Data collection algorithm for wireless sensor networks using collaborative mobile elements

Abstract

The simplest approach to reduce network latency for data gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSN) is to use multiple mobile elements rather than a single mobile sink. However, the most challneging issues faced this approach are firstly the high network cost as a result of using large number of mobile elements. Secondly, it suffers from the difficulty of network partitioning to achieve an efficient load balancing among these mobile elements. In this study, a collaborative data collection algorithm (CDCA) is developed. Simulation results presented in this paper demonstrated that with this algorithm the latency is significantly reduced at small number of mobile elements. Furthermore, the performance of CDCA algorithm is compared with the Area Splitting Algorithm (ASA). Consequently, the CDCA showed superior performance in terms of network latency, load balancing, and the required number of mobile elements.