Optimal Cluster Partitioning for Wireless Sensor Networks with Cooperative MISO Scheme

The paper discusses the optimal cluster partitioning for wireless sensor networks deployed in continuous areas. Both single-hop and multi-hop transmissions with cooperative Multi-Input Single-Output (MISO) scheme are considered for inter-cluster communications. The effects of cluster size in the energy consumption of intra-cluster communication and the amount of fused data are included in calculation. As a result, the dominant factors of the maximal network lifetimes are listed as: the cluster farthest from base station in single-hop transmission and the closest cluster in multi-hop transmission. In addition, the maximal network lifetimes of single-hop and multi-hop transmissions are compared and it is found that there exists a threshold of network size that determines which transmission is the better candidate.