A Genetic Algorithm to Improve Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks by Load Balancing

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a collection of a large number of small sensors capable of sensing the environment. In spite of limited resources in WSNs, they are employed in various applications and a large researches are done to extend their performance. In addition to decreasing energy consumption, some strategies should be employed to balance network load and consequently balance the energy consumption of these nodes and ensure a maximum network lifetime. In this paper, with the goal of reducing energy consumption and extending lifetime, a regular network is considered, then we formalize the network lifetime as an optimization programming. By using of load balancing technique, it will increase node lifetime. However, solving this problem is complex and time consuming, so we propose a genetic algorithm. We compare optimal solution and genetic algorithm and conclude through the results that combining load balancing with energy consumption improve network lifetime.