Optimized depth-based routing protocol for underwater wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Optimized energy utilization in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) is a challenging task and an active research area. Non-uniform energy consumption in a sensor network creates coverage holes that mean nodes with no transmission energy. These holes degrade the performance and reduce lifetime of UWSNs. In this work, we propose an Optimized Depth Based Routing (ODBR) scheme which ensures uniform energy consumption amongst sensor nodes and hence maximizes network lifetime. We allocate more initial energy to nodes that have higher traffic load compared to the ones with less traffic load. The results show that this strategy helps to balance energy utilization amongst sensor nodes and improves lifetime of the network.