Classification for data stream clustering protocols in wireless sensor networks

The widespread deployment of WSNs and the need for data aggregation require efficient organization of the network topology to balance the load and extend the network lifetime. Clustering has proven to be an effective approach in solving the problem of energy consumption, data aggregation, scalability [4, 5] and organizing the network into a connected hierarchy. Generally, there are two categories of networks in WSNs, flat networks and hierarchical or clustered ones [6]. At any rate, clustering phenomenon plays an important role in the organization of networks, and also affects the network performance. Owing to a variety of advantages, clustering is becoming an active branch of routing technology in WSNs.