Energy efficiency is one of the most important issues for operations of wireless sensor networks. To increase network lifetime and to reduce energy consumption of sensor nodes, many clustering and routing protocols have been studied. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient cooperative communication method which forms clusters and establishes intercluster routes directly or via relay nodes. Relay nodes selected by the cooperation of adjacent cluster heads along with their cluster members can prevent long-haul transmissions of cluster heads. This can reduce the energy consumption of cluster heads. We show the validity of using relay nodes and then compare the performance of the proposed method with that of a well-known clustering and routing protocol for wireless sensor networks. Our computational experiments demonstrate that network lifetime, energy consumption, and scalability of the proposed method are better than those of the compared method.
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