Cluster-based energy-efficient routing protocol in next generation sensor networks

This paper focuses on optimising energy consumption within Next-Generation Networks (NGNs) during cluster formation, cluster head selection, and routing processes. NGNs, composed of diverse intelligent nodes with varying battery power and computational capacity, find applications in IoT, agriculture, and commercial sectors. Energy constraints in wireless devices make energy optimisation a critical research area. This study targets energy reduction throughout the communication model layers, particularly at the network layer, enhancing network lifetime and performance. It introduces methods for energy-efficient cluster formation, cluster head selection, and knowledge-based routing, specifically investigating the IP layer's impact. Analysing protocol parameters at the network layer, the research demonstrates that adjusting these parameters based on network conditions significantly optimises channel resource utilisation. The proposed 'Intelligent Cluster-Based Energy-Efficient Routing Protocol' showcased a 20% to 35% energy saving in NS3 simulations, validating its effectiveness in energy efficiency, load balancing, and throughput compared to existing protocols.