A Comparative Study of an Energy Efficient Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks are defined as a group of sensors that are spread over an area to gather data in a coordinated manner and send it to the sink where it is further processed and used for the application. The application could be as simple as gathering information from different parts of a confined accessible area or as extreme as tracking of wild animals of concern around a widely spread rainforest. The wide range of applicability of wireless sensor networks suggests that often, the sensors once deployed might not be accessible ever again and hence it becomes important to ensure that the sensors once deployed are functional for as long as possible. One of the hurdles in enhancing the functional lifetime of sensors is the energy consumption at the sensor level which can be broadly attributed to mainly two reasons: sensing and communicating; wherein the latter takes the bigger chunk. So, the goal would be to try and push the boundary viz-a-viz energy efficiency at the individual sensor nodes and enhance the lifetime of a WSN. In this paper, simulations have been carried out by varying the position of the base node to determine the number of rounds till which the network remains fully functional. It is found out that positioning the base node at the network centre significantly increases the rounds till which the network sustains as compared to positioning the node at a distance.