Application-specific node clustering of IR-UWB sensor networks with two classes of nodes

Energy efficiency and low cost hardware are prerequisites for a successful deployment of wireless sensor networks. Many applications of wireless sensor networks require a transmission from sensor nodes to a common sink. A formation of node clusters and a hierarchical transmission scheme can be employed to increase the area that can be covered by the sensor network, which is limited by the transmission range of the nodes. Algorithms for node clustering usually assume that each sensor node potentially can take over the role of a cluster head. In this paper, it is assumed that only a pre-determined subset of all nodes is capable of becoming cluster head, resulting in decreased system complexity. A node clustering algorithm that accounts for this restriction is presented and the performance of a clustered sensor network for distributed detection is analyzed depending on the fraction of potential cluster head nodes.