A grid-based clustering with dynamic forwarding path for energy-efficient data gathering in wireless sensor network environments

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) generally consist of a large number of sensor nodes with limited resources and communication links distributed geographically for various purposes. The limitations of WSN nodes have highlighted challenges to minimize energy consumption of the nodes while still maintaining the goal of WSN developments. This paper proposes a new approach of data gathering in WSN environments by integrating grid-based clustering with dynamic forwarding path to minimize overlapping between clusters and balance energy usages. The experiment results have shown the effectiveness of the proposed approach in preserving energy consumption, reducing the number of dead nodes and maintaining the packet delivery ratio in data gathering processes in a WSN simulation environment.