Efficient even distribution of power consumption in wireless sensor networks

One of the limitations of wireless sensor nodes is their inherent limited energy resource. Besides maximizing the lifetime of the sensor node, it is preferable to distribute the energy dissipated throughout the wireless sensor network in order to minimize maintenance and maximize overall system performance. We investigate a new routing algorithm that uses diffusion in order to achieve relatively even power dissipation throughout a wireless sensor network by making good local decisions. We leverage from concepts of peer-to-peer networks in which the system acts completely decentralized and all nodes in the network are equal peers. Our algorithm utilizes the node load, power levels, and spatial information in order to make the optimal routing decision. According to our preliminary experimental results, our proposed algorithm performs well according to its goals.