Optimization of Wireless Sensor Network Lifetime by means of Evolutionary Algorithms

Sensor networks are an emerging field of research which combines many challenges of modern computer science, wireless communication and mobile computing. Microsensors’ technology, more reliable wireless communication and low-cost manufacturing have resulted in small, inexpensive and powerful sensors with embedded processing and wireless networking capability. Wireless technology certainly opens the way to a wide range of applications for monitoring systems and allows a better understanding and management of processes that could not be analyzed before. On the other hand sensor networks present significant systems challenges involving the use of large numbers of resource-constrained nodes operating essentially unattended and exposed to potential local communication failures. The physical constraints of a sensor network, especially in terms of energy, require an integrated and collaborative approach for the different layers of the network. In this direction, it is important to develop a communication-efficient solution to manage data distribution modeling in an environmental sensor system supported by a clustered structure of the network. Since this kind of problem is intrinsically complex and needs to take into account many parameters at the same time, in this paper we investigate the possibility of using evolutionary algorithms to optimize the lifetime of a network with a limited power supply. Key words: Wireless microsensor networks, routing strategies optimization, evolutionary algorithms.