An Energy-Efficient Three-Layer Clustering Hierarchy for Wireless Sensor Networks

As the deployment of wireless sensor networks increases, the design of a high quality and long lifetime sensor network becomes an important research issue. The research on prolonging lifetime of sensor networks focuses on reducing sensor nodes' energy dissipation, which mainly depends on the distance to Base Station (BS), the data size transmitted, and the frequency of transmission. As a result, several energy-efficient routing protocols based on clustering hierarchy have been proposed. In a clustering hierarchy, Cluster-Head (CH) nodes are selected to work as gateway nodes between sensor nodes and the BS. Energy dissipation of sensor nodes can be reduced through data aggregation, and a more satisfying system lifetime is achieved because of better load balance in the cluster hierarchy.