Enhanced Clustering Techniques for Marine Ad-Hoc Networks Using Dynamic PFCM

Ship Ad Hoc Networks (SANETs) are an integral part of modern maritime communication and shipping, characterized by dynamic topology and heavy traffic. Accurate node localization in SANETs is of great importance to ensure effective communication, security, and operational decisions. Traditional clustering algorithms, such as Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) and Possibilistic Fuzzy C-Means (PFCM), struggle with the dynamic and collaborative nature of SANETs, being sensitive to noise, outliers, and node distribution of rapidly changing. In this paper, a new clustering algorithm, the Dynamic Weighted Gradient-Based Possibilistic using Fuzzy C-Means (DWGB-PFCM), is specially designed to address the limitations of traditional methods in dynamic SANETs. The DWGB-PFCM contains dynamic weighted distances, flexible membership and uniqueness functions, and enhanced objective functions to improve robustness, adaptability, and efficiency of the cluster. Detailed data processing from the National Buoy Data Center (NDBC) combines spatial environmental parameters such as wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and wave characteristics to simulate real-world ocean challenges. Experimental results show that DWGB-PFCM outperforms traditional methods and separation measurements, with PFCM improving by 15.8%, decreasing by 22.2% in separation entropy, and decreasing by 32.1% in RMSE. In addition, DWGB-PFCM achieves a 15.0% improvement in computational efficiency over FCM. This research lays the foundation for further innovations in clustering algorithms designed for dynamic environments.