WHOOP^H: whale optimization-based optimal placement of hub node within a WBAN

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Network Optimization

Background:

• Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) rely on biosensor nodes to transmit physiological data.
• Energy consumption during data transmission by WBAN nodes is a significant challenge.
• Optimizing the central hub's location is critical for minimizing node energy expenditure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient hub placement scheme for WBANs.
• To minimize energy consumption in WBAN data transmission.
• To enhance the operational lifespan of WBANs.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) for hub placement.
• Utilizing 'whale search agents' for iterative optimization (encircling prey, bubble-net feeding, random search).
• Directly determining the optimal hub location to reduce time and network resource usage.

Main Results:

• The WOA-based scheme significantly reduces node energy consumption for data transmission.
• Achieved a network lifetime of 8937 data transmission rounds.
• Demonstrated high network throughput (93.8%) and low latency (9.74 ms).

Conclusions:

• The WOA-based hub placement is a time-efficient and energy-saving solution for WBANs.
• This approach outperforms existing WBAN protocols in terms of network lifetime and performance.
• Optimized hub placement using WOA leads to a more robust and sustainable WBAN operation.