無線感測網路是由一個或數個的資料收集點,以及為數眾多的感測節點所組成的網路架構。感測節點具有感應、無線通訊及資料處理能力,能夠偵測受測目標或環境的狀態及改變,甚至可以先初步處理所收集到的資料,再以無線傳輸的方式將資料傳送到資料收集點進行彙整。這些感測節點因為有電力上的限制,因此如何延長整體無線感測網路的壽命是個重要的議題。 在EAR[1]中,除了以最短路徑為路徑選擇的考量外,還考慮了Next hop的節點電量來做進一步的篩選,但Next hop的節點電量無法代表整體路徑電量表現。因此,本論文提出以水流式概念的路由演算法,並考量路徑上最低電量做為路由負載的分配,藉以延長感測網路的功能性時間及整體壽命。
Wireless sensor networks are composed of one or more hubs and lots of sensors. A sensor has capability of sensing, wireless communication and data processing. They collect the information about the status or changes of sensed objects and environment and then send it to the hubs for integration. Since these sensors are equipped with batteries, their activities are restricted by the limited power. Therefore, how to extend the network lifetime is an important issue. In EAR[1], it utilizes both the shortest path and next hop energy for path selection. Nevertheless, the next hop energy is not suitable to represent the path energy. In this paper, we propose a routing protocol which uses the water flow idea and allocates the loading based on the lowest energy in paths. From the simulation result, it shows that our approach could extend the network lifetime efficiently.