A hierarchical clustering-based routing protocol for wireless sensor networks supporting multiple data aggregation qualities

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of a large number of energy-limited sensor nodes that are densely deployed in a large geographical region. For WSNs, energy efficiency is always a key design issue to improve the life span of the network. In this paper, we propose a routing protocol, called the Clustering-Based Expanding–Ring Routing Protocol (CBERRP), which mainly focuses on the network layer while integrating factors from other layers to gain the preferred performance. CBERRP is a centralised scheme which is controlled by the Base Station (BS) and utilises the two-level hierarchical structure of clusters and chains to route the sensed data to the BS. In addition, CBERRP can be fine-tuned to support multiple Data Aggregation Qualities. The performance of CBERRP is compared to Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) and LEACH-Centralised (LEACH-C). Simulation results show that CBERRP presents significant improvement on power consumption, throughput and the network lifetime.