LORP: A Load-Balancing Based Optimal Routing Protocol for Sensor Networks with Bottlenecks

The performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is tightly coupled with the geometric environment in which sensors are deployed. In a practical environment, bottleneck regions, for example bridges, may exist due to the existence of physical obstacles or energy depletion. In this paper, we propose a load-balancing based optimal routing protocol (LORP). By finding the boundaries of holes in a sensor network with bottlenecks, LORP first identifies the bridges in the sensor field using our MACB algorithm. A centralized routing algorithm, "balance-first" routing is then employed to prolong the lifetime of a WSN with bottlenecks. Theoretical analysis prove that LORP can improve the load distribution among different bridges, increase the lifetime of a WSN, and enhance the quality of network services. This conclusion is reinforced in our simulation results.