Self-Organized Data-Gathering Scheme for Multi-Sink Sensor Networks Inspired by Swarm Intelligence

We propose a new system of gathering data from sensor networks with multi-sink configurations inspired by the swarm intelligence of ants. It is a novel solution developed to achieve reliable data gathering over extended periods of time. Each sensor node determines its next action through repeated interaction and feedback from its neighbors. Beneficial clustering and routing emerge in a self- organized way from these actions, and this leads to a robust and dependable data-gathering system. Our simulation results revealed that the proposed system can reliably deliver event information to the sink nodes, is robust over very-poor-quality wireless channels, and has self-recovery capabilities to deal with failures of sensor nodes including the sink nodes.