Multi-Parametric Clustering for Sensor Node Coordination in Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks

The deployment of wireless sensor networks for healthcare applications have been motivated and driven by the increasing demand for real-time monitoring of patients in hospital and large disaster response environments. A major challenge in developing such sensor networks is the need for coordinating a large number of randomly deployed sensor nodes. In this study, we propose a multi-parametric clustering scheme designed to aid in the coordination of sensor nodes within cognitive wireless sensor networks. In the proposed scheme, sensor nodes are clustered together based on similar network behaviour across multiple network parameters, such as channel availability, interference characteristics, and topological characteristics, followed by mechanisms for forming, joining and switching clusters. Extensive performance evaluation is conducted to study the impact on important factors such as clustering overhead, cluster joining estimation error, interference probability, as well as probability of reclustering. Results show that the proposed clustering scheme can be an excellent candidate for use in large scale cognitive wireless sensor network deployments with high dynamics.