NSAC: A Novel Clustering Protocol in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks for Internet of Things

Clustering is an effective method to manage communications in cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs). This letter proposes a network stability-aware clustering (NSAC) protocol for CRSNs. Spectrum dynamics and energy consumption are for the first time simultaneously integrated into the protocol design of NSAC. Extensive simulations show that the proposed NSAC protocol obviously outperforms existing methods in the aspects of network stability and energy consumption.