Energy-efficient Optimal Sub-sink Selection for Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks

In Wireless Sensor Networks, data collection by the Mobile Sink (MS) from the sensor nodes is a challenging task. In the proposed approach, the MS visits an optimal set of subsinks in order to collect data instead of visiting all the nodes in the network. In this paper, the subsink selection has been proven to be optimal since the subsinks are chosen by the Critical Path Method (CPM). Initially the nodes within the transmission range of the MS are chosen, which are termed as the subsinks. An optimal set of subsinks are selected using CPM method such that MS is scheduled to visit only the optimal subsinks. The member nodes relay the data to their assigned subsink. The MS visits the subsink for data collection. The energy consumption of the MS is minimized since the MS visits only the optimal subsinks. Another factor taken into consideration is that the constrained visit of the MS does not impact the collection from all the nodes. Simulation results prove that the collection of data through CPM provides an effective solution for efficient data collection.