Cooperative communication for energy efficiency in mobile wireless sensor networks

Abstract

The inherent challenges which static sensor networks face such as energy constraints, are also faced by mobile sensors. In this work, we present a hierarchical cooperative clustering architecture for ad hoc wireless sensor networks. Communication cost is a crucial factor in depleting the energy of sensor nodes. We propose a framework in which nodes cooperate to form clusters at each level of 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. We test our framework using TOSSIM over TinyOS-2.0.x on MICAz motes. We implement and compare the proposed framework with cooperative clustering scheme (CMIMO) and traditional multihop Single- Input-Single-Output (SISO) routing approach. Performance is evaluated on the basis of energy consumption. Experimental results show significant energy conservation as compared to existing schemes.