Game Theory and Coverage Optimization Based Multihop Routing Protocol for Network Lifetime in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are self-organizing monitoring networks with a large number of randomly deployed micro sensor nodes to collect various physical information so as to realize tasks such as intelligent perception, efficient control and decision-making. However, WSNs nodes are powered by batteries, so they will run out of energy after a certain time. This energy limitation will greatly constrain the network performance like network lifetime and energy efficiency. In this study, for the purpose of prolonging network lifetime, we proposed a multi-hop routing protocol based on game theory and coverage optimization (MRP-GTCO). Briefly, in the stage of setup, two innovational strategies including clustering game with penalty function and cluster head coverage set were designed to realize the uniformity of cluster head distribution and improve the rationality of cluster head election. In the data transmission stage, we firstly derived the applicable conditions theorem of inter-cluster multi-hop routing. Based on this, a novel multi-hop path selection algorithm related to residual energy and node degree was proposed to provide an energy-efficient data transmission path. The simulation results showed that MRP-GTCO protocol can effectively reduce the network energy consumption and extend the network lifetime 159.22%, 50.76% and 16.46% compared with LGCA, RLEACH and ECAGT protocols.