A energy-aware clustering algorithm via game theory for wireless sensor networks

Multihop communication mechanism has been widely employed in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for its practicability and high energy efficiency. However, hot spots emerge as locations, in which nodes die quickly because of heavy relay load, leading to disruption in network service. Balancing energy consumption of nodes so as to mitigate the hot spot issue in the network is very important for prolonging network lifetime. In this paper, we propose a distributed clustering algorithm, namely Game Theoretic Clustering (GTC), which can approach to the equilibrium of the energy consumption for the wireless network. Especially, the cluster size is determined adaptively based on the game theory and the cooperation between cluster heads. Simulation results show that GTC can balance the energy consumption levels and consequently extend the network lifetime.