Priority Based Energy-Efficient Data Forwarding Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) can be described as a collection of untethered sensor nodes. An important application of WSNs is in the field of real-time communication. Real-time communication is a critical service which requires a qualitative routing protocol for energy-efficient network communication. The judicious use of energy of the network nodes is essential and important for sustainability and longevity of a WSN. This paper proposes an algorithm namely ‘Priority-Energy Based Data Forwarding Algorithm(PEDF)’ which empowers the node to choose the most suitable packet forwarding path, based on the priority of the packet and the current energy status of the forwarding node. The algorithm hence dynamically adapts to the prevailing energy-scenario of the network and takes routing decisions accordingly, based on packet priority. Minimizing delay, minimizing energy utilization, maximizing throughput and maximizing network lifetime are the key elements of the proposed algorithm. Keywords— Wireless sensor networks; priority; energy, real time.