Recent Advances in Energy-Efficient Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review

Due to a battery constraint in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), prolonging their lifetime is important. Energy-efficient routing techniques for WSNs play a great role in doing so. In this paper, we articulate this problem and classify current routing protocols for WSNs into two categories according to their orientation toward either homogeneous or heterogeneous WSNs. They are further classified into static and mobile ones. We give an overview of these protocols in each category by summarizing their characteristics, limitations, and applications. Finally, some open issues in energy-efficient routing protocol design for WSNs are indicated.