Power-efficient routing in sensor information systems

Wireless sensor networks are finding applications in a variety of areas such as environmental monitoring, military target detection and border surveillance. One of the most significant outstanding challenges is the stringent constraint on energy consumption. In this paper, we present a novel energy-efficient routing protocol called THEEM (Two- Hop Energy-Eficient Mesh) for wireless sensor networks. In the THEEM protocol, :a two-hop scheme and a centralized mesh (cluster) formation method are employed along with other design innovations, such as the concepts of mesh layer/column, power-aware meshhead assignment and a low-energy media access protocol, to achieve energy efficiency. This protocol reduces energy consumption quite significantly and thus prolongs the longevity of a sensor network. In the meantime, it increases network data throughput. Moreover, equal energy dissipation among all sensor nodes in a network is achieved. Simulation results show that the THEEM protocol performs much better in terms of all the above criteria when compared with other wireless sensor network routing protocols.