Distributing the Role of Cluster Head Among the Nodes for Prolonging the Network Lifetime Using AODV Protocol in WSN

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are highly efficient networks that are used for remote monitoring and data gathering for a wide array of applications. These networks are often deployed in remote and difficult to reach places where recharging or replacement of the sensors is not feasible. As such, maximizing the network lifetime has become a major concern for system designers. One of the key parameters of WSNs is their routing protocol. In this paper, we have considered AODV, an adaptive and reactive routing protocol, and studied its effects on the lifetime of a WSN. Our study found that the increased presence of local or intra-cluster traffic significantly improved the performance and network lifetime of the network. Moreover, the use of AODV was able to extend the lifetime of the WSN by up to 30% on average when compared with a more traditional DSR protocol. Additionally, we observed that even in cases where the traffic is not congestion-limited the use of AODV leads to increased packet reception rates and higher throughput, thus leading to further prolongation of the WSNs lifetime.