Prioritized Routing and Energy Optimization in Underwater Sensor Networks

Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks(UWSNs) face challenges like limited battery power, slow propagation, and bandwidth constraints, impacting network longevity. Acoustic sensor nodes in UWSNs use finite-life batteries, and replacing or recharging them is costly and impractical. Inefficient energy management can shorten the network’s operational lifetime. This study proposes the SHEEP protocol by incorporating an intelligent optimization approach based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) to enhance the Energy Balanced Efficient and Reliable Routing protocol by optimizing node depth and energy metrics. ACO is leveraged to dynamically select the most energy-efficient and reliable routes, ensuring optimized network performance. Additionally, the protocol integrates Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) to intelligently select energy-efficient and reliable routes, minimizing energy consumption and maximizing the packet delivery ratio (PDR).