A Novel Hybridized Cluster-Based Geographical Opportunistic Routing Protocol for Effective Data Routing in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Underwater wireless sensor nodes comprise hundreds to thousands of battery-operated sensor nodes with limited bandwidth. These networks are employed to transmit the data with enhanced quality of service (QoS). However, efficient data routing is the most challenging obstacle in many underwater applications. To solve the issues in underwater sensor nodes, the hybridized cluster-based geographical opportunistic routing protocol with distance vector establishment has been proposed to transmit the data efficiently. Primarily, the proposed methodology finds out the shortest path with minimal hop count whereas the void node can be updated with infinite hop count. Thereafter, the sleep/wake scheduling and waiting mechanism and periodic beaconing algorithm are incorporated into the proposed model to attain a higher packet delivery ratio with minimal energy consumption. This proper scheduling and optimal cluster routing enhance the continuous data transmission in underwater applications. The simulation result reveals that the proposed method achieves better energy efficiency and higher network lifetime when compared with the existing clustering methods.