Murmuration Inspired Clustering Protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Robert Webster, Kumudu MUNASINGHE, Abbas JAMALIPOUR

Research output: A Conference proceeding or a Chapter in BookConference contributionpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks are characterized by their harsh channel conditions, lack of access to terrestrial services such as GPS for localization, limited battery life and low memory and processing capabilities. Furthermore, the effect of passive node mobility produces dynamic network topology and decreases localization accuracy. For terrestrial networks, access to GPS signals can provide accurate location information which can be used to ensure efficient network reconfiguration. Such a luxury does not exist in the underwater environment. In this paper, we propose a cluster-based network that can reconfigure as the network spatially evolves. The clustering algorithm is based on the swarming patterns of birds, fish and insects called murmurations. We reduce the murmuration behavior into two variables: orientation and opacity. The orientation data determines which nodes should be clustered together, and opacity data determines the optimal cluster head. Our results show that our murmuration inspired clustering algorithm manages network topology changes caused by underwater currents effectively and is shown to improve network lifetime by decreasing the number of cluster redefinitions and cluster head selections, thereby reducing unnecessary overhead in an already energy constrained environment. Furthermore, our results show that the decrease in network coverage due to node death is minimized by moving energy consumption to nodes with overlapping coverage regions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2018 IEEE International Conference on Communications, ICC 2018 - Proceedings
Place of PublicationUnited States
PublisherIEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pages1-6
Number of pages6
Volume2018
ISBN (Print)9781538631805
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Jul 2018

Publication series

NameIEEE International Conference on Communications
Volume2018-May
ISSN (Print)1550-3607

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Murmuration Inspired Clustering Protocol for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this