes energy dissipation in wireless sensor networks. The proposed algorithm takes into consideration energy conservation of the nodes through its inherent architecture and load balancing technique. In the proposed algorithm the role of intercluster transmission is not performed by gateways instead a chosen member node of respective cluster is responsible for data forwarding to another cluster or directly to the sink. Our algorithm eases out the load of the gateways by distributing the transmission load among chosen sensor node which acts as a relay node for inter-cluster communication for that round. Grievous simulations show that EECRA is better than PBCA and other algorithms in terms of energy consumption per round and network lifetime. Objective: The objective of this research lies in its inherent architecture and load balancing technique. The sole purpose of this clustering-based algorithm is that it minimizes energy dissipation in wireless sensor networks. Methods: This algorithm is tested with 100 sensor nodes and 10 gateways deployed in the target area of 300m × 300m. The round assumed in this simulation is same as in LEACH. The performance metrics used for comparisons are (a) network lifetime of gateways and (b) energy consumption per round by gateways. Our algorithm gives superior result compared to LBC, EELBCA and PBCA. Results: The simulation was performed on MATLAB version R2012b. The performance of EECRA is compared with some existing algorithms like PBCA, EELBCA and LBCA. The comparative analysis shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms the other existing algorithms in terms of network lifetime and energy consumption. Conclusion: The novelty of this algorithm lies in the fact that the gateways are not responsible for inter-cluster forwarding, instead some sensor nodes are chosen in every cluster based on some cost function and they act as a relay node for data forwarding. Note the algorithm does not address the hot-spot problem. Our next endeavor will be to design an algorithm with consideration of hot-spot problem.