A survey on power aware protocols for wireless adhoc network

A wireless Ad Hoc network is a decentralized type of wireless network. In an Ad Hoc network, each node participates by forwarding data to other nodes instead of depending upon existing infrastructure such as routers in wired networks and access points in wireless networks. The nodes which participate in forwarding data are determined dynamically. Power has always been an issue and an important factor in Ad hoc networks. Nodes have limited battery life and with prolonged use of a node, its battery life decreases and may also lead to the failure of the node once the battery level falls to a critical level. In order to avoid this situation, routing protocols have been developed which consider the battery level of the nodes along with the path to developing an energy efficient algorithm. A detail categorization of various power aware routing protocols along with its merits and demerits have been presented. A comparison has been made among these protocols.