Tree-clustered data gathering protocol (TCDGP) for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of numerous low cost, low power, low volume, and short-distance transmitting nodes. As sensor nodes are deployed in a sensing field they can help people to monitor and aggregate data. Researchers also try to find more efficient ways of utilizing limited sensor node energy to provide longer WSN lifetime. Therefore, finding a method to reduce node data transmission energy consumption has become a very important issue. The multi-hop routing protocol is well known for power saving in data gathering. Recently, several researchers have used cluster-based (e.g., LEACH), chain-based (e.g., PEGASIS), and tree-based (e.g., TREEPSI) methods to establish energy efficient routing protocols. In this paper, we propose a tree-clustered data gathering protocol (TCDGP) to improve upon the LEACH and TREEPSI methods. This novel protocol can preserve the advantages of the LEACH and TREEPSI methods and further reduce power consumption. The simulation results show that our proposal gives better performance than other methods.