Resource Allocation in an Underwater Communication Network: The Stackelberg Game Power Control Method Based on a Non-Uniform Pricing Mechanism

In the following study, power allocation in underwater cooperative communication systems was investigated using game theory. To balance the energy consumption of nodes, extend their lifespan, and improve communication quality, a Stackelberg power control algorithm based on a non-uniform pricing mechanism was proposed. The interaction model between the transmitting and relay nodes was constructed as a two-layer Stackelberg game, which consisted of leaders and followers. The transmitting node acts as the leader, with its objective function comprising its transmission cost and the purchasing transmission power cost of the relay nodes. The relay nodes act as followers, with their objective function comprising revenue from selling power and their transmission cost. In addition, the remaining energy is incorporated into the objective function to balance the energy consumption of the nodes. Our simulation results indicate that, compared with algorithms that do not consider remaining energy, this algorithm improves the communication quality of the cooperative system and extends the network’s lifetime.