A reliable sensor selection algorithm for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), nodes assist each other by passing data and control packets from one node to another. In a complex WSN, malicious nodes are well disguised so that they can purposely attack the whole network using the natural cooperations of sensors. In additional, the error-prone of sensors always cause the system instability of WSNs. To overcome this, we study trust mechanism in the human society and introduce it into a WSN. We also construct a trust model in accordance with the characteristics of a WSN. Based on trust model, we propose a power-aware and reliable algorithm for sensor selection. The simulation results show that our algorithm can improve the system stability of sensor networks, and efficiently defend against the attacks of malicious nodes.