Agile Energy-Optimized Routing and Delay-Conscious Protocol for Underwater Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks

Wireless Underwater Sensor Networks serve a multitude of purposes, including disaster avoidance, contaminant monitoring, overseas research, oceanographic data acquisition, supported routing, and strategic surveillance. However, there are several constraints that affect their effectiveness, such as higher energy consumption, limited bandwidth, node mobility, and asynchronous clocks. In this paper, an Energy-Efficient Depth Centric Clustering Routing (EEDCCR) protocol is proposed to overcome these constraints. The idea behind the EEDCCR protocol is that nodes at similar depths and higher energy levels form clusters seeking for cluster heads, whereas non-communicating nodes retry to join clusters or enter into sleep mode, which reduces energy consumption and lengthens the longevity of the system, unlike existing systems in the literature. The protocol's efficacy is analyzed and authenticated through NS-2 simulation, focusing on parameters such as, throughput, packet delivery ratio (PDR) and end-to-end (E2E) latency in comparison to DBR, Co-DRAR, and DRAR protocols.