Spatial energy balancing in large-scale wireless multihop networks

In this paper we investigate the use of proactive multipath routing to achieve energy efficient operation of ad hoc wireless networks. The focus is on optimizing trade-offs between the energy cost of spreading traffic and the improved spatial balance of energy burdens. We first propose a simple scheme for multipath routing based on node proximity. Then combining stochastic geometric and queuing models we develop a continuum model for such networks, permitting consideration of different types of designs, i.e., with and without energy replenishing and storage capabilities. We propose a parameterized family of energy balancing strategies for grids and approximate the spatial distributions of energy burdens based on their associated second order statistics. Our analysis and simulations show the fundamental importance of the tradeoff explored in this paper, and how its optimization depends on the relative values of the energy reserves/storage, replenishing rates, and network load characteristics. Simulation results show that proactive multipath routing decreases the probability of energy depletion by orders of magnitude versus that of shortest path routing scheme when the initial energy reserve is high.