Routing in a Wireless Sensor Network using a Hybrid Algorithm to Improve the Lifetime of the Nodes

A reliable and secure routing protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks should be easy to maintain, reliable and cost-efficient. In this paper, we propose a hybrid routing algorithm using Ant Colony Optimization and Minimum Hop Count scheme. The proposed hybrid methodology provides an optimal routing path that ensures balanced and minimal energy consumption. The hybrid algorithm is unique in maintaining network topology, balancing network load and searching for the optimal route. The proposed algorithm with the WSN model is implemented in C++ and the simulation output proves our algorithm to outperform other similar routing algorithms.The proposed work indicates animprovement in network lifetime, success rate in finding the best solution and rate of convergence. The existing techniques are reviewed and their strengths and weaknesses are diagnosed and compared with our proposed hybrid methodology that integrates the strengths of both the algorithms.