Power-aware and reliable sensor selection based on trust for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is temporarily formed, operated and managed by the nodes themselves. In a complex WSN, malicious nodes are well disguised, and they can attack the entire network on specific purpose by utilizing the natural cooperation of nodes. The error-prone characteristic of sensor nodes can also cause instability in WSN. Therefore, how to choose one or more suitable sensor nodes to collaborate towards a better system performance is a critical issue. In this paper, we construct a new trust model for WSNs based on the trust mechanism in human society. Based on this trust model, we propose a novel power-aware and reliable scheme for sensor selection (PRS). The remaining energy of a node can be considered as an important restrictive factor for the proposed scheme. Simulation results show that PRS scheme can improve the system stability, defend against the attacks of malicious nodes, and prolong the lifetime of WSNs, effectively. © 2010 Academy Publisher.