Multi-hop clustering routing algorithm based on fuzzy inference and multi-path tree

Wireless sensor network technologies have been widely used in modern life especially in Internet of Things. Since battery energy of sensor nodes is limited, balancing the energy consumption of each node on a transmitting path is an important issue. In this article, we propose a multi-hop clustering routing method with fuzzy inference and multi-path tree. The algorithm identifies the best path from the source node to the destination node by following two steps: (1) dividing the wireless sensor nodes by an efficient clustering routing method and (2) determining the optimal path by a combination of the fuzzy inference approach and multi-path method, taking into account the remaining energy, the minimum hops, and the traffic load of node. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol can efficiently reduce the energy consumption of the network, balance network load, and prolong the survival time of the network.