Multiple Redundant K-Means Clustered Scheme Based on Weighted Cluster Head Selection for Damaged S-UAV

A swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (S-UAVs) consists of UAVs flying together with the target of accomplishing a certain task in a faster and more reliable way as compared to a single UAV. In a crisis scenario, UAVs have been widely used in rescue missions. Clustering is one of the most reliable routing schemes for S-UAVs. The UAVs are grouped into clusters with a cluster-head (CH) and cluster-members (CM). The CH plays a major role in clustering schemes as it handles all inter-cluster communication. In a crisis case, any UAV is at risk of getting non-functional, thus resulting in a disconnected cluster. This paper proposes a new clustering scheme based on K-means and weighted formulas. The K-means protocol is applied to generate pilot phase clusters. Afterward, whenever the metrics of the networks are established, the weighted formula is applied for cluster formation and CH selection. The weighted formula is based on the performance index, the relative movement, and the remaining energy. To ensure end-to-end communication despite CH non-functionality, our proposed protocol selects a redundant CH for every CH. This protocol had been simulated using MATLAB. The results obtained and analyzed towards the end of this paper demonstrate that the proposed scheme is very promising.