Virtual region based data gathering method with mobile sink for sensor networks

摘要

To solve the hotspot problem in wireless sensor networks, a type of virtual region based data gathering method (VRDG) with one mobile sink is proposed. Network is divided into several virtual regions consisting of three or less data gathering unit. One or more leaders are selected in each region according to their residual energy as well as the distance to all of the neighbors. Only the leaders upload data to sink in data gathering phase that effectively reduce energy consumption and end-to-end delay. Moreover, the "maximum step distance" could be calculated out by nodes to find out the best transmission path to the leader which further balance energy consumption of the whole network. Simulation results show that VRDG is energy efficient in comparing with MSE, SEP and LEACH. It also does well in prolonging network lifetime as well as in enhancing the efficiency of data collection.