Improved Selection Process for Cluster Head and Increased Network Lifetime Using a Modified LEACH Protocol for WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have become increasingly popular due to their low cost, flexibility, scalability and capability to be deployed in various heterogeneous environment. In order to achieve long-lived networks, energy efficiency has become the primary design goal of WSNs. The Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) routing protocol has become the standard for power-aware WSNs. However, this protocol suffers from the self-dissipation of the base station nodes, which leads to a early decrease of the network lifetime. In response to this issue, a modified LEACH protocol, called Modified LEACH (MLEACH), has recently been proposed. This modified version decreases average energy consumption and consequently enhances the network lifetime. MLEACH assigns an expiration time for each cluster, so that less energy is spent for the formation of redundant clusters. Moreover, it avoids the reset time of the base station, resulting in less packet loss. Furthermore, it assigns one of the nodes as a supervisor node, which monitors the routing overhead and allows the source node to avoid long transmission chains. Experimental results have shown that the MLEACH protocol can increase the network lifetime up to 2.2 times compared to the original LEACH protocol. In addition, it scales better and allows for clusters to be added or removed with minimum effort and overhead. Overall, the Modified LEACH protocol has the potential to significantly improve the network lifetime of WSNs by reducing energy consumption. As the protocol continues to be improved and studied, it is expected to be a popular choice for efficient long-lived WSNs.