A combined relay-selection and routing protocol for cooperative wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks several constraints decrease communications performances. In fact, channel randomness and energy restrictions make classical routing protocols inefficient. Therefore, the design of new routing protocols that cope with these constraints become mandatory. The main objective of this paper is to present a multi-objective routing algorithm RBCR that computes routing path based on the energy consumption and channel qualities. Additionally, the channel qualities are evaluated based on the presence of relay nodes. Compared to AODV and AODV associated to a cooperative MAC protocol, RBCR provides better performances in term of delivery ratio, power consumption and traffic load.