Obstacle-Aware Fuzzy Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks in 3D Terrain

In order to optimize 3D (Three Dimension) terrain wireless sensor networks, an obstacle sensing fuzzy clustering (OAFC) protocol is proposed to maintain the energy efficiency and data transmission reliability of the network in 3D terrain with obstacles. The location of sensor nodes is determined in 3D environment, and the communication quality of sensor nodes is seriously affected by undulating terrain obstacles. Improving link reliability and reducing energy consumption are key factors for 3D terrain wireless sensor networks. OAFC protocol uses Fuzzy C Means (FCM) technology and Fuzzy inference system (FIS) to search optimal cluster heads (CHs) of network. Fuzzy logic based multi-hop routing is adopted in inter cluster communication to guarantee PDR performance. The performances of OAFC protocol are simulated in three different 3D scenarios. Comparing OAFC with LEACH-3D and FCM-3D, the simulation results show that the total energy consumption of our algorithm nodes is reduced by 17.5% and 33.1% respectively. The number of dead nodes is decreased by 23.6% and 45.9% at most. Packet transfer rate is increased by 0.118 to 0.349. The experimental results show that the more complex the 3D terrain obstacle, the better the performance of OAFC in PDR (Packet Delivery Rate).