Selecting an Optimal Cluster Head using PSO Algorithm in WSNs

Abstract

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) represents a set of deployed sensors in an area to track or monitor specific activities. Sensors are utilized to gather certain data and forward it to the sink or a Base Station (BS). Sensors are operated by limited-energy batteries. Optimizing the consumed energy will prolong the WSN's lifetime. One approach to reducing the consumed energy is by applying a cluster-based routing protocol. Optimizing the Cluster Head (CH) selection represents another approach to prolonging the WSN lifetime. This paper proposes an optimization algorithm to select the CH. The residual energy, the distance between sensors, and the centrality of the sensor node are used as significant features in selecting the CHs in this paper. The proposed algorithm is based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm and K-Means algorithm. This study proposed approach is called the PSO-K algorithm. It helps in reducing energy consumption and increasing the network lifetime. MATLAB is used to model and simulate this developed algorithm. the number of sensors, number of rounds, number of CHs, the first dead nodes, the half-dead nodes, and the last dead nodes are used to evaluate the WSN performance. A comparison with other closely related works such as LEACH, EAMMH, and iLEACH shows that the PSO-K algorithm is the best in energy consumption and network lifetime.