A Quantum‐Inspired Source‐Distributed Opportunistic Routing Protocol for Reliable Routing in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

ABSTRACT Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) play a pivotal role in various applications, ranging from environmental monitoring to disaster prevention, necessitating robust and efficient communication protocols tailored to the challenging underwater environment. This paper introduces the Quantum‐Inspired Void‐Based Source Distributed Opportunistic Routing Protocol (QIVSORP) to address the inherent limitations of classical routing protocols in UWSNs. Motivated by the unique challenges posed by underwater conditions, QIVSORP leverages principles from quantum mechanics to enhance routing efficiency. The protocol employs a source‐distributed approach, utilizing quantum entanglement, superposition, and opportunistic routing strategies to enable adaptive and reliable data transmission in underwater scenarios. QIVSORP incorporates void‐based forwarding, adaptive decision‐making, and multipath routing to dynamically adjust routing decisions based on real‐time network conditions. The protocol's source‐informed decisions and opportunistic forwarding contribute to the adaptability and reliability of communication in dynamic underwater environments. QIVSORP achieves outstanding performance metrics: maintaining a Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) of 98.9% with 50 nodes and 80% with 400 nodes, reducing end‐to‐end delays to 12 ms at 50 nodes, 15 ms at 100 nodes, and 52 ms at 600 nodes, and demonstrating energy efficiency ranging from 0.2 to 200 J per delivered packet across varying node densities. These results highlight the QIVSORP's capability to optimize communication in dynamic underwater environments effectively.