Evaluation of RPL and SDN-WISE in UAV assisted WSN data collection

This paper evaluates the performance of the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) and the Software-Defined WIreless SEnsor network (SDN-WISE) approach in a IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Net-works (6LoWPAN) network scenario. In this network scenario a mobile sink acting as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is used for data collection in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). A novel methodology is presented for generating efficient paths for the mobile UAV sink. It involves leveraging the K means clustering algorithm for finding the centroids which can cover the sensors within the transmission range. The Ant Colony Optimization technique is then used for traversing the centroids to solve the Travelling Salesmen problem (TSP). Key performance metrics such as average end-to-end delay, packet delivery ratio and energy consumption are analysed under varying conditions and sensor node densities. The study provides valuable insights into optimising UAV-assisted WSNs for enhanced performance and longevity in real-world applications.