Wireless Networks

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-018-1715-2 (0123456789().,-volV)(0123456789().,-volV)

Optimization energy consumption with multiple mobile sinks using

fuzzy logic in wireless sensor networks
Kambiz Koosheshi1,2 • Saeed Ebadi2

 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
Each sensor in WSNs receives data from the limited area under its coverage. The received data is processed by the sensor;
then, it is wirelessly transmitted to the sink. Sensors’ energy consumption and the energy hole problem are considered as
outstanding challenge of these networks. That is, since sensors use batteries with limited lifetimes and sensors which are
closer to the sink transmit more data than remoter sensors, hence, they run up their energies sooner than other sensor nodes.
Consequently, optimizing energy consumption is regarded as one of the most critical issues throughout a network’s
operational lifetime. In this paper, by dividing a respective area into several smaller areas and using a multiple mobile sink
(MS), we proposed an unequal clustering method via fuzzy logic which leads to the reduction of distances among sensors
with respect to the movement direction of sink. As a result, the sizes of clusters are reduced. Accordingly, such a reduction
in the sizes of clusters and the smart selection of the route by the MS eliminates energy hole issue. Regarding the metrics of
FND and HNA, it was found that the proposed method optimized energy consumption for 19%. Hence, it was able to fix
energy hole problem in WSNs.

Keywords Wireless sensor network  Clustering  Energy hole problem  Multiple mobile sink  Fuzzy logic

1 Introduction
Wireless sensor networks consist of hundreds or thousands
of sensors within a region [1]. Each of the sensors is cap-
able of measuring magnetic, acoustic, spatial or seismic
data from surrounding environment [2]; by transmitting
data to the final user, sensors provide the final users with
the chance to take the required measures. In general,
wireless sensors are light sensors in small dimensions
which are desirable in terms of costs. They are placed in a
wide region and are able to handle themselves [3]. For
desirably gathering data in WSNs, nodes can be divided
& Saeed Ebadi
s.ebadi@iaut.ac.ir
Kambiz Koosheshi
k.koosheshi@ieee.org
1
Department of Computer Engineering, East Azarbaijan
Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University,
Tabriz, Iran
2
Department of Computer Engineering, Tabriz Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran
into smaller groups called clusters [4]. Indeed, each cluster
has a cluster head (CH) which is responsible for coordi-
nating and gathering data from other nodes. Sensors con-
sume energy for transmitting receiving and processing
data. Since sensors are used via batteries which are neither
replaceable nor rechargeable, hence, network lifetime
depends on the remaining energy of the nodes [5]. As a
result, optimal energy consumption is regarded as one of
the main network challenges. In this network, nodes which
are more distant from the sink transmit their data in the
relay format from one node to the other node so that data is
delivered to the sink node. This procedure is carried out
because nodes are limited in terms of their transmission
power. Consequently, nodes closer to the sink run up their
energy sooner because they transmit large amounts of data,
this is called energy hole problem or also called as the hot
spot problem [6]. So the energy hole problem is created
due to energy depletion of the node which is near the sink.
In this manner, no more data can be delivered to the sink
after energy hole appears. Consequently, a considerate
amount of energy is wasted and the network lifetime ends
prematurely [7].

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Wireless sensors consist of four main units: a sensing
unit, a processing unit, a communicating unit and a power
unit [8]. Each sensor nodes has an analog to digital con-
vertor. That is, a sensor firstly senses data from the sur-
rounding environment and produces an analog signal. Next,
the analog to digital convertor converts the produced signal
into the digital form and delivers it to the processing unit.
Then, the processed data is delivered to the communication
unit so that they can be transmitted to other nodes [8, 9].
Also, power unit provides the required energy source.
In clustering WSNs, the nodes available within a cluster
directly transmit their data to the related CH [4]. In case the
CH is adequately close to the sink, it directly transmits the
received data to it. Otherwise, it transmits the data to
another CH which is closer to the sink; hence, its respective
data is delivered to the sink node in the relay format. It can
be argued that CHs consume more energy than the other
nodes of the network. As a result, an energy-aware model
is used for balancing CHs’ energy consumption and peri-
odically replacing them. However, sensors closer to the
sink lose their energy sooner than the other sensor nodes
because they are exposed to heavier traffic. For sorting out
this problem, thanks to fuzzy logic, we created more
clusters near the movement direction of the sink so that the
number of CHs near the sink is enhanced and the network
traffic is divided among more of them. In the proposed
algorithm, at first, tentative CHs are selected from network
nodes by a probable model. Then, the final CHs are
selected from among tentative CHs based on a competition
with regard to the remaining amount of nodes’ energy.
In this paper, a method is proposed which can optimize
sensor nodes’ energy consumption by means of a multiple
MS where fuzzy logic is used in WSNs. In this method,
rather than using a fixed sink in a predetermined place, a
MS is used for gathering sensors’ data in such a way that it
smartly moves within the network and gathers data from
sensors. Also, the rest of the nodes are clustered based on
fuzzy logic so as to prevent energy hole problem. The
concept of Fuzzy Logic centers around the idea of partial
set membership, instead of crisp or discreet set membership
[10]. Initially, it was introduced as an alternative approach
to processing data that has behavior defined by a ‘‘fuzzy’’
set [11], which contains elements whose degree of mem-
bership vary in the set. Fuzzy Logic is different from
conventional control methods by the fact that it incorpo-
rates simple if–then structure, rather than any complex
mathematical model [10]. Consequently, network lifetime
is enhanced. However, the motivation behind this work is
to overcome the energy hole problem especially in large-
scale networks by dividing WSN field into z autonomous
zones and using a MS in each one. In this work also, we use
fuzzy logic approach in order to handle uncertainties in
cluster head radius estimation. In the purposed fuzzy
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Wireless Networks
approach in our algorithm the CH election occurs by
considering three fuzzy descriptors namely distance to RN,
residual energy of each node and the density of the node
with the aim of estimating the competition radius for ten-
tative CHs.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in section
two, the related works are briefly reviewed. In section
three, the system model is mentioned. In section four, a
detailed description of the proposed algorithm is given. In
section five, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm is
investigated and discussed via simulation. Finally, in sec-
tion six, the conclusion of the study and directions for
further research are reported.
2 Related works
WSNs are composed of sets of sensors and a sink which are
in a region. Sensors sense data from their surrounding
environment and transmit them either directly or indirectly
to the sink [8]. Nevertheless, transmitting data to long
distances is not optimal in terms of energy consumption.
Hence, one of the methods for enhancing network lifetime
is to reduce data transmission distance and use a MS in the
network. In this method, by moving within the network, the
MS gathers data from the sensors [12–18]. However, it
should be pointed out that using MS requires an optimal
protocol for smartly selecting sink trajectory in the net-
work, see [19–28]. Also, one another optimization method
is cluster network nodes. In this method, cluster members
transmit their data to the CH and the CH transmits the
gathered data to the sink. A few protocols in relation to MS
and clustering WSNs are briefly reviewed below.
LEACH is regarded as the first hierarchical routing
protocol in WSNs. It is regarded as the basis for many other
hierarchical protocols [29]. In this method, network is
divided into several small sections which are called clus-
ters. Each cluster has its own related CH. In this protocol,
CH is selected regardless of the remaining energy by
means of a probable model. In general, LEACH protocol
uses a probabilistic method for selecting CH and nodes
decide by themselves about the CH to which they belong.
COCA is considered to be an unequal clustering algo-
rithm in WSNs [3]. In this method, the node with the
highest remaining energy among the neighbors is selected
as the CH. Also, for preventing the occurrence of energy
hole problem, the more the distance from the sink, the
bigger the clusters and vice versa. EAUCF is regarded as a
distributed competitive algorithm in which the CH is
selected from among tentative CHs based on competition
with regard to the remaining energy by means of fuzzy
logic [5]. Regarding the EAUCF protocol, fuzzy logic has
two inputs and an output. The inputs are remaining energy
Wireless Networks
and distance to base station and the only output is com-
petition radius which uses the Center of area.
MOFCA is another distributed clustering algorithm in
WSNs [30]. This algorithm uses three parameters, i.e.
residual energy, distance to sink and node density for
selecting the final CH through fuzzy logic. Similar to
EAUCF, tentative CHs will be randomly selected from
among the available nodes in the network. Then, using the
fuzzy if–then mapping rules, the selected tentative CHs
will measure their competition radius. It can be argued that
MOFCA has been exclusively designed for nonuniform
networks. Toloueiashtian et al. [31] proposed a novel
approach for cluster formation in WSNs that uses fuzzy
logic to enhance network lifetime. The chance of each node
to be CH is calculated by using a fuzzy inference system.
Following three parameters as the input variables of the
fuzzy logic: remaining energy, distance to base station and
connections of CH. That is, these variables are taken into
consideration for measuring this chance.
Multicasting, is one of the most common data trans-
mission patterns in WSNs. Hence, to make it efficient,
multicast tree has been proposed, but most of the proposed
algorithms did not consider the length of tree which causes
delay in the network. Toward Source Tree (TST) is a novel
distributed algorithm to construct an approximate mini-
mum-length multicast tree for WSNs [32]. ConMap is an
algorithm which successfully optimized the multicast
energy in delay-constrained mobile WSNs [33]. Unlike
other protocols, Fu et al. proposed an algorithm which
optimizes both the transmitting and receiving energy.
Another method for enhancing network lifetime is to use
a MS. MS will cover and rectify the shortcomings of the
fixed sink and will lead to the enhancement of network
lifetime, due to this, MAAM is a protocol for balancing
energy consumption of entire network and cover the energy
hole problem in which mobile sink node is used to operate
the routing process considering the shortest path between
multiple unequal clusters with reduced energy [34]. In this
method, the nodes are clustered by using K-medoids
algorithm. One of the algorithms in which MS was used in
its designing is referred to as optimizing leach clustering
algorithm with mobile sink and rendezvous nodes [8]. In
this protocol, MS will go through a predetermined path
within the network. Like LEACH, this algorithm consists
of several rounds where there are three types of nodes in
each round, rendezvous nodes (RN), CHs and normal
nodes.
It is clear that the MS cannot meet all the nodes of a
network and gather their information. Hence, it led to the
formation of the idea of rendezvous point (RP). RP is
regarded as a point near the movement route of the MS
[35–38]. Nodes which are near this point are considered as
RNs. RNs buffer data in themselves and when the MS
passes near them, they transmit data to the sink.
In the proposed algorithm, Instead of using a fixed sink
or predetermined MS trajectory the MS smartly moves
within the network in each round; at the beginning of
round, after the movement path of the MS is determined
and RNs are selected by MS, clustering is performed using
distributed unequal protocol by the fuzzy logic. In this
work, we determine the optimal trajectory of MS by
dividing the area of interest into 16 equal parts and cal-
culating average remaining energy of each one. We show
that using combination of MS and fuzzy approach prolongs
network lifetime and prevent energy hole problem partic-
ularly in large-scale networks. The proposed method
decreases energy consumption in WSNs further than tra-
ditional algorithms which are using predetermined MS
trajectory or equal clustering methods which could easily
cause energy hole problem.
3 System model
The proposed protocol consists of a number of homoge-
nous nodes which are randomly distributed in an environ-
ment. The respective area is divided into several
autonomous zones (z). As shown in Fig. 1, each zone has
an identical number of sensors and a particular MS. In this
protocol, the MS moves in the network based on the pro-
posed algorithm and gathers data from network nodes.
Before discussing the proposed protocol in details,
system assumptions which have been considered in the
valuation are mentioned as follows:
• All nodes are identical and deployed randomly.
• MS consists of a mobile robot with an unlimited energy
resource.
• After being placed in the area, sensors are not fixed.
However, this mobility is not tantamount to a lot of
movements. Rather, it refers to little movement which
is caused by natural sources such as erosion or external
factors.
• Since the movement of nodes is carried out by means of
external factors, energy is not consumed.
• At the distribution time, all sensor nodes have the same
amount of energy levels and this battery-power is
initially 0.25 J same as [29, 39].
• Each sensor is able to adjust the strength of its
transmission signal according to its distance from the
target.
• The distance between two sensors is measured in terms
of the reception signal strength (RSSI). Hence, sensors
need not be informed about each other’s placement
location.
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 Wireless Networks

Fig. 1 The large-scale network

field with six autonomous zones

• MS is aware of the locations of all the nodes. node locally decides about tentative CH, competition
• Each node is aware of its location. radius and the final CH. As a result, a specific node such as
sink is not required for carrying out CH selection process.
The proposed algorithm is divided into several rounds
The proposed algorithm considers the following three
where each round begins with the set-up phase and con-
parameters as the input variables of the fuzzy logic: dis-
tinues with the steady-state phase. The set-up phase
tance to closest RN, remaining energy and calculated
includes three stages. The first stage is involved with the
density. That is, these variables are taken into consideration
coordination of tasks where the tentative CHs and RNs are
for measuring competition radius of each tentative CH.
selected. Since RNs are selected with respect to the
Indeed, a probabilistic model is used in the proposed
movement path of the MS, in the next stage, the ultimate
algorithm for selecting the tentative CH and a rotational
CHs are selected from among the chosen tentative CHs and
system is implemented based on profanity. After sensors
clustering is carried out based on fuzzy logic. The next
are placed in the respective location, the MS forms the first
stage is related to scheduling in which the CH announces
round via a broadcast message. At the outset of each round,
its members about the appropriate scheduling for data
all the nodes are normal node and since the sink is aware of
transmission through a broadcast message; accordingly,
the placement location of all the nodes, it measures the
each node should transmit its data to the CH at the specified
distances of all nodes from its own movement path which
time.
is given in Eq. (1); then, it introduces the nodes whose
As mentioned above, the second phase is the steady-
distances are less than Rx (the optimal coverage radius of
state phase in which each node begins to transmit its data to
RN) as RNs and the rest of the network remains in the
the CH and, finally, to the MS. This phase consist of one
normal node state. The sink transmits the placement loca-
stage which is data transmission.
tion and IDs of RNs to the entire network via the broadcast
message. Hence, each normal node measures its distance
from the entire RNs; finally, it selects the closest RN for
4 The proposed algorithm
itself.
In designing the proposed algorithm, two important factors jax0 þ by0 þ cj
jABj ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð1Þ
were taken into consideration. Firstly, the algorithm should a 2 þ b2
optimize network efficiency and energy consumption.
After the placement of the nodes in the first round, the MS
Secondly, it should be light enough so that it can be
will pass through a predetermined path since all the nodes
implemented on real hardware. In the algorithm proposed
have identical initial energy. Different stages of imple-
in this paper, a distributed method based on the fuzzy logic
menting the proposed protocol are given in Algorithm 1.
was used for unequal clustering according to which each

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Wireless Networks

123

When RNs are selected and the distance of each node
from the nearest RN is determined, each normal node will
select a random number between 0 and 1. In case this
number is smaller than the threshold (Th) which is regar-
ded as a predetermined value, hence, that node will change
its state from normal node to the tentative CH. Now, using
three parameters of distance to the closest RN, remaining
energy and calculated density, the tentative CHs measure
and form their competition radius.
Since the proposed protocol uses the above-mentioned
three parameters for measuring competition radius, hence,
the competition radius of each tentative CH changes
throughout the execution of the proposed protocol. Such a
change in the competition radius is quite logical because if
the competition radius does not change following the
modifications in the input parameters, nodes’ energies
drain will quickly. As a result, with respect to this
notable issue, the competition radius will always change as
a function of the changes in the input parameters. Com-
petition radius is established and specified using a set of
predetermined fuzzy rules. This process is depicted in line
3.2 of Algorithm 1. The fuzzy rules are given in Table 1. In
order to evaluate the rules, the Mamdani Controller is used
as a fuzzy inference technique and the center of area
(COA) method is employed for defuzzification of the
competition radius.
For measuring competition radius, three fuzzy input
variables were used. The first variable is distance to the
closest RN. The fuzzy set related to this fuzzy variable is
illustrated in Fig. 2. The linguistic variables related to this
input are close, medium and far. For close and far vari-
ables, the trapezoidal membership function was used and
for the medium variable, the triangular membership func-
tion was used.
The second fuzzy variable is the remaining energy of the
tentative CH. The fuzzy set related to this fuzzy variable is
depicted in Fig. 3. Linguistic variables related to this input
are low, medium and high. For low and high variables, the
trapezoidal membership function and for the medium
variable, the triangular membership function was used.
The third fuzzy variable is the density of the tentative
CH. The fuzzy set describing this input variable is shown in
Fig. 4. The linguistic variables related to this input are
sparse, normal and dense. As shown in the figure, sparse
and dense have trapezoidal membership functions and
medium has triangular membership function. In contrast
with the two fuzzy input variables which are aimed at
optimizing energy consumption, this fuzzy variable adds
robustness against the changes in node locations. In case
the tentative CH has high density and its distance from RN
is medium or far, its competition radius will be higher and
will cover more nodes. On the other hand, when its dis-
tance from RN is close, high density will be tantamount to
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Wireless Networks
a smaller competition radius so as to reduce CH coverage.
In general, in the proposed protocol, as the distance of the
tentative CH becomes closer to the movement path of the
MS the competition radius will be smaller. In other words,
if there are higher number of final CHs near the MS tra-
jectory, there will be more nodes near which will function
as relays; consequently, they will transmit the remaining
information of the network so that the energy hole problem
can be sorted out in this way.
The density of the tentative CH (di) is measured through
Eq. (2). Each sensor is aware of the number of alive nodes
(nodes which have energy) within its coverage radius but
they need to be aware of the total number of alive nodes in
the entire network for measuring the amount of density
(denominator of Eq. 2); as this value is variable, depending
upon the energy drainage of nodes at the end of each round,
the MS broadcasts this value in the entire network as a
message.
Number of Alive Nodes in Radius
di ¼ ð2Þ
Number of All Alive Nodes in Netwok
The only fuzzy variable of the output is the competition
radius of the tentative CH. The fuzzy set related to this
output variable is depicted in Fig. 5.
As given in Table 1, if a particular tentative CH has the
highest distance from RN (fuzzy input variable Distance to
Closest RN has the value of far), its battery is full (fuzzy
input variable Remaining Energy has the value of high) and
the density of its tentative CH is high (fuzzy input variable
Calculated Density has the value of dense), hence, it will
have the highest value of competition radius (fuzzy output
variable Competition Radius has the value of 12XL). On
the other hand, in case the battery amount of the respective
node is running out (fuzzy input variable Remaining
Energy has the value of far the value of low) and the dis-
tance of that node from RN is close (fuzzy input variable
Distance to closest RN has the value of close) and the
measured density is high (fuzzy input variable Calculated
Density has the value of dense), consequently, the tentative
CH will have the minimum competition radius (fuzzy
output variable Competition Radius has the value of
12XS). These are given in Table 1. The remaining states
are included between the above-mentioned two states.
Maximum competition radius is a fixed parameter which
is transmitted by the MS throughout the entire network.
Hence, all the nodes are aware of this value in advance.
Thus, each node will measure its competition radius based
on this value. After tentative CHs determine their own
competition radius, the competition on selecting the final
CH will start. Each tentative CH will transmit a message
announcing that it is a candidate and wants to compete with
other tentative CHs for becoming final CH (CandidateCH
message). This message is only transmitted to tentative
Wireless Networks

Table 1 Fuzzy rules in

Distance to RN Remaining energy Calculated density Competition radius
proposed protocol
Close Low Dense 12XS
Close Low Normal 11XS
Close Low Sparse 10XS
Close Medium Dense 9XS
Close Medium Normal 8XS
Close Medium Sparse 7XS
Close High Dense 6XS
Close High Normal 5XS
Close High Sparse 4XS
Medium Low Dense 3XS
Medium Low Normal 2XS
Medium Low Sparse XS (extra S)
Medium Medium Sparse Small (S)
Medium Medium Normal Medium (M)
Medium Medium Dense Large (L)
Medium High Sparse XL (extra L)
Medium High Normal 2XL
Medium High Dense 3XL
Far Low Sparse 4XL
Far Low Normal 5XL
Far Low Dense 6XL
Far Medium Sparse 7XL
Far Medium Normal 8XL
Far Medium Dense 9XL
Far High Sparse 10XL
Far High Normal 11XL
Far High Dense 12XL

Fig. 2 Fuzzy set defining the fuzzy input variable distance to rendezvous node

123

Fig. 3 Fuzzy set defining the fuzzy input variable remaining energy
Fig. 4 Fuzzy set defining the fuzzy input variable calculated density
CHs which are located within the competition radius of that
respective node and includes id, its competition radius
(Compi), the remaining energy (Ei) and density (di).
In this competition, the remaining energy is regarded as
the key parameter in selecting the final CH. Now, if a
tentative CH receives the CandidateCH Message from
another tentative CH which is inside its competition radius
and the remaining energy of the sender is more than the
receiver’s remaining energy, hence, the receiving node will
transmit a message and will quit from the competition
(Quit Election Message).However, in case the remaining
energy of both nodes is identical, then, the node with
higher density will be selected as the final CH. Thus, if a
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Wireless Networks
tentative CH has higher remaining energy than all the other
tentative CHs from which it has received the candidate
message, or in case the remaining energies are identical but
one node has more density, that node will change its state
to the CH state. This competition guarantees that there will
not be another CH in the competition radius of the
respective CH; accordingly, energy consumption will be
balanced.
When the competition ends and the final CHs are
selected, each CH will introduce itself as the final CH to
the other nodes via broadcasting a message. According to
the receiving signal strength, the other nodes will select the
closest CH and will send a message to it and will introduce
Wireless Networks

Fig. 5 Fuzzy set defining the fuzzy output variable competition radius

themselves as the member of that cluster. After the com-

pletion of clustering, each CH will create a scheduling
based on TDMA scheduling protocol and will broadcast it
as a message to their members so that they are informed of
it. Such a scheduling provides them with the opportunity to
transmit their data at a specific time span. Also, it will
make the nodes keep their radio on only at their own
dedicated time span and they will turn off their radios at
other times so as to reduce energy consumption.
For preventing radio disorder and interruption among
neighboring nodes, each cluster uses a different CDMA
code. That is, after the CH is selected, it will randomly
select a model from the list of its codes and will inform
them about it so that they transmit their data according to
the announced code. Consequently, the radio communica-
tion of the neighboring cluster will not impact one another
and the communication will not be destroyed.
At the end of the first round, when the MS reached the
predetermined location, the movement path of the MS
should be determined in the next round. With regard to the
Fig. 6 Mobile sink divides the network into 16 equal parts
network dimensions, the MS divides the network into 16
equal parts as shown in Fig. 6.
Sum of Each Alive Nodes Energy in PartðaÞ
Since the MS is aware of nodes remaining energy, after Eavgi ¼
network is divided into sections (each square indicating Number of All Alive Nodes in PartðaÞ
one section), the average remaining energy of alive nodes ð3Þ
in each section will be measured through Eq. 3 (Eavgi).
As shown in Fig. 6, now, the MS must determine the
Then averages will be placed in an array and sort in
number of paths which should be taken in the new round by
ascending order by the MS. Eavgi will be obtained by
Eq. (4) and by dividing the number of sections which have
dividing the energy of all alive nodes in that section to the
alive nodes on a fixed value (optimal value: 7).
total alive nodes of that section.

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Number of Alive Cell
Number of MS Trajectory ¼ Ceil
7
ð4Þ
Indeed, number 7 is a fixed value and there are 16 sections
in the network in all scenarios; hence, until all the sections
have alive nodes, the MS will go through all the three paths
in each round. Then, when the number of the sections
having alive nodes is 14 or less than that, the number of
MS trajectory will be reduced to 2 paths in each round.
This process will continue until the number of sections
having alive nodes is 7 or less than that; in that case, it is
obvious that the MS will go through only one path. Such a
reduction in the number of path is taken for granted
because if the number of sink paths does not decrease in
accordance with the reduction of the number of alive
nodes, network efficiency will be, accordingly, diminished.
Hence, the network will become inefficient. After the sink
specifies the number of paths, it will go to those sections of
the network which have the minimum remaining energy;
indeed, based on the results obtained from the simulations
of the proposed protocol, RNs will suffer less stress than
the other nodes. As a result, the movement of the sink
towards the regions with the least remaining energy will
result in the enhancement of network lifetime and the
proper distribution of energy consumption among nodes.
The MS determines its movement trajectory; then, it
measures its distances from all the nodes. In case the dis-
tance is less than Rx, it will be specified as RN; otherwise,
it will be introduced as normal node. Next, the algorithm
will be executed from the beginning for the next round.
5 Routing
After CHs are formed and specified, it is the time for
transmitting data towards the MS. In this process, at first,
CHs begin to collect the sensed data according to the
scheduling which was given to the cluster members at the
time of cluster establishment. Next, the collected data is
delivered directly or through multi-hops to the respective
RN and finally to the MS. In the proposed routing, in case
the distance of the transmitting CH from the MS is more
than DIST_MAX and TD_MAX, hence, the respective CH
transmits its gathered data through another CH in its
neighborhood which is closer to the RN. This process
continues until the collected data reaches the destination. If
a CH is located in a place at the transmission time which is
closer than the DIST_MAX (DIST_MAX = d0), hence, the
data will be directly at the MS’s disposal. The value of d0 is
measured through Eq. (7) which will be discussed later in
the paper. On the other hand, for optimizing routing effi-
ciency, a value called TD_MAX was introduced; in case
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Wireless Networks
the distance of CH from RN is less than this value, data
will be directly delivered to RN within one hop by means
of the CH.
If data transmission distance is less than d-0, energy
consumption will be the second exponent of d. Also, if the
transmission distance is more than d0, energy consumption
will be the fourth exponent of d which justifies the uti-
lization of d0. In case the distance is more than this value,
data will be transmitted to RN and is saved there so that the
MS reaches near the RN; hence, data will be at the sink’s
disposal. Detecting and determining when the sink node is
at an appropriate distance from RNs and from the CHs
which aim to directly transmit data to the sink is as follows.
At first, the MS broadcasts an initial message (before
starting to move and at the beginning of each round) telling
network nodes its current location as well as its movement
speed D; this value indicates its movement speed in the
current round. As a result, according to the MS’s move-
ment speed, route and its distance, the CHs will be able to
measure when the sink will be at the closest location with
them. Figure 7 depicts an instance of clustering and
movement path of the MS by the proposed protocol. In this
example, 100 sensors have been randomly distributed in a
200*200 m region and the MS is indicated in the form of a
black circle; also, CHs and RNs have been indicated in this
figure. As it is obvious in this figure, after normal nodes
select their CHs, they are connected to the closest CH and
the movement path of the MS is depicted via the available
arrows in this figure. Since all 16 sections have alive nodes,
the sink will go through three paths.
6 Energy model
In the proposed protocol, we use the same radio model as
[29]. Also, the same energy model as described in [40]. The
initial energy at each sensor is 0.25 J. The energy con-
sumptions of transmitting and receiving one byte are ETx ¼
50 nJ and ERx ¼ 50 nJ, respectively. The consumed energy
for transmitting L bits of data with the distance of d meters
is measured through Eq. (5).
ETx ðl; dÞ ¼ ETxelec ðlÞ þ ETxamp ðl; dÞ ! ð5Þ

Eelec  l þ Eamp  l  d2 ; d\do
ETx ðl; dÞ ¼
Eelec  l þ Eamp  l  d4 ; d  do
The energy consumed at the data reception time is mea-
sured through Eq. (6).
ERx ðlÞ ¼ ERxelec ðlÞ ð6Þ
ERx ðlÞ ¼ Eelec  l
Also, d0 value is obtained through Eq. (7).
Wireless Networks
Fig. 7 A WSN clustered by
using our proposed protocol
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Efs
do ¼ ð7Þ
Eamp
ETX parameter indicates energy consumption for trans-
mitting one bit of data, Efs stands for energy consumed by
the power amplifier in the free space model. And Eamp
refers to the energy consumed by the power amplifier in the
multipath model. In LEACH algorithm, due to distance,
data transmission from CH to the sink consumes lots of
energy. In the proposed protocol, energy consumption is
reduced which is attributed to the placement location of the
MS. That is, based on the placement location of the sink, if
the distance of the CH is less than d0 , it will transmit the
collected data to the nearest RN so that it is buffered there
and would be transmitted to the MS at the appropriate time.
As given in Eq. (8) in case data transmission distance is
less than d0 , energy consumption will be the second
exponent of d. On the other hand, if the transmission dis-
tance is more than d0 , energy consumption will the fourth
exponent of d.

lEelec þ lefs d 2 ; d\do
ETx ðl; dÞ ¼ ð8Þ
lEelec þ lemp d 4 ; d  do
As a result, the energy required for transmitting and
receiving data for each node is obtained through Eq. (9).
Etotal ¼ ETx ðl; dÞ þ ERx ðlÞ ð9Þ
7 Simulation and evaluation of the results
The proposed protocol was simulated and the obtained
results were investigated. The proposed algorithm was
compared with three other protocols, i.e. LEACH, MOFCA
and Optimizing LEACH clustering algorithm with mobile
sink and rendezvous nodes (OPT LEACH) in the form of
four different scenarios. As we know, with increasing
network size, sensors will lose their energy more quickly.
Due to this, four scenarios with different dimensions have
been used to evaluate energy consumption, which are
similar to real cases. All of these scenarios were simulated
and their results were investigated. It was found that the
proposed protocol had a better performance than the other
protocols.
Handy et al., used the metrics first node dies (FND), half
of the nodes alive (HNA) and last node dies (LND) in [41]
to estimate the lifetime of the WSNs.
FND indicates the number of round in which the first
node dies. This metric is effective and efficient in networks
with little number of nodes. However, it should be noted
that the death of a single node in networks with higher
number of nodes is not that much important. As a result,
Handy et al., introduced another metric, namely HNA
which denotes the number of round in which half of the
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 Wireless Networks

nodes die. Furthermore, they provide another metric, Table 2 Configuration for scenario 1
referred to as LND, which denotes an estimated value for Parameter Value
the overall lifetime of the network. However, it can be
argued that LND is an ineffective metric because after the AOI (network boundaries) 200 m 9 200 m
death of the half of network nodes, the network will no Number of nodes 100
longer be effective and efficient. Consequently, FND, HNA Data packet size 4000 bits
metric and the total remaining energy (TRE) were used in Eamp 0.0013 pJ/bit/m4
the present study for investigating the proposed algorithm Efs 10 pJ/bit/m2
and the above-mentioned algorithms for comparison. TRE Aggregation ratio 10%
is measured through Eq. (10). Rx 16%
Xn
Remain  Engtotal ðrÞ ¼ Er ðNÞ ð10Þ
N¼1

Er ðNÞ indicates the energy amount of N nodes in the rth
round.
In each round of the proposed protocol, the movement
path of the MS was firstly determined. Then, the tentative
CHs and RNs were selected. Next, using fuzzy logic, the
competition radius and the final CHs were determined.
Eventually, each node selects its own CH. Accordingly,
network is established. After the establishment of the net-
work, each normal node transmits 4000 data bits to the
previously selected CH. Also, using a specific aggregation
ratio, each CH collects the related data from its members
and transmits them to the nearest RN or directly to the MS.
In the conducted simulations, the considered aggregation
rate was 10% which was similar to that of CHEF algorithm.
The length of the aggregated data is measured through
Eq. (11).
 
Lagg ¼ Lrec þ Lrec  Ragg  N ð11Þ
In this equation, Lagg parameter stands for the length of
data received from cluster members; Ragg refers to the
aggregation rate and N denotes the number of available
nodes in the cluster. For instance, in case a CH has 15
members and each one transmits 100 data bits to the CH,
the aggregation ratio is considered to be 10%. Hence, the
length of the aggregated data will be equal to
(100 ? (100*0.1*15)) which is equal to 250 bits.
All the stages in the simulation were carried out by
MATLAB R2015a. The value of initial energy in all the
scenarios was considered to be 0.25 J. Each scenario was
carried out more than 100 times. The average obtained
results are reported below. In the first and second scenarios,
the threshold of the tentative CH in each round of the two
fuzzy methods (the proposed protocol and MOFCA) was
0.2 for 100 nodes. Also, in the two methods in which
LEACH was used for selecting CH, P value (the proba-
bility of becoming CH) was assumed to be 0.1. Further-
more, in the third and fourth scenarios, P value was
considered to be 0.2.
Table 3 Simulation results for scenario 1
Algorithm FND HNA TRE (J)
LEACH 267 349 10.605
MOFCA 309 364 11.228
OPT LEACH 366 442 13.945
Proposed algorithm 408 482 14.387
7.1 Scenario one
In the first scenario, the network size was assumed to be
200*200 m. The initial location of the MS was prespecified
and the movement path of the MS in the first round was
also predetermined. The details related to this scenario are
illustrated in Table 2.
Maximum competition radius for this network size was
equal to 50 m. TD_MAX was equal to 60 m and DIS-
T_MAX was d0 (about 87 m). Table 3 gives the results
with respect to different metrics for the first scenario. As
shown in Table 3, the proposed algorithm has better per-
formance than LEACH, MOFCA and OPT LEACH in
terms of all three metric. Also, it should be noted that
LEACH has the poorest performance when compared with
the other methods.
Figure 8 depicts the number of dead nodes in relation to
the number of rounds. As shown in this figure, the proposed
method loses its energy later than all the other methods.
The OPT LEACH method has a desirable approach; nev-
ertheless, it should be noted that the proposed method had a
better performance in three metrics of FND, HNA and
LND.
Figure 9 depicts the amount of remaining energy in
relation to the number of rounds. It was observed that
LEACH had poorer performance than the other methods
since it does not consider the amount of nodes’ remaining
energy in clustering; rather, it uses a probabilistic model
which is not adequate for network efficiency with such a

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Wireless Networks

Fig. 8 Distribution of dead nodes in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 1)

Fig. 9 Total remaining energy in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 1)

size. Also, although MOFCA uses fuzzy logic, it encoun-
ters the problem of the premature loss of nodes which are
nearer to the sink. Indeed, this problem is attributed to the
fixedness of the sink which has been solved in the proposed
method. Nevertheless, MOFCA had a better performance
than LEACH.
Regarding OPT LEACH, obviously, capitalizing on MS
led to a better performance of OPT LEACH in comparison
with LEACH and MOFCA. However, due to the fixedness
of the movement path of the sink, the pressure on some
specific nodes was more than other nodes. It should be
noted that the protocol proposed in this paper combined
both fuzzy logic, MS and the variability of the movement
path of the MS in each round; consequently, capitalizing on
these features, the proposed protocol was able to have a
more desirable approach and performance than the other
protocols.
The last column in Table 3 indicates the total remaining
energy (TRE) in round 200. Since the initial energy of each
node was 0.25 J, the total energy in round one was 25 J. As
it can be expected, the increase in the number of rounds
leads to the reduction of the energy of nodes.

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 Wireless Networks

Table 4 Configuration for scenario 2 DIST_MAX was regarded as d0. The obtained results are
Parameter Value
given in Table 5. The results indicated that as the network
becomes smaller, LEACH protocol gets better approach
AOI (network boundaries) 150 m 9 150 m and performance than MOFCA. As given in Table 5,
Number of nodes 100 regarding FND metric, the proposed protocol, as in the
Data packet size 4000 bits previous scenario, had a better performance than the other
Eamp 0.0013 pJ/bit/m4 protocols. However, after losing the first node, its energy
Efs 10 pJ/bit/m2 quickly diminishes. As HNA metric shows, when half of
Aggregation ratio 10% the nodes has been died, it is OPT LEACH which had a
Rx 16% better performance than the proposed protocol.
Figure 10 illustrates the number of dead nodes in rela-
tion to the number of rounds. As shown in this figure, it is
observed that the proposed protocol loses its initial energy
Table 5 Simulation results for scenario 2 later than the other methods. Nevertheless, its energy
drains quickly; consequently, the efficiency of the proposed
Algorithm FND HNA TRE (J)
protocol diminishes sooner.
LEACH 295 384 12.244 Figure 11 depicts the amount of remaining energy in
MOFCA 252 337 10.006 relation to the number of nodes. According to this figure, it
OPT LEACH 420 483 14.85 can be observed that the proposed protocol and OPT
Proposed algorithm 441 464 13.979 LEACH lose their energies in a parallel way. However,
eventually, it was OPT LEACH which had a better per-
formance. In this scenario, although MOFCA uses fuzzy
logic, it had a weaker performance than the other methods.
It is obvious that using MS led to the improvement of
7.2 Scenario two
network efficiency. The last column of Table 5 indicates
the total remaining energy at the end of round 200.
In the second scenario, network size was 150*150 m. The
initial location of the MS and the movement path of the MS
7.3 Scenario three
in the first round of the proposed protocol were predeter-
mined. The details related to this scenario are given in
In this scenario, network size was equal to 300*300 m. The
Table 4.
initial location of MS and the movement path of the MS in
Maximum competition radius for this network dimen-
the first round of the proposed protocol were
sion was considered to be 50 m. TD_MAX was 50 m and

Fig. 10 Distribution of dead nodes in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 2)

123
Wireless Networks

Fig. 11 Total remaining energy in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 2)

available algorithms of WSNs in big dimensions encounter

Table 6 Configuration for scenario 3
issues and problems in terms of energy consumption.
Parameter Value However, the proposed protocol had high performance
AOI (network boundaries) 300 m 9 300 m
with regard to all three respective metrics. As it can be
expected, LEACH also had the most weaknesses and
Number of nodes 100
problems in a network with big dimensions.
Data packet size 4000 bits
Figure 12 illustrates the number of dead nodes in rela-
Eamp 0.0013 pJ/bit/m4
tion to the number of rounds. According to this figure, it
Efs 10 pJ/bit/m2
was found that the proposed protocol, with regard to the
Aggregation ratio 10%
three metrics of FND, HNA and LND, loses its nodes later
Rx 16%
than the other methods.
Furthermore, Fig. 13 depicts the amount of remaining
energy in relation to the number of rounds. As illustrated in
Figs. 12 and 13, it can be argued that LEACH performance
was weaker than the other protocols which are attributed to
Table 7 Simulation results for scenario 3
the high distance of nodes in relation to the sink. In a
Algorithm FND HNA TRE (J) similar vein, MOFCA suffers from the energy hole prob-
LEACH 129 235 6.9703 lem and quickly loses its energy. Regarding OPT LEACH,
MOFCA 216 288 8.5059
due to the fixedness of the MS trajectory, there is a pressure
OPT LEACH 318 376 12.591
on certain nodes. In contrast, the proposed protocol had a
significantly better performance which is due to the variety
Proposed algorithm 362 414 12.925
in selecting the trajectory of the MS. The last column of
Table 7 indicates the total remaining energy (TRE) at
round 200.

predetermined. The details related to this scenario are
given in Table 6.
Maximum competition radius with regard to the network
size was 70 m. TD_MAX and DIST_MAX were consid-
ered to be d0. Table 7 gives the results for different metrics
which were obtained from the simulations. As shown in
this table, it is obvious that the proposed algorithm had a
better performance than the other methods. In general, the
7.4 Scenario four
In this scenario, network size was assumed to be
400*400 m. Like the previous scenarios, the initial location
and the movement path of the MS at the first round were
prespecified. The details of scenario are given in Table 8.
In this scenario, due to the enhancement of length and
width of network, the maximum competition radius was

123
 Wireless Networks

Fig. 12 Distribution of dead nodes in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 3)

Fig. 13 Total remaining energy in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 3)

Table 8 Configuration for scenario 4 Table 9 Simulation results for scenario 4

Parameter Value Algorithm FND HNA TRE (J)
AOI (network boundaries) 400 m 9 400 m LEACH 55 166 0
Number of nodes 100 MOFCA 109 205 4.3092
Data packet size 4000 bits OPT LEACH 63 268 5.9669
Eamp 0.0013 pJ/bit/m4 Proposed algorithm 134 277 7.018
Efs 10 pJ/bit/m2
Aggregation ratio 10%
Rx 16% 90 m; TD_MAX and DIST_MAX was d0. Table 9 gives
the results for the different metrics of this scenario.

123
Wireless Networks

Fig. 14 Distribution of dead nodes in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 4)

Fig. 15 Total remaining energy in relation to the number of rounds (scenario 4)

As given in this table, the proposed protocol had a better
performance than LEACH, MOFCA and OPT LEACH
with respect to all three metrics.
Figure 14 illustrates the number of dead nodes in rela-
tion to the number of rounds. As it is obvious in the figure,
the proposed method had a relatively higher performance
than the other methods. Also, Fig. 15 illustrates the amount
of remaining energy in relation to the number of rounds.
Similar to the other previous scenarios with big
dimensions, LEACH has the weakest performance among
all the available methods since the energy hole problem
emerges earlier due to the large distance to the sink.
Consequently, it leads to the reduction of network lifetime.
As it can be expected, MOFCA had a better performance
than but weaker than the methods which had MS (due to
the occurrence of the energy hole problem). OPT LEACH
had performance similar to that of the proposed protocol
but a little weaker than that. Within a very short time, OPT
LEACH loses its first node.
The proposed protocol duo to use of fuzzy logic for
unequal clustering instead of using fixed-size clusters like
that used in LEACH, it has solved the energy hole problem.
One of the other weaknesses of the LEACH protocol is that
it uses fixed base station, but in the proposed protocol, MS

123

moves and gathers data from network nodes. Unlike the
LEACH method, the MOFCA protocol, has used unequal
clustering in his method but using a fixed base station
causes to energy hole appears faster than our protocol. OPT
LEACH also suffers from energy hole problems despite the
use of MS, because it uses a predefined trajectory for MS
and its clustering is similar to the LEACH method, but in
our proposed protocol, in each round the movement path of
the MS was firstly determined, also, to prevent the energy
hole problem our protocol proposing a novel unequal
clustering method by using fuzzy logic. As a result, the
proposed protocol is better than other methods.
As shown in scenarios one, three and four which are on
a large-scale, due to the use of the MS with variable tra-
jectory based on the proposed method and fuzzy approach
the results of simulating indicated that it had significant
improvements in comparison with the other methods. In the
first scenario, regarding HNA and FND metrics, 9 and 11%
improvements were obtained in comparison with OPT
LEACH which uses the predetermined path. In the second
scenario, regarding HNA metric, the proposed method 4%
weaker performance than OPT LEACH with respect to
HNA but it had 5% better performance in terms of FND. In
the third scenario, HNA and FND metrics in the proposed
protocol were improved for 10 and 13%, respectively.
Regarding the fourth scenario, network lifetime in the
proposed protocol was enhanced which is attributed to 3
and 112% improvements of HNA and FND, respectively.
The findings show that the proposed method works better
than other protocol in most of the scenarios, especially
large-scale networks.
8 Conclusion
The issue under focus in this paper was to improve and
optimize the performance of WSNs through proposing a
novel unequal clustering method by using fuzzy logic and
multiple sinks. Considering the problems and shortcomings
of the earlier methods and related works, we developed a
novel method for sorting out the energy hole problem in
WSNs by capitalizing on fuzzy logic and MS. We proved
that, in order to avoid the energy hole problem, the number
of clusters in areas should strictly increase as the distance
towards the MS trajectory decreases. The proposed algo-
rithm considers distance to closest RN, remaining energy
and calculated density as the input variables of the fuzzy
logic. That is, these variables are taken into consideration
for measuring competition radius of each tentative CH.
Also we developed and proposed a method for the smart
selection of MS route. Extensive simulations have shown
that our method extends the network lifetime as compared
to the other protocols. As directions for further research, it
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Wireless Networks
should be argued that the proposed protocol can be opti-
mized and improved with regard to different aspects in
future studies. As a case in point, the optimization of the
movement path of the MS for smartly referring to the nodes
with the highest or lowest remaining energy is regarded as
a potential issue which can be addressed in future works.
Moreover, using multiple MSs simultaneously in a
specific region in such a way that sinks can define paths,
cover nodes and gather data in collaboration with one
another is considered to be another direction for further
research. It should be maintained that the proposed method
is appropriate for networks with relatively greater dimen-
sions. Thanks to utilizing the density parameter in clus-
tering via the fuzzy logic, the movement of the nodes
through the natural factors was considered in the proposed
method. Thus, the intentional movement and replacement
of the nodes can be added to the network using the pro-
posed method so that, if needed, nodes can change their
locations.
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Kambiz Koosheshi received his
M.S. in Software Engineering
from the Tabriz Branch of Isla-
mic Azad University, Iran in
2016 and his B.S. in Software
Engineering from the Central
Tehran Branch of Islamic Azad
University, Iran in 2011. He has
published several research
papers at both National and
International Conferences. His
specializations include Wireless
Communication and Networks.
His current research interests
are Wireless Sensor and Ad hoc
Networks, IoT and 5G Wireless Systems and Networks. He is also a
member of the IEEE.
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 Wireless Networks

Saeed Ebadi is a Ph.D. student University, Tabriz Branch. His research interests include Cloud
in the Computer Architecture computing, grid computing and wireless sensor networks.
Engineering at Computer Engi-
neering Department of the Sci-
ence and Research Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Teh-
ran, Iran, since 2012. He
received M.S. (2010) from
Islamic Azad University, Tabriz
Branch, Iran, B.S. (2008) from
University of Applied Science
and Technology, Tabriz, Iran.
He is currently faculty member
in the Department of Computer
Engineering at Islamic Azad

123