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KM-LEACH: Energy-Efficient Transmission of Clustered Nodes in Wireless Sensor Networks
Feng Liu and Zongchen Liu

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) play a crucial role in various applications, including environmental monitoring, health care, and industrial automation. However, the limited energy resources of sensor nodes have posed significant challenges to the efficient operation and longevity of these networks. This paper introduces K-means low-energy adaptive clustering hierarchy (KM-LEACH), an innovative energy-efficient transmission protocol for clustered nodes in WSNs, aiming to overcome these challenges. KM-LEACH extends the popular Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol, incorporating a novel clustering mechanism based on the K-means algorithm. The proposed protocol aims to optimize the energy distribution among nodes by dynamically adjusting the clusters’ formation and size based on nodes’ energy status and spatial distribution. We demonstrate the effectiveness of KM-LEACH through extensive computer simulations. The results show that KM-LEACH significantly improves the network lifetime, energy efficiency, and stability compared to the traditional LEACH protocol and other existing energy-efficient protocols. Furthermore, KM-LEACH achieves a more balanced energy consumption among sensor nodes, thereby preventing premature node deaths and enhancing the overall network performance. This study provides new insights into the design of energy-efficient transmission strategies for clustered nodes in WSNs. Future work will focus on further optimizing the KM-LEACH protocol and exploring its applicability in diverse real-world scenarios.

Keywords: Wireless Sensor Networks, Energy-Efficient Transmission, KM-LEACH Protocol, Dynamic Cluster Head Selection