Efficient Energy Consumption in Wireless Sensor Networks Using an Improved Differential Evolution Algorithm

Abstract

The recent advancements in the wireless sensor network field have caused researchers to be interested in using this tool in different applications including military, environmental, medical, commercial, and domestic applications. One of the most important challenges in wireless sensor networks is that the power supplies of the wireless sensor nodes are not rechargeable because of their distribution in points inaccessible by people. In recent years, various methods have been presented for efficient energy consumption by wireless sensor nodes. One of the efficient methods is the clustering method. In this paper, a new clustering algorithm based on the metaheuristic differential evolution algorithm is presented. In the proposed algorithm, a new evaluation function is used so that the algorithm can increase the lifetime of the wireless sensor nodes and the cluster head nodes and therefore the lifetime of the entire wireless sensor network by presenting appropriate answers which are the correct assignment of wireless sensor nodes to cluster head nodes. The clustering algorithm simulation results and its comparison with some of the other methods are indicative of its high performance, such that this method can be used for clustering sensor networks with a large number of wireless sensor nodes.