Load-Balanced Unequal Clustering Algorithm in UWB-Based Wireless Sensor Network

Clustering prolongs the life time of UWB-based wireless sensor network with limited energy resources. Since cluster heads (CHs) usually forward data via multi-hop, energy consumed by each CH vary with relay traffic and its members. To achieve energy balance, an load-balanced Unequal Clustering (LBUC) algorithm is proposed. It elects CH by a voting mechanism according to energy and distance by measuring distances among nodes accurately based on UWB, and divides nodes into clusters in unequal size. The voting approach lets sensors elect suitable CHs basing on the results of vote. CHs closer to Base Station (BS) have smaller size than those farther to reduce energy consumption in intra-cluster data transmission and preserve more energy for inter-cluster data forwarding. Simulation results show that the proposed clustering algorithm balances the workload well among all the nodes and prolongs the network lifetime which is much better than LEACH obviously.