Optimizing lifetime of homogeneous wireless sensor networks for vehicular monitoring

Wireless Sensor Networks have several applications such as medical monitoring, automotive safety, and many more. Sensor networks, however, have several limitations, such as vulnerability, short transmission range, small memory, and limited battery life. Several algorithms were proposed to address network lifetime problem in wireless sensor networks. Geographic distribution and density of nodes dramatically affect the choice of protocol, nodes life, and the suitability of the method. Sensor networks are effectively used for vehicular monitoring on highways and hence form a linear topology. Therefore, existing clustering methods and routing protocols are not effective when applied on a network of linear topology. In this paper, we introduce a new method to enhance the lifetime and performance of a homogenous wireless sensor network with linear topology that is dedicated for vehicular monitoring. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the method by enhancing the lifetime of the wireless sensor network compared to direct transmission and clustering methods.