Transmission-efficient clustering method for wireless sensor networks using compressive sensing

Compressive sensing (CS) can reduce the number of data transmissions and balance the traffic load throughout networks. However, the total number of transmissions for data collection by using pure CS is still large. The hybrid method of using CS was proposed to reduce the number of transmissions in sensor networks. However, the previous works use the CS method on routing trees. In this paper, we propose a clustering method that uses hybrid CS for sensor networks. The sensor nodes are organized into clusters. Within a cluster, nodes transmit data to cluster head (CH) without using CS. CHs use CS to transmit data to sink. We first propose an analytical model that studies the relationship between the size of clusters and number of transmissions in the hybrid CS method, aiming at finding the optimal size of clusters that can lead to minimum number of transmissions. Then, we propose a centralized clustering algorithm based on the results obtained from the analytical model. Finally, we present a distributed implementation of the clustering method. Extensive simulations confirm that our method can reduce the number of transmissions significantly.