Survey on Energy Efficient Hierarchical Routing Algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks – A Survey

Abstract

In the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), the Sensor nodes are usually scattered in a sensor field – an area in which the Sensor nodes are deployed. The nodes in these networks coordinate to produce high-quality information and each of these scattered sensor nodes has the capabilities to collect and route data back to the base stations, which are fixed or mobile. In WSNs, conservation of energy, which is directly related to network lifetime, is considered relatively more important than the performance of the network in terms of reliability of data sent. In general, routing in WSNs can be divided in to flat, hierarchical roles. In hierarchical, however, nodes will play different roles in the network. While in location-based routing, sensor nodes are addressed by means of their locations. In this paper, we examine currently existing hierarchical algorithms and briefly discuss the operations of these algorithms in order to compare the energy efficiency and reliability. This paper should provide the reader with a basis for research in hierarchical Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks.