An Adaptive Clustering Protocol Using Niching Particle Swarm Optimization for Wireless Sensor Networks

Clustering is an hierarchical topology control method, and it is also an energy-saving and energy efficient technique that extends the sensor network's lifetime. In this paper, we propose and analyze an adaptive clustering protocol using niching particle swarm optimization (ACP-NPSO), a protocol architecture that uses NPSO to cluster the wireless sensor networks adaptively and efficiently, thus saving energy, balancing energy consumption and enhancing the system's robustness. The simulation results indicate that our proposed protocol ACP-NPSO can enhance system lifespan, accelerate the convergence speed, and deliver more data by distributing energy dissipation evenly in the networks.