ARPDA: Petal-shaped Data Aggregation in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Mobile Sink and Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm

Simultaneous use of an efficient routing protocol and mobile sink not only prevents rapid sensor energy depletion but also effectively improves the energy balance in wireless sensor networks. In this paper, a new data aggregation method is proposed called “Ant colony-based Routing and Petal-shaped Data Aggregation (ARPDA)”, which includes clustering, Cluster Head (CH) selection, intra-cluster routing, determining polling points, and designing the sink node trajectory. In the proposed method, the network is divided by several virtual concentric circles that are equidistant from each other. The intersection point of these circles with the virtual lines passing through the origin of the network determines the probable polling points for the sink node. First, by efficiently clustering the sensor nodes and forming an intra-cluster routing tree based on the ant colony optimization algorithm, the sensor data is aggregated in CHs; then, by selecting the appropriate polling points and designing a petal-shaped path, the sink node periodically collects the aggregated data in CHs based on two linear and circular movements. Considering the sink movement in the CH selection process is another advantage of the proposed algorithm. Numerical results confirm the better performance of the proposed algorithm compared to the EDT algorithm.