%0 Journal Article
%T PCA-Guided Routing Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks
%A Gong Chen
%A Liansheng Tan
%A Yanlin Gong
%A Wei Zhang
%J Journal of Computer Networks and Communications
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/427246
%X An important performance concern for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is the total energy dissipated by all the nodes in the network over the course of network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a routing algorithm termed as PCA-guided routing algorithm (PCA-RA) by exploring the principal component analysis (PCA) approach. Our algorithm remarkably reduces energy consumption and prolongs network lifetime by realizing the objective of minimizing the sum of distances between the nodes and the cluster centers in a WSN network. It is demonstrated that the PCA-RA can be efficiently implemented in WSNs by forming a nearly optimal -means-like clustering structure. In addition, it can decrease the network load while maintaining the accuracy of the sensor measurements during data aggregating process. We validate the efficacy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm by simulations. Both theoretical analyses and simulation results demonstrate that this algorithm can perform significantly with less energy consumption and thus prolong the system lifetime for the networks. 1. Introduction Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) [1] consist of battery-powered nodes which inherit sensing, computation, and wireless communication capabilities. Although there have been significant improvements in processor design and computing issues, limitations in battery provision still exist, bringing energy resource considerations as the fundamental challenge in WSNs. Consequently, there have been active research efforts devoted to lifting the performance limitations of WSNs. These performance limitations include network throughput, energy consumption and, network lifetime. Network throughput typically refers to the maximum amount of packets that can be successfully collected by the cluster heads (CHs) in the network, energy consumption refers to the minimize energy dissipation that nodes in the network consume, and network lifetime refers to the maximum time limit that nodes in the network remain alive until one or more nodes drain up their energy. The routing algorithms have been specifically designed for WSNs because the energy optimization is an essential design issue. A good routing scheme is helpful in improving these performance limits such as reducing the energy consumption, prolonging the network lifetime, and increasing the network throughput. Network researchers have studied a great variety of routing protocols in WSNs differing based on the application and network architecture. As demonstrated in [2, 3], it can be classified into four categories: flit, hierarchical clustering,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jcnc/2012/427246/