Algorithmic construction of optimal and load balanced clusters in Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

This paper proposes a clustering algorithm - Balanced Minimum Radius Clustering (BMRC) - for use in large scale, distributed Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Cluster balancing is an intractable problem to solve in a distributed manner, and distribution is important, by reason of both avoiding specialised node vulnerability and minimising message overhead. The BMRC algorithm described here distributes several of the cluster balancing functions to the cluster-heads. In proposing this algorithm, several tentative claims have been made for it, namely that it is suitable for arbitrary number of cluster heads; that it specifies a way to elect cluster heads and use them to create the local models; that it accomplishes optimal balanced clusters in distributed manner; that it is scalable and it uses the number-of-hops as a clustering parameter; that it is energy efficient. These claims were studied and verified by simulation.