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This paper describes a routing algorithm that broadcasts a bitmap with random waiting to reduce the number of messages transferred when establishing routing paths. Existing routing algorithms do not include routing tables for determining a path, as this would increase the cost, since sensor nodes are invariably mobile and have a limited capacity and restricted resources. However, this study proposes a sensor node that includes a routing table in the form of a bitmap, thereby reducing the size of the routing table. A bitmap is formed with a two-dimensional array, where each row and column are represented by one bit. Plus, when a node transfers routing information, it must wait randomly before transmitting to its neighbors, allowing redundant paths to open up when the bitmap is broadcast. After broadcasting, if a node then receives a bitmap from other adjacent nodes, it only updates its own bitmap. Thus, each node has a bitmap with partial link information on the network, rather than total link information. As a result, the proposed routing algorithm effectively reduces the number of messages involved in routing establishment when compared to existing algorithms.

Keywords: wireless sensor network, routing algorithm, routing protocol, bitmap broadcast, routing table, random waiting

Retrieve PDF document (200707_04.pdf)

Received September 15, 2006; accepted February 6, 2007.
Communicated by Ten H. Lai, Chung-Ta King and Jehn-Ruey Jiang.
^*This paper was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) under grant No. 2006CB303000.