Extending Wireless Sensor Network Lifetime With Global Energy Balance

In this paper, a decentralized routing algorithm, called game theoretic energy balance routing protocol, is proposed to extend the network lifetime by balancing energy consumption in a larger network area using geographical routing protocols. The objective of the proposed protocol is to make sensor nodes deplete their energy at approximately the same time, which is achieved by addressing the load balance problem at both the region and node levels. In the region level, evolutionary game theory (EGT) is used to balance the traffic load to available subregions. At the node level, classical game theory (CGT) is used to select the best node to balance the load in the selected subregion. This two-level approach is shown to be an effective solution for load balancing and extending network lifetime. This paper shows the use of EGT and CGT in designing a robust protocol that offers significant improvement over existing protocols in extending network lifetime.