Power-Aware 3D Position-based Routing Algorithms for Ad Hoc Networks

A crucial problem in ad hoc networks is finding an efficient and correct route between a source and a destination; however for many networks, a more important problem is providing an energy efficient route because of, for example, the limited battery life of the wireless nodes. Most previous routing protocols make the routing decision without taking into account the energy budget of the nodes. In addition, when using a fixed transmission power, nodes may waste power by transmitting with more power than is needed for correct reception. In position- based routing algorithms, the nodes use the geographical position of the nodes to make the routing decisions. In this paper we present several localized power-aware 3D position-based routing algorithms that increase the life-time of the network by maximizing the life time of the nodes. These new algorithms use the idea of replacing the constant transmission power of the node with an adjusted transmission power during two stages - first a lower power while discovering the neighboring nodes, and, if needed, a second higher transmission power during the routing process. We evaluate our algorithms and compare their power savings with the current power-aware routing algorithms. The simulation results show a significant improvement in the energy saving (up to 50%).