A Survey on Node Clustering in Cognitive Radio Wireless Sensor Networks

Cognitive radio wireless sensor networks (CR-WSNs) have attracted a great deal of attention recently due to the emerging spectrum scarcity issue. This work attempts to provide a detailed analysis of the role of node clustering in CR-WSNs. We outline the objectives, requirements, and advantages of node clustering in CR-WSNs. We describe how a CR-WSN with node clustering differs from conventional wireless sensor networks, and we discuss its characteristics, architecture, and topologies. We survey the existing clustering algorithms and compare their objectives and features. We suggest how clustering issues and challenges can be handled.