Improving the LEACH protocol for wireless sensor networks

Routing protocol has been a challenging issue in the design of wireless sensor networks. Efficiency and security are two topics in the design of routing protocol for WSNs. Some efficient and secure problems in LEACH protocol are solved in order to substantially improve the performance of the LEACH protocol. The new protocol consists of a number of rounds. The sensing area is divided into a number of equilateral hexagons called clusters, each of which consists of six equilateral triangles called cells. After forming the clusters, they do not change in all rounds. Each equilateral triangle has the same number nodes and then each equilateral hexagon has the same number nodes too. One cell head is selected in each cell and one cluster head is chosen from six cell heads. The data are sent to the base station by using the multi-hop manner through a secure path consisting of cluster heads. Analysis shows that the improved LEACH protocol balances the energy expense, saves the node energy, prolongs WSNs lifetime and enhances the security for WSNs.