High throughput load balanced multipath routing in homogeneous wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) provide a cost efficient solution for data gathering in future smart environments like smart grids and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Using the traditional minimum cost routing, leads to congestions along shortest paths and decreases the network lifetime. Multipath routing and load balancing is a logical way to extend the network lifetime. In this paper we propose a Heuristic Load Distribution algorithm (HeLD) based on a braided multipath extension of the standard Routing Protocol for Low power and lossy networks (RPL), which tries to achieve a well balanced traffic load and simultaneously maximizes the total packet throughput during the network lifetime. The simulation results provide sufficient evidence for efficiency of the proposed algorithm.