Abstract
A wireless underground sensor network (WUSN) is defined as a network of wireless sensor devices in which all sensor devices are deployed completely underground (network sinks or any devices specifically for relay between sensors and a sink may be aboveground). In hybrid wireless underground sensor network (HWUSN), communication between nodes is implemented from underground-to-air or air-to-underground, not underground-to-underground. This paper proposes a novel hybrid underground probabilistic routing protocol that provides an efficient means of communication for sensor nodes in HWUSN. In addition, signal propagation based on the shadowing model for underground medium is developed. The proposed routing protocol ensures high packet throughput, prolongs the lifetime of HWUSN and the random selection of the next hop with multi-path forwarding contributes to built-in security. Moreover, the proposed mechanism utilizes an optimal forwarding (OF) decision that takes into account of the link quality, and the remaining power of next hop sensor nodes. The performance of proposed routing protocol has been successfully studied and verified through the simulation and real test bed. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.