Dynamic Election-Based Sensing and Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Decentralized protocols offer high adaptability to topology changes prominent in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Protocols resilient to topology changes stemming from nodes dying, being added, relocating or duty cycling, improve network performance in terms of lifetime and percent of events sensed and reported. Topology dependant protocols, such as cluster-based, face many hindrances especially in terms of scalability, dynamicity, and adapting to varying traffic rates. Accordingly, a novel approach is introduced in sensing, whereby a single node is elected to report a sensed event, in a decentralized manner, thereby avoiding redundant reports by other nodes which exhaust network resources. Election is based on the node with the highest likelihood of successfully reporting the event. This protocol is coupled with a localized multi-hop routing protocol, to route that report back to the sink, by electing the most reliable next-hop neighbor to relay the report. Simulation results demonstrate the increase in network lifetime, detection/reporting efficiency, and resilience to varying node density.