Energy aware optimal cluster head selection in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical and environmental conditions. Grouping sensor nodes into the cluster can reduce the size of the routing table of the each individual node and conserve communication bandwidth. Sensors in such environments are energy constrained and their batteries cannot be recharged. Therefore, designing energy-aware algorithms becomes an important factor for extending the lifetime of sensors. The proper organization of nodes becomes one of the major techniques to expand the life span of the whole network through aggregating data at the cluster head(CH). LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) and PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) are applied for producing energy-aware clusters with optimal selection of cluster head. The work is simulated using NS-2 and the performance metrics are analyzed.