VBF: Vector-Based Forwarding Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks

In this paper, we tackle one fundamental problem in Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs): robust, scalable and energy efficient routing. UWSNs are significantly different from terrestrial sensor networks in the following aspects: low bandwidth, high latency, node float mobility (resulting in high network dynamics), high error probability, and 3-dimensional space. These new features bring many challenges to the network protocol design of UWSNs. In this paper, we propose a novel routing protocol, called vector-based forwarding (VBF), to provide robust, scalable and energy efficient routing. VBF is essentially a position-based routing approach: nodes close to the “vector” from the source to the destination will forward the message. In this way, only a small fraction of the nodes are involved in routing. VBF also adopts a localized and distributed self-adaptation algorithm which allows nodes to weigh the benefit of forwarding packets and thus reduce energy consumption by discarding the low benefit packets. Through simulation experiments, we show the promising performance of VBF.