A fair and energy-efficient topology control protocol for wireless sensor networks

In energy constrained wireless sensor networks, energy conservation techniques are to be applied in order to maximize the system lifetime. We tackle the problem of increasing network lifetime through the topology control assignment. In a two-dimensional random sensor deployment, the nodes can estimate the distances to their neighbors and can vary their transmission ranges accordingly. Supporting self-organization of the sensor nodes, each node locally selects its appropriate neighbors according to a neighbor eligibility metric. Here, we introduce the notion of weighted relaying regions defined over the plane of a searching node. This is aimed at dropping out inefficient links in the network in order to reduce the overall energy consumption. Contrary to most topology control protocols that rely on nearest neighbor approaches, we use a distance measure that is radio characteristic and channel condition dependent. This in turn, proves more adequate for energy conservation in dense network deployments. Considering network dynamics that might arise due to node mobility or node failures, our topology control protocol is to be run periodically. Fairness between the nodes can be increased in updating the topology considering the changing energy reserves of the nodes. We verify the performance of the protocol through simulation results on network graph properties and energy consumption.