An energy efficient clique based clustering and routing mechanism in wireless sensor networks

In this paper we have proposed an energy efficient clique based clustering and routing scheme for wireless sensor networks. Developing energy efficient routing protocol is one of the major challenges in wireless sensor networks. Since the Sensor Nodes (SN) are small-sized battery operated devices, energy conservation is considered a critical factor in maximizingnetwork lifetime. Our proposed routing protocol partitions sensor networks into several disjoint cliques such that each node is in single hop distance from all of its neighbour nodes. At the beginning of the clustering process, each node obtains a list of its neighbours' connectivity as well as their degree of connection. Then, the node with the highest degree of connection initiates clique formation process and makes the cluster. Among the members of a cluster, the node with the maximum energy is selected as cluster head. Cluster head rotation depends on threshold value, which is obtained by averaging residual energy of all the nodes in a cluster and then making it half. Simulation results with MATLAB show that our proposed protocol is effective in terms of network lifetime as well as total energy dissipation.