Robust Clustering Routing Method for Wireless Sensor Networks Considering the Locust Search Scheme

Multiple applications of sensor devices in the form of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), such as those represented by the Internet of Things and monitoring dangerous geographical spaces, have attracted the attention by several scientific communities. Despite their interesting properties, sensors present an adverse characteristic: they manage very limited energy. Under such conditions, saving energy represents one of the most important concepts in designing effective protocols for WSNs. The objective of a protocol is to increase the network lifetime through the reduction of energy consumed by each sensor. In this paper, a robust clustering routing protocol for WSNs is introduced. The scheme uses the Locust Search (LS-II) method to determine the number of cluster heads and to identify the optimal cluster heads. Once the cluster heads are recognized, the other sensor elements are assigned to their nearest corresponding cluster head. Numerical simulations exhibit competitive results and demonstrate that the proposed protocol allows for the minimization of the energy consumption, extending the network lifetime in comparison with other popular clustering routing protocols.