Tree Node Switching Algorithm for Minimum Energy Cost Aggregation Tree Problem in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data aggregation trees in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are being used for gathering data for various purposes. Especially for the trees within buildings or civil structures, the total amount of energy consumption in a tree must be reduced to save energy. Therefore, the minimum energy-cost aggregation tree (MECAT) and MECAT with relay nodes (MECAT_RN) problems are being discussed to reduce energy consumption in data aggregation trees in WSNs. This paper proposes the tree node switching algorithm (TNSA) that improves on the previous algorithms for the MECAT and MECAT_RN problems in terms of energy efficiency. TNSA repeatedly switches nodes in a tree to reduce the number of packets sent in the tree. Packets are reduced by improving the accommodation efficiency of each packet, in which multiple sensor reports are accommodated. As a result of applying TNSA to MECATs and MECAT-RNs, energy consumption can be reduced significantly with a small burden.