A Game-Theoretic and Energy-Efficient Algorithm in an Improved Software-Defined Wireless Sensor Network

Because wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are becoming increasingly integrated into daily life, solving the energy efficiency problem of such networks is an urgent problem. Many energy-efficient algorithms have been proposed to reduce energy consumption in traditional WSNs. The emergence of software defined networks (SDNs) enables the transformation of WSNs. Some SDN-based WSNs architectures have been proposed and energy-efficient algorithms in SDN-based WSNs architectures have been studied. In this paper, we integrate an SDN into WSNs and an improved software-defined WSNs (SD-WSNs) architecture is presented. Based on the improved SD-WSNs architecture, we propose an energy-efficient algorithm. This energy-efficient algorithm is designed to match the SD-WSNs architecture, and is based on the residual energy and the transmission power, and the game theory is introduced to extend the network lifetime. Based on the SD-WSNs architecture and the energy-efficient algorithm, we provide a detailed introduction to the operating mechanism of the algorithm in the SD-WSNs. The simulation results show that our proposed algorithm performs better in terms of balancing energy consumption and extending the network lifetime compared with the typical energy-efficient algorithms in traditional WSNs.