Maximum Throughput Load Balanced Multipath Routing in Homogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

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, with the consumed energy as the routing metric to achieve maximum lifetime, leads to congestions along shortest paths. 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 perfect balance and simultaneously maximizes the total packet throughput during the network lifetime. The simulation results provide sufficient evidence for efficiency of the proposed algorithm.