Energy-Efficient Improved Optimal K-Means: Dynamic Cluster Head Selection based on Delaying the First Node Death in MWSN-IoT

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT), which attaches dynamic devices that can access the Internet to create a smart environment, is a tempting research area. IoT-based mobile wireless sensor networks (WSN-IoT) are one of the major databases from which the IoT collects data for analysis and interpretation. However, one of the critical constraints is network lifetime. Routing-based clustered protocols and cluster head (CH) selection are crucial in load balancing and sensor longevity. Yet, with clustering, sensor node mobility requires more overhead because the nodes close to the center may get far and thus become unsuitable to be a CH, whereas those far from the center may get close and become good CH candidates, influencing energy consumption. This paper suggests an energy-efficient clustering protocol with a dynamic cluster head selection considering the distance to the cluster center, remaining energy, and each node's mobility degree implementing a rotation mechanism that allows cluster members to be equally elected while prioritizing those with the minimum weight. The advised algorithm aims to delay the first node death (FND) and thus prolong the stability period and minimize energy consumption by avoiding re-clustering. The performance of the proposed protocol exceeds that achieved in our previous work, Improved OKmeans, by 11%, in first dead node lifetime maximization, 43% in throughput, and 44% in energy efficiency.