Design of a distributed energy-efficient clustering algorithm for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

The clustering Algorithm is a kind of key technique used to reduce energy consumption. It can increase the scalability and lifetime of the network. Energy-efficient clustering protocols should be designed for the characteristic of heterogeneous wireless sensor networks. We propose and evaluate a new distributed energy-efficient clustering scheme for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks, which is called DEEC. In DEEC, the cluster-heads are elected by a probability based on the ratio between residual energy of each node and the average energy of the network. The epochs of being cluster-heads for nodes are different according to their initial and residual energy. The nodes with high initial and residual energy will have more chances to be the cluster-heads than the nodes with low energy. Finally, the simulation results show that DEEC achieves longer lifetime and more effective messages than current important clustering protocols in heterogeneous environments. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.