A Clustering Based Data Integration Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data fusion is an important research issue in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The clustering based approach can reduce the interference among nodes, maintain the balance of energy consumption within WSNs, and therefore prolong the lifetime of WSNs. A clustering-based algorithm called LEACH-EC is presented in the paper. Aiming at solving the problems of the existing algorithms, the LEACH-EC takes the static clustering approach to reduce the energy consumption during clustering stage by first clustering sensors and then selecting the heads of respective clusters. When the heads of clusters send data to the base station, a proposed multi-hop strategy is adopted to further decrease the energy consumption of head sensors. Compared with the existing algorithms, the LEACH-EC has shown a good performance on both extending the lifetime of WSNs as well as reducing energy consumption of sensors.