A Routing Protocol Based on Ant ColonyAlgorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy of nodes is limited in wireless sensornetworks, so it is necessary for routing protocol to makeuse of energy effectively. Aiming at the disadvantages ofdirected diffusion in energy utilization, a routing protocolbased on ant colony algorithm for wireless sensor networks(Directed diffusion based ant colony algorithm, DDBA) ispresented. This protocol, based on the principle of antcolony algorithm, considers both the residual energy ofnodes and the transmission energy consumption betweennodes when routing. Theoretical analysis and simulationresults show that DDBA reduces the power consumption,enhances the energy utilization and balances the energyconsumption of the whole network, which leads to extensionof the lifetime of both nodes and networks.