LEACH is a hierarchical protocol in which most nodes transmit to the cluster heads and cluster heads aggregate and compress the data and forward it to the sink. Each node uses a stochastic algorithm in each round to determine if it will become a cluster leader in this round. LEACH assumes that each node has a radio powerful enough to directly reach the base station or the nearest cluster head, but that using this radio at full power all the time would waste energy.
The Low Power Adaptive Hierarchy ("LEACH") [1] is a TDMA-based MAC protocol that is integrated with clustering and a simple routing protocol in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The goal of LEACH is to reduce the energy consumption required to create and maintain clusters in order to improve the lifespan of a wireless sensor network.
Explanation of protocol
LEACH is a hierarchical protocol in which most nodes transmit to the cluster heads and cluster heads aggregate and compress the data and forward it to the sink. Each node uses a stochastic algorithm in each round to determine if it will become a cluster leader in this round. LEACH assumes that each node has a radio powerful enough to directly reach the base station or the nearest cluster head, but that using this radio at full power all the time would waste energy.
Nodes that have been cluster heads can not be converted to cluster heads again for P rounds, where P is the desired percentage of cluster heads. Subsequently, each node has a 1 / P probability of becoming a group head again. At the end of each round, each node that is not a cluster leader selects the nearest cluster head and joins that cluster. The cluster manager then creates a program for each node in your cluster to transmit its data.
All nodes that are not cluster heads only communicate with the cluster head of a TDMA form, according to the program created by the cluster head. They do so using the minimum energy needed to reach the head of the cluster, and they only need to keep their radios on during their time interval. LEACH also uses CDMA so that each cluster uses a different set of CDMA codes, to minimize interference between clusters.