WSN Multi-Hop Path Discovery Animation

Step through route request flooding, candidate path comparison, metric-based route selection, packet forwarding, and route repair in a wireless sensor network.

animation

wsn

routing

architecture

multihop

path-discovery

An interactive WSN multi-hop path discovery workbench showing how sensor nodes flood route requests, compare candidate routes, select paths by hop count, link quality, or residual energy, and recover from relay failures.

Animation WSN Routing

WSN Multi-Hop Path Discovery

Step through how a sensor node discovers relay paths to a sink, compares candidate routes, sends data, and repairs the path when range, link quality, or battery energy changes.

SetupActive phase

Stable spineSelected route

86%Delivery estimate

58%Weakest relay

Goal

See how multi-hop routing finds a route when the sink is outside direct radio range.

Try First

Press Step until the packet reaches the sink, then change the route metric.

Watch

Flood waves discover neighbors, replies form candidate paths, and the metric selects one route.

Why It Matters

The shortest path can fail if links are weak or a relay is nearly out of battery.

Scenario

Open field uses moderate range, moderate noise, and several usable relay paths.

Route Metric

Hop count favors the fewest relay hops, even when a link is marginal.

Playback

Play speed 900 ms

Network Knobs

Radio range 250 m

Link noise Moderate

Battery stress Normal

Setup: the source has data, the sink is out of direct range, and relay nodes must help carry traffic across the field.

No request has flooded yet.Discovery signal

Metric is waiting for candidates.Routing decision

Network is connected.Learning diagnosis

Route Discovery Field

Radio links, relay energy, discovery waves, candidate routes, and the selected packet path update together as you change the scenario.

Stage 1 of 6 Setup

Route Evidence

The selected phase explains what is known, what is being compared, and why the route was chosen.

Metric Meaning

Shows what the selected routing metric optimizes.

Fewest hops

Candidate Paths

Compare path length, delivery estimate, weakest relay energy, and whether each path is reachable.

4 candidates

Failure View

Shows whether route repair is needed under current link and energy conditions.

Route holds

Beginner Ramp

A wireless sensor node often cannot talk directly to the sink. Multi-hop routing lets nearby sensors forward traffic in short radio steps. Each relay receives a packet, checks it, and transmits it toward the sink.

Discovery Sequence

The source floods a route request.
Relays remember the neighbor that first gave them a useful reverse path.
The sink or route owner returns candidate path information.
The source chooses a route using the selected metric.

Metric Caution

Hop count is simple, but it can choose a weak long link. Link-quality metrics prefer high delivery probability. Energy-aware routing avoids draining one critical relay even if the route is longer.

Formula Reference

Path delivery estimate: multiply the per-link delivery probabilities.
ETX idea: expected transmissions rise as link delivery probability falls.
Energy-aware score: prefer paths whose weakest relay still has enough battery.

Energy Hole

Nodes near the sink can forward many routes and die early. Once those relays fail, outer sensors may be alive but disconnected. Energy-aware routing tries to delay that failure.

Technical Accuracy

This animation is conceptual. Real WSN protocols vary, but the core trade-off is stable: route discovery creates candidate paths, and the metric decides whether to optimize hop count, reliability, energy, or a weighted mix.

Practice 1

Use Hop Count in Open Field. Which route is chosen, and what risk appears if link noise rises?

Practice 2

Switch to Low Battery Relay and choose Energy Aware. Which route changes, and why is the longer path reasonable?

Practice 3

Lower radio range until one candidate becomes unreachable. Step to Route Repair and explain what the network must discover again.