Algorithms for Node Clustering in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Survey

The self-organizational ability of ad-hoc Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have led them to be the most popular choice in ubiquitous computing. Clustering sensor nodes and organizing them hierarchically have proven to be an effective method to provide better data aggregation and scalability for the sensor network while conserving limited energy. In this paper we provide a comprehensive analysis of clustering algorithms available for WSN and classify them based on the cluster formation parameters and cluster head (CH) election criteria. We further study the key design challenges and discuss the performance issues related clustering algorithms.