Event-driven spectrum-aware clustering in cognitive radio sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) with dynamic spectrum access (DSA) capability, namely cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSN), is a promising solution for spectrum scarcity problem. Despite improvement in spectrum utilization by DSA capability, energy-efficient solutions for CRSN are required due to resource-constrained nature of CRSN inherited from WSN. Clustering is an efficient way to decrease energy consumption. Existing clustering approaches for WSN are not applicable in CRSN and existing solutions for cognitive radio networks are not suitable for sensor networks. In this paper, we propose an event-driven clustering protocol which forms temporal cluster for each event in CRSN. Upon detection of an event, we determine eligible nodes for clustering according to local position of nodes between event and sink. Cluster-heads are selected among eligible nodes according to node degree, available channels and distance to the sink in their neighborhood. They select one-hop members for maximizing the number of two-hop neighbors that are accessible by one-hop neighbors through cluster channels to increase connectivity between clusters. Clusters are between event and sink and are no longer available after the end of the event. This avoids energy consumption due to unnecessary cluster formation and maintenance overheads. Performance evaluation reveals that our solution is energy-efficient with a delay due to spontaneous cluster formation.