Routing and Data Aggregation Techniques in Wireless Sensor Networks: Previous Research and Future Scope

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) consist of a small-sized large number of sensor nodes. The primary task of these sensor nodes is to sense the required event in a specific area of interest. The sensor nodes can be installed in areas where it is difficult for human beings to reach easily. WSNs have a huge number of applications such as agriculture monitoring, habitat monitoring, healthcare monitoring, volcanic erupted areas, security, and battlefield. As the sensor nodes are very small in size, they come up with very limited capability for processing the data. The power backup for the sensor nodes is very less due to which the sensors drain out at a very high speed. Draining of sensor nodes decreases the lifetime of the sensor network, so the network failure rate is very high in WSNs. The sensor nodes are generally close to each other, and because of that, they sense redundant data from the environment. To avoid forwarding redundant data to the base station, various routing and data aggregation techniques are used. Data aggregation is one of the very effective energy-efficient techniques used in WSNs. This technique helps in removing redundant data from the sensed data. This research paper will discuss various data aggregation techniques used in WSNs.