Energy-Efficient Structuralized Clustering for Sensor-Based Cyber Physical Systems

Wireless sensor network is one of the most important cyber physical systems, and clustering is an effective technique to improve the energy efficiency and network lifetime. Recent research has focused on developing clustering and cluster head selection algorithms, however, how to computer the optimal cluster size and select the optimal frequency of head rotation are still open issues. In this paper, we argue that in order to mitigate "hot spot" problem, the cluster size should be unequally designed where the clusters near the base station have smaller size compared to those far away. We model the wild sensing areas using equal units and then quantify the number of clusters in each unit with the aim of achieving even energy consumption and then prolonging network lifetime. After adopting an energy-aware inter-cluster communication relay algorithm and head rotation algorithm, we study the relationship between the cluster size and the frequency of cluster head reselection. Simulation results show that the proposed clustering architecture have good performance in energy efficiency.