Cluster Based Lion Optimization Routing Protocol for Internet of Vehicles (<scp>CLORP</scp>)

ABSTRACT In view of the vast range of applications and advantages the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) offers, such as better passenger safety, entertainment, and traffic efficiency, the IoV has been the subject of substantial research. Information is sent directly or indirectly between nodes in the IoV. In the IoV, information interchange between people, vehicles, and roadside equipment is prioritized, and routing is a crucial stage in this process. Data transfer from the starting node to the destination node offers a routing challenge due to the network's dynamic nature. Routing issues arise from the need to consider a number of factors, like the throughput latency, packet delivery ratio, and routing overhead. A topology‐based routing protocol that is most popular is called Ad‐hoc On‐Demand Distance Vector (AODV), although during route discovery, it produces a lot of unnecessary paths between source and destination nodes. In this article, a novel protocol named Cluster‐based Lion Optimization Routing Protocol (CLORP) is proposed to lower the network load which is the main reason behind the problem of inefficient network performance. CLORP is centered around cluster formation and choosing the CH using the lion algorithm. It strengthens AODV protocol with the use of gateway nodes and cluster heads for routing while forming stable clusters. The main goal of CLORP is to decrease the amount of control messages sent by employing the clustering idea and choosing the best cluster head using the Lion optimization algorithm that enhances network performance. To examine the protocol's efficiency, its output is compared with that of AODV, Improved AODV, CACOIOV, AODV‐DATRLD, ACO‐DATRLD, DMCNF, and EHCP.