Clustering algorithms for maximizing the lifetime of wireless sensor networks with energy-harvesting sensors

Motivated by recent developments in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), we present several efficient clustering algorithms for maximizing the lifetime of WSNs, i.e., the duration till a certain percentage of the nodes die. Specifically, an optimization algorithm is proposed for maximizing the lifetime of a single-cluster network, followed by an extension to handle multi-cluster networks. Then we study the joint problem of prolonging network lifetime by introducing energy-harvesting (EH) nodes. An algorithm is proposed for maximizing the network lifetime where EH nodes serve as dedicated relay nodes for cluster heads (CHs). Theoretical analysis and extensive simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can achieve optimal or suboptimal solutions efficiently, and therefore help provide useful benchmarks for various centralized and distributed clustering scheme designs.     

Data censoring with network lifetime constraint in wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), senor nodes are usually battery-powered with limited energy budget. The network lifetime is directly related to the energy consumption of each node. Online censoring is an effective approach to reduce the overall energy consumption by only transmitting statistical informative data. However, the network lifetime is not proportionally extended with online censoring, since individual sensor may still suffer from energy shortage due to frequent transmission of informative data or transmission over long distance. In this paper, a parameters estimation problem is considered in WSNs, where the goal is to minimize the estimation error under the network lifetime constraint. Two censoring algorithms are developed, which allow sensor nodes to make decisions locally on whether to transmit the sampled data. The proposed algorithms can extend the network lifetime with little performance loss. Simulation results validate their effectivenesses.     

Tradeoff between utility and lifetime in energy-constrained wireless sensor networks

We study the tradeoff between network utility and network lifetime using a cross-layer optimization approach. The tradeoff model in this paper is based on the framework of layering as optimization decomposition. Our tradeoff model is the first one that incorporates time slots allocation into this framework. By using Lagrangian dual decomposition method, we decompose the tradeoff model into two subproblems: routing problem at network layer and resource allocation problem at medium access control (MAC) layer. The interfaces between the layers are precisely the dual variables. A partially distributed algorithm is proposed to solve the nonlinear, convex, and separable tradeoff model. Numerical simulation results are presented to support our algorithm.     

A distributed energy-efficient clustering protocol for wireless sensor networks

Minimizing energy dissipation and maximizing network lifetime are among the central concerns when designing applications and protocols for sensor networks. Clustering has been proven to be energy-efficient in sensor networks since data routing and relaying are only operated by cluster heads. Besides, cluster heads can process, filter and aggregate data sent by cluster members, thus reducing network load and alleviating the bandwidth. In this paper, we propose a novel distributed clustering algorithm where cluster heads are elected following a three-way message exchange between each sensor and its neighbors. Sensor’s eligibility to be elected cluster head is based on its residual energy and its degree. Our protocol has a message exchange complexity of O(1) and a worst-case convergence time complexity of O(N). Simulations show that our algorithm outperforms EESH, one of the most recently published distributed clustering algorithms, in terms of network lifetime and ratio of elected cluster heads.     

An exact approach for maximizing the lifetime of sensor networks with adjustable sensing ranges

This paper addresses the problem of target coverage for wireless sensor networks, where the sensing range of sensors can vary, thereby saving energy when only close targets need to be monitored. Two versions of this problem are addressed. In the first version, sensing ranges are supposed to be continuously adjustable (up to the maximum sensing range). In the second version, sensing ranges have to be chosen among a set of predefined values common to all sensors. An exact approach based on a column generation algorithm is proposed for solving these problems. The use of a genetic algorithm within the column generation scheme significantly decreases computation time, which results in an efficient exact approach.     

Using mobile data collectors to improve network lifetime of wireless sensor networks with reliability constraints

In this paper, we focus on maximizing network lifetime of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) using mobile Data Collectors (DCs) without compromising on the reliability requirements. We consider a heterogeneous WSN which consists of a large number of sensor nodes, a few DCs, and a static Base Station (BS). The sensor nodes are static and are deployed uniformly in the terrain. The DCs have locomotion capabilities and their movement can be controlled. Each sensor node periodically sends sensed event packets to its nearest DC. The DCs aggregate the event packets received from the sensor nodes and send these aggregate event packets to the static BS. We address the following problem: the DCs should send the aggregate event packets to the BS with a given reliability while avoiding the hotspot regions such that the network lifetime is improved. Reliability is achieved by sending each aggregate event packet via multiple paths to the BS. The network lifetime is maximized by moving the DCs in such a way that the forwarding load is distributed among the sensor nodes. We propose both centralized and distributed approaches for finding a movement strategy of the DCs. We show via simulations that the proposed approaches achieve the required reliability and also maximize the network lifetime compared to the existing approaches.     

无线多媒体传感器网络能量均衡的多跳图像传输机制

针对由普通节点和图像节点组成的异构无线多媒体传感器网络,提出了基于图像节点邻域协作压缩的多跳图像传输机制MHIT。该机制在发送图像前,首先根据传输距离和路由跳数判断是否需要压缩图像,若压缩图像后再传输消耗更多能量,则直接发送图像;否则,图像节点将图像压缩任务分发给邻域内的普通节点协作完成,均衡了网络能量消耗,极大地缓解了图像节点的能耗压力。实验结果表明,MHIT有效解决了无线多媒体传感器网络因图像压缩而引发的能量空洞问题,明显延长了网络生存期,特别适合于大规模无线多媒体传感器网络远距离图像传输。     

Theoretical analysis of the lifetime and energy hole in cluster based wireless sensor networks

Cluster based wireless sensor networks have been widely used due to the good performance. However, in so many cluster based protocols, because of the complexity of the problem, theoretical analysis and optimization remain difficult to develop. This paper studies the performance optimization of four protocols theoretically. They are LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy), MLEACH (Multi-hop LEACH), HEED (Hybrid Energy-Efficient Distributed Clustering Approach), and UCR (Unequal Cluster based Routing). The maximum FIRST node DIED TIME (FDT) and the maximum ALL node DIED TIME (ADT) are obtained for the first time in this paper, as well as the optimal parameters which maximize the network lifetime. Different from previous analysis of network lifetime, this paper analyzes the node energy consumption in different regions through the differential analysis method. Thus, the optimal parameters which maximize the lifetime can be obtained and the detailed energy consumption in different regions at different time can be also obtained. Moreover, we can obtain the time and space evolution of the network, from a steady state (without any death) to a non-steady state (with some death of nodes), and then to the final situation (all nodes die). Therefore, we are fully aware of the network status from spatial and temporal analysis. Additionally, the correctness of the theoretical analysis in this paper is proved by the Omnet++ experiment results. This conclusion can be an effective guideline for the deployment and optimization of cluster based networks.     

Satisfying the target network lifetime in wireless sensor networks

Generally, the lifetime of a wireless sensor network (WSN) is defined as the duration until any sensor node dies due to battery exhaustion. If the traffic load is not properly balanced, the batteries of some sensor nodes may be depleted quickly, and the lifetime of the WSN will be shortened. While many energy-efficient routing schemes have been proposed for WSNs, they focus on maximizing the WSN lifetime. In this paper, we propose a scheme that satisfies a given ‘target’ lifetime. Because energy consumption depends on traffic volume, the target lifetime cannot be guaranteed through energy-efficient routing alone. We take an approach that jointly optimizes the sensing rate (i.e., controlling the sensor-traffic generation or duty cycle) and route selection. Satisfying the target lifetime while maximizing the sensing rate is a NP-hard problem. Our scheme is based on a simple Linear Programming (LP) model and clever heuristics are applied to compute a near-optimal result from the LP solution. We prove that the proposed scheme guarantees a 1/2-approximation to the optimal solution in the worst case. The simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme achieves near-optimality in various network configurations.     

Low-complexity and energy efficient image compression scheme for wireless sensor networks

Currently most energy-constrained wireless sensor networks are designed with the object of minimizing the communication power at the cost of more computation. To achieve high compression efficiency, the main image compression algorithms used in wireless sensor networks are the high-complexity, state-of-the-art image compression standards, such as JPEG2000. These algorithms require complex hardware and make the energy consumption for computation comparable to communication energy dissipation. To reduce the hardware cost and the energy consumption of the sensor network, a low-complexity and energy efficient image compression scheme is proposed. The compression algorithm in the proposed scheme greatly lowers the computational complexity and reduces the required memory, while it still achieves required PSNR. The proposed implementation scheme of the image compression algorithm overcomes the computation and energy limitation of individual nodes by sharing the processing of tasks. And, it applies transmission range adjustment to save communication energy dissipation. Performance of the proposed scheme is investigated with respect to image quality and energy consumption. Simulation results show that it greatly prolongs the lifetime of the network under a specific image quality requirement.     

Optimal number of annuli for maximizing the lifetime of sensor networks

The most effective way to maximize the lifetime of a wireless sensor network (WSN) is to allocate initial energy to sensors such that they exhaust their energy at the same time. The lifetime of a WSN as well as an optimal initial energy allocation are determined by a network design. The main contribution of the paper is to show that the lifetime of a WSN can be maximized by an optimal network design. We represent the network lifetime as a function of the number m$m$ of annuli and show that m$m$ has significant impact on network lifetime. We prove that if the energy consumed by data transmission is proportional to d^α+c$d^{\alpha }+c$, where d$d$ is the distance of data transmission and α$\alpha$ and c$c$ are some constants, then for a circular area of interest with radius R$R$, the optimal number of annuli that maximizes the network lifetime is m=R((α−1)/c)^1/α$m=R{((\alpha -1)/c)}^{1/\alpha }$ for an arbitrary sensor density function.     

面向无线多媒体传感器网络的JPEG 2000图像编码算法

在资源受限的无线多媒体传感器网络(WMSNs)中进行图像编码和传输需要综合考虑能量消耗、压缩率和图像质量三者之间平衡的图像编码方案。对基于离散小波变换的图像编码算法的能耗进行建模分析,提出了一种适用于WMSNs的能量有效的JPEG 2000图像编码算法,根据网络条件和图像质量的限制,使用查找表来选择适当的量子化层级和小波变换层级以减少能量消耗。并采用半可靠的方案进行图像传输,节点根据剩余能量和数据优先级来决定转发或丢弃。仿真实验结果表明:所提出的方法能够在保证所要求图像质量的情况下,有效地降低无线传感器节点的计算和通信能耗。     

Low power hardware-based image compression solution for wireless camera sensor networks

In this paper, we present and evaluate a hardware solution for user-driven and packet loss tolerant image compression, especially designed to enable low power image compression and communication over wireless camera sensor networks (WCSNs). The proposed System-on-Chip is intended to be designed as a hardware coprocessor embedded in the camera sensor node. The goal is to relieve the node microcontroller of the image compression tasks and to achieve high-speed and low power image processing. The interest of our solution is twofold. First, compression settings can be changed at runtime (upon reception of a request message sent by an end user or according to the internal state of the camera sensor node). Second, the image compression chain includes a (block of) pixel interleaving scheme which significantly improves the robustness against packet loss in image communication. We discuss in depth the internal hardware architecture of the encoder chip which is planned to reach high performance running in FPGAs and in ASIC circuits. Synthesis results and relevant performance comparisons with related works are presented.     

分簇无线传感器网络多Sink多信道传输方案

针对无线传感器网络(WSNs)在大规模网络应用时出现的问题,通过对 Siphon 协议的研究,提出一个基于分簇网络结构的多 Sink 多信道传输方案,并采用多信道的方法解决簇间传输干扰问题,在保证节点有效利用能量的同时提高 WSNs 的数据传输性能.介绍和分析"漏斗效应"和 Siphon 协议,对平面网络结构和分簇网络...     

无线多媒体传感器网络图像通信性能分析

对无线视频传感器节点的图像通信活动进行研究,分析了其在资源受限的无线多媒体传感器网络中进行图像编码和传输的性能。对基于DCT和DWT的图像编码与传输的能量消耗和率失真进行建模分析。根据所建立的能量消耗与率失真模型,对有限的能量和传输带宽进行优化分配。根据监测场景的统计信息,调整编码中所使用的参数,以使得能量消耗最小化。仿真实验结果表明,所提出的方法在保证应用所需图像质量的情况,有效地降低了无线传感器节点的数据通信量和计算过程的能耗。     

A power- and coverage-aware clustering scheme for wireless sensor networks

A common and critical operation for wireless sensor networks is data gathering. The efficient clustering of a sensor network that can save energy and improve coverage efficiency is an important requirement for many upper layer network functions. This study concentrates on how to form clusters with high uniformity while prolonging the network lifetime. A novel clustering scheme named power- and coverage- aware clustering (PCC) is proposed, which can adaptively select cluster heads according to a hybrid of the nodes' residual energy and loyalty degree. Additionally, the PCC scheme is independent of node distribution or density, and it is free of node hardware limitations, such as self-locating capability and time synchronization. Experiment results show that the scheme performs well in terms of cluster size (and its standard deviation), number of nodes alive over time, total energy consumption, etc.     

Object extraction scheme and protocol for energy efficient image communication over wireless sensor networks

To date, wireless sensor networks lack the most powerful human sense – vision. This is largely due to two main problems: (1) available wireless sensor nodes lack the processing capability and energy resource required to efficiently process and communicate large volume of image data and (2) the available protocols do not provide the queue control and error detection capabilities required to reduce packet error rate and retransmissions to a level suitable for wireless sensor networks. This paper presents an innovative architecture for object extraction and a robust application-layer protocol for energy efficient image communication over wireless sensor networks. The protocol incorporates packet queue control mechanism with built-in CRC to reduce packet error rate and thereby increase data throughput. Unlike other image transmission protocols, the proposed protocol offers flexibility to adjust the image packet size based on link conditions. The proposed processing architecture achieves high speed object extraction with minimum hardware requirement and low power consumption. The system was successfully designed and implemented on FPGA. Experimental results obtained from a network of sensor nodes utilizing the proposed architecture and the application-layer protocol reveal that this novel approach is suitable for effectively communicating multimedia data over wireless sensor networks.     

Maximizing lifetime in wireless sensor networks with multiple sensor families

Wireless sensor networks are generally composed of a large number of hardware devices of the same type, deployed over a region of interest in order to perform a monitoring activity on a set of target points. Nowadays, several different types of sensor devices exist, which are able to monitor different aspects of the region of interest (including sound, vibrations, proximity, chemical contaminants, among others) and may be deployed together in a heterogeneous network. In this work, we face the problem of maximizing the amount of time during which such a network can remain operational, while maintaining at all times a minimum coverage guarantee for all the different sensor types. Some global regularity conditions in order to guarantee a fair level of coverage for each sensor type to each target are also taken into account in a second variant of the proposed problem. For both problem variants we developed an exact approach, which is based on a column generation algorithm whose subproblem is either solved heuristically by means of a genetic algorithm or optimally by an appropriate ILP formulation. In our computational tests the proposed genetic algorithm is shown to be able to dramatically speed up the procedure, enabling the resolution of large-scale instances within reasonable computational times.     

Novel fuzzy clustering scheme for 3D wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we consider the sensor-energy optimization in 3D Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which determines an optimal topology of sensors to prolong the network lifetime and reduce the energy expenditure. A new mathematical model for clustering in 3D WSN, considering energy consumption, constraints of communication and a 3D energy function, is presented. Using the Lagrange multiplier method, solutions of the model consisting of cluster centres and the membership matrix are computed and used in the new algorithm, called FCM-3 WSN. Experimental validation on real 3D datasets demonstrates that FCM-3 WSN outperforms the relevant methods, namely, Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH), Centralized LEACH (LEACH-C), Single-hop Clustering and Energy-Efficient Protocol (SCEEP), Hybrid-Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (H-LEACH), K-Means and Fuzzy C-Means (FCM).     

无线多媒体传感器网络能量敏感多路径路由

针对节点能量分布不均匀的无线多媒体传感器网络中大数据量传输问题,提出一种无线多媒体传感器网络能量敏感多路径路由算法EACM。该算法通过平衡路由节点间剩余能量差异,调节多路径聚集程度来均衡网络能耗减少数据包在路径上的延迟。仿真结果表明EACM算法能有效地延长网络生存期,减少数据包在路径上的时延。