Cluster tree topology construction method based on PSO algorithm to prolong the lifetime of ZigBee wireless sensor networks

For wireless sensor networks (WSNs) based on ZigBee technology, the network topology plays an important role for improving the energy efficiency and the network lifetime. An appropriate construction method of network topology should be designed for saving the energy of the battery in each network node so as to prolong the lifetime of ZigBee WSNs. In this paper, a novel cluster tree topology construction method based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed. In order to transform the network topology construction problem into an energy consumption optimization problem, an evaluation function reflecting the network energy consumption is designed, and the network topology is mapped into a particle population individual suitable for the PSO algorithm. In order to prolong the network lifetime as long as possible, two network topology reconstruction methods with the PSO algorithm based on fixed and variable energy thresholds are further proposed, respectively. The simulation results show that the proposed methods can prolong the lifetime of ZigBee WSNs effectively.