A Tessellation-Based Localized Chain Construction Scheme for Chain-Oriented Sensor Networks

Chain oriented logical topologies offer significant energy-efficiency, especially for large-scaled wireless sensor networks. Essentially, the effectiveness of this topology largely depends on how the chains are constructed and organized. Thus, chain construction can correctly be presumed as the main challenge for a chain-oriented logical topology. In this paper, we propose a tessellation-based chain construction scheme for chain-oriented sensor networks. This scheme creates multiple chains, each of which is confined in a small area, rather than spanning large areas. The main idea of this scheme is to divide the target field, using the concept of Voronoi diagram, into a number of small areas, and then construct chains in each of those areas. Confining chains in bounded areas results lower interference, which in turns saves energy and time by limiting retransmissions caused by the interference problems. A number of protocols are incorporated in this scheme, such as a distributed protocol for constructing Voronoi diagram, Voronoi diagram management protocol, chain construction protocol, and leader selection protocol. Extensive simulation experiments are performed on this scheme. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme saves more energy, lengthens lifetime of the network, and reduces data collection latency.