EDK-LEACH: improving LEACH protocol-based machine learning in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), many sensor devices are spread throughout the environment with the goal of collecting data and sending them to a base station (BS) for further studies. The issue of their limited battery power has aroused the interest of researchers, and several protocols were developed to optimize energy use and thus increase the network’s lifetime. The present research enhances the well-known low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (LEACH) protocol with a new artificial intelligence (AI) protocol named energy distance K-means LEACH (EDK-LEACH). For this purpose, an innovative clustering strategy built on the machine learning K-means algorithm is used in WSNs to improve the cluster formation process and maximise network stability. By implementing an objective function that considers each node’s residual energy and distance from the cluster centre when selecting the cluster head (CH) of each cluster, EDK-LEACH also eliminates the inherent randomness in LEACH during the CH election process. The proposed protocol has the advantage of ensuring better CH distribution throughout the network surface with a balanced load across all network nodes. In comparison with the known LEACH, the simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of our approach: the lifetime of the network is extended and the energy consumption is reduced.