Wireless Personal Communications (2021) 117:1909–1930

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-020-07951-6

Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization

Algorithm for Multipath Routing in IoT Network

Reena P. Pingale1 · S. N. Shinde2

Accepted: 5 November 2020 / Published online: 3 January 2021

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021

Abstract
The emerging needs of innovative services in different areas led to the development of
advanced intelligent systems using the heterogeneous technologies, devised by Internet of
Things (IoT). IoT focuses on integrating the networks to facilitate smooth services to the
humans. The interface between mobility patterns and the routing protocols contributes sig-
nificantly to alter the performance of network. This paper proposes routing protocol based
on Sunflower based grey wolf optimization (SFG) algorithm for improving the network
lifetime. The first step is the simulation of IoT and then, the multipath routing is initiated in
the IoT network. The SFG algorithm selects the best path from the multipath available for
routing, based on Context awareness, Network lifetime, Residual Energy, Trust, and Delay.
Finally, the multipath routing takes place in the IoT network through optimal routing path
selected using the proposed SFG algorithm. The proposed SFG algorithm is designed by
integrating sun flower optimization (SFO) and the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) such that
the optimal routes are selected. The proposed SFG outperformed other methods with mini-
mal delay of 0.779 s, maximal energy of 0.203 J, maximal network lifetime of 98.039%,
and maximal throughput of 47.368%, respectively.

Keywords  Routing protocols · Multipath routing · Optimization · IoT network · Network

lifetime

1 Introduction

Internet of Things (IoT) is a trending research with a prospective future scenario that
describes the application of technologies in the life of human. The aspects of the IoT
consist of devices that are deeply rooted in the world of technologies, like fridges or
cars. The IoT expanded the idea of Internet through a network using homogeneous and
heterogeneous devices, which includes consumer electronics, smart devices, and WSN
sensor nodes. The compensation of connecting IoT elements with the WSN goes out-
side the remote access as the heterogeneous information systems is capable to work

* Reena P. Pingale
pingalereenap@gmail.com; reena.pingale@gmail.com
1
Sinhgad College of Science, Ambegaon, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India
2
CMCS College, Nashik, Maharashtra 422013, India

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
 1910 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

together and offer required services to the user. The association of these networks is
not a conjecture, but a way to support various international corporations to expand the
IoT applications [1]. IoT is considered as an advanced technology, whose goal is to con-
nect anything, anywhere, and at anytime. The objects connected with the IoT must be
addressable and hold a unique Identifier (ID), for connecting the internet. Specifically,
the IoT applications [2] help to send IPv6 packets in nodes of the WSN and this feature
led to several benefits to the user. Greenhouse environment system plays a major role in
IoT applications. This system is easy to deploy in huge scale network and poses the abil-
ity to connect web-based services with Internet [3].
The operation of Multipath routing is pertinent to offer sufficient network resources
under different traffic conditions for fulfilling the requirements of QoS measure. Even-
though the conventional single path routing protocol is efficient in routing data with
reduced computational complexity, but the protocol minimized the performance of net-
work as the detected paths failed to send packets to the nearest neighbor. Indeed, several
routing protocols offer low probability in packet loss by adapting redundant paths to
reach the sink [4]. The Reliable Information Forwarding using multiple paths (ReIn-
ForM) protocol [5] adapt probabilistic flooding for delivering the information awareness
packets using required priority levels based on consistency at relative costs for sensor
networks. This routing method is devised on the basis of local knowledge using dif-
ferent conditions of network, like hopsto-sink counting, connectivity-degree, and chan-
nel error. Regrettably, this protocol is not developed for analyzing the real-time traffic.
Thus, it does not consider deadlines of delay in packet transmission while choosing dif-
ferent paths [6]. Fundamentally, different routing protocols offer tolerance to failures
and maximize the reliability of network [7]. To address the issues of fault tolerant rout-
ing, the multiobjective optimization problem (MOP) is devised for establishing fault tol-
erant routing in single-hop and path connectivity, but also k-disjoint paths that assure
the connectivity even after the failure of k − 1 paths [8].
The manifestation of multi-path routing protocols plays a fundamental role in
addressing several routing issues particularly, in ad-hoc networks. The goal of Multi-
path routing [9] is to offer different accessible paths for establishing the communica-
tion between the nodes at same time. In general, multi-path routing is categorized into
several protocols, like non-disjoint multi-path routing, link-disjoint multi-path routing,
and node-disjoint multi-path routing [10]. Considering single-path routing protocols
and multi-path routing protocols, the multi-path routing protocols has more benefits,
like high utilization of bandwidth, load balancing, dynamic topology adaptability, and
fault tolerance. In multipath routing [11], there exist several routing techniques, which
involve region-based multipath routing, QoS-based multipath routing [12], and load-
balanced multipath routing [13]. However, due to absence of effective load balancing
strategies with respect to the routing protocols, like Destination-Sequenced Distance-
Vector Routing (DSDV) [14], Ad Hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) [15], some
nodes becomes over-loaded while other nodes became under-loaded that cannot utilize
the resources. Thus, several types of multi-path routing protocols are devised on the
basis of load balancing. Some research works use the optimization algorithms [16–18]
for multi-path routing. Moreover, the terminal nodes in the Ad Hoc network employed
less power mode thus, the residual energy became the most valuable resource of the
nodes. If the energy of nodes is not considered then, the network connectivity is sig-
nificantly reduced, causing the network occupancy. Thus, more consideration should be
given to detect the network energy loss considering conventional routing protocols [13].

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1911

The goal of this research is to design and develop a multipath routing protocol in IoT by
proposing a hybrid optimization algorithm named SFG algorithm. The goal of the research
is to develop a novel routing strategy based on the optimization algorithm. Initially, IoT
is simulated and then, the multipath is generated for routing. Here, multipath routing is
performed using proposed hybrid Optimization algorithm named SFG, which is the inte-
gration of sun flower optimization (SFO) in grey wolf optimizer (GWO) inputting the mer-
its of both approaches. The solution encoding depicts that it supports multipath routing
from current node to the destination in order to forward the data along with maintaining
trust among the nodes. The selection of the optimal path is based on newly-defined multi-
objective fitness function, which considers Context awareness, Network lifetime, Residual
Energy, Trust, and Delay as parameters. The global optimal convergence and less-intensive
computations along with higher search speed of the proposed algorithm enable the effec-
tive performance and selection of feasible and optimal route.
The major contributions of the paper are:

• Proposed SFG algorithm for multi-path routing: Design a novel hybrid optimization
algorithm named SFG by integrating the update position of SFO and GWO to acquire
global optimal solutions for establishing multipath routing.
• Devise a multiobjective fitness function for optimal routing: A newly devised fitness
function is utilized for initiating a multipath routing between the IoT nodes. The fitness
function utilizes several factors, like Context awareness, Network lifetime, Residual
Energy, Trust, and Delay as its parameter for assisting multipath routing in IoT network.

The remaining paper is structured as follows: Literature survey is deliberated in Sect. 2,

and Sect. 3 covers the system model of IoT network and Sect. 4 deals with the proposed
model of multipath routing. The results, comparative analysis, and effectiveness of the
framework are deliberated in Sect. 5 and finally, Sect. 6 deliberates the conclusion.

2 Motivation

The section deliberates the literature survey of multipath routing techniques along with the
disadvantages of the methods. Here, the review of eight existing methods is done, which
stood as a motivation for the researcher to establish an effective multipath routing strategy.
At the end of the section, the challenges of the existing methods are deliberated.

2.1 Literature Survey

The eight existing methods based on multipath routing in the IoT network are illustrated
in this section. Mohammed Zaki Hasan and Fadi Al-Turjman [8] developed a modified
particle multi-swarm optimization (PMSO) technique for constructing, recovering, and
selecting k-disjoint paths that tolerated the failures while fulfilling the quality-of-ser-
vice parameters. The method employed multi-swarm strategy by transferring messages
throughout the network. The method generated qualitative solutions with enhanced per-
formance, but consumed high power. Peng Li et al. [13] designed AOMDV routing pro-
tocol on the basis of load balancing, considering energy-related constraints. The method
selected the nodes with less queue length and high residual energy to send packets.
The result showed that the performance of protocols based on energy, end-to-end delay

13
 1912 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

and routing discovery are enhanced. However, the method failed to replace the standby
paths with transmission paths to enhance the ability of load balancing. Quan Le et al.
[19] developed three methods on the basis of RPL, which include Energy Load Balanc-
ing (ELB), Fast Local Repair (FLR), and integrated ELB-FLR. The method incorpo-
rated modified IPv6 communication stack onto the IoT network for smoother commu-
nication. The final protocol is the integration of two routing protocols, which inherited
the improved features of ELB and FLR. Additionally, the method reduced the delay and
overhead by upholding a well-balanced network. The results of the method were good,
but needed more methods for the comparison. Tie Qiu et al. [20] designed a multipath
routing organizing protocol based on Self-organized Multipath geographic routing pro-
tocol (SMG). On the other hand, approximate estimation algorithm was devised for esti-
mating the number of nodes in the monitoring region using certain size and shape. The
method was effective in enhancing the performance of the network, but needed high
energy and long transmission range. Min Chen et al. [21] developed a Multipath Plan-
ning for Single-Source-based transmissions routing (MPSS) scheme, which established
enviable multiple route paths using B-spline trajectories with inter-path distance, and
sink node. The method used a factor of hop distance for minimizing the cumulated
error to assure QoS requirements. In addition, Multipath Planning with Multi-Source
(MPMS) was employed for satisfying the QoS requirements by offering high energy
savings. However, less network time was identified, which may degrade the network
performance. Waheb A. Jabbar et al. [22] designed a hybrid multipath energy with qual-
ity of service (QoS)-aware optimized link state routing protocol (MEQSA-OLSRv2) for
establishing multipath routing in the network. This method used a node rank based on
the multi criteria node rank metric (MCNR). The MCNR collected different parameters
based on QoS and energy to minimize the difficulty of multiple-constrained nodes. The
method employed a multipoint relay (MPR) set for choosing the energy and QoS-aware
MPR selection mechanism for flooding topological information. Fadi Al-Turjman et al.
[23] developed agile data delivery framework, which utilized service-based applications
in the smart cities, wherein the multimedia data was exchanged. Here, an optimized
routing method was devised to operate the resources with dynamic topologies. The
method specified paths in which a data packet determined optimal usage of resources by
fulfilling the QoS constraints. However, the method failed to address the issues of huge-
scale routing. Amol V. Dhumane and Rajesh S. Prasad [24] designed a multiobjective
fractional gravitational search algorithm (MOFGSA) to determine the optimal cluster
head for attaining energy-efficient routing protocol in the IoT network. Here, the Frac-
tional Gravitational Search Algorithm (FGSA) was devised to determine the optimal
cluster head node in the IoT network. Here, the cluster head node was chosen in FGSA,
which was computed by the fitness function that considered different parameters, like
link lifetime, distance, energy, and delay. The method extended the lifetime of nodes
with huge number of alive node and high network energy. However, the method required
long transmission range.

2.2 Challenges

The challenges faced by the existing methods are enlisted below. These challenges are
taken into consideration for designing an effective trust-based strategy in the IoT net-
work for establishing multi-path routing.

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1913

• The conventional routing protocols produced competitive performance and addressed

the issues of fault-tolerant routing in a precise manner. However, due to convergence
issues, the routing in the network led to unfavorable solutions [25].
• The capability to make a trade-off between the exploitation and exploration phase is a
major issue. However, the exploration and exploitation should not be exaggerated as
the exploitation of inaccurate routing protocols may cause convergence [1].
• In [19], ELB, FLR, and ELB-FLR for establishing multi-path routing. The method
minimized the overhead and end-end delay by maintaining well- balanced network.
However, the method produced limited effects on the results.
• In [23], agile data delivery framework is devised for attaining multi-path routing in
the IoT network. The method minimized the sensor node participation using a relaying
function. However, the features employed for solving the routing created overhead in
the network.
• IoT exhibits new factors of security challenge in the network topology and the non-
uniformity of the IoT networks makes them vulnerable to suspicious attacks in the net-
works. The susceptibility of resource-constrained properties, mobility, and communica-
tion channels, makes the IoT security a challenging aspect. In order to provide secure
data transmission, the trust mechanisms are employed in the IoT systems.

3 IoT System Model

IoT consist of different objects, like smart devices, which are connected with each other for
exchanging the accumulated data through the network. Many smart devices in the IoT are
resource-constrained, which poses processing and communication capabilities for exchang-
ing the data. Figure 1 portrays the system model of IoT network, wherein several nodes in
the network are dispersed for transmitting the data packets to the base station using the effi-
cient paths. Here, the source node transmits the data packets to the base station by selecting
the path, which has high energy nodes, as the node requires huge amount of energy while
dissipating the data packets to other nodes. IoT is speckled between different low power
networking protocols, like Bluetooth, ZigBee, and ZWave. These protocols are developed
for domain-specific applications with unique characteristics. However, the smart objects
are energy and resource-constrained, and thus, the gateway should be responsive for the
management. Hence, the IoT must adapt caching techniques and intellectual routing pro-
tocols for routing the data across constrained paths. In mobility cases, such as routing net-
works are significantly important so that the architecture can be able to deal with ad hoc
network information and the movement of data from one node to other node. Thus, the
routing and data transmission is a crucial part in the internet, which motivates the net-
work for efficient data delivery that takes advantage using processing function and network
caches.
Consider an IoT network with g number of nodes as, G = {G1, G2, …, Gb, …, Gg} lies
in the coverage area F. Here, H specifies the link used to connect the sensor nodes in IoT.
The sensor node forwards the information from the source node S to the destination node D
such that there exist b number of nodes in the routing path. The selection of optimal rout-
ing path in the IoT network is done using the routing mechanism based on sensor nodes.
To perform the routing process, the following factors, such as LLT, and energy model are
considered.

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 1914 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

Fig. 1  System model of IoT network

3.1 Energy Model of IoT Network

This section deliberates the energy model [26] of IoT while transmitting data from one
node to another node. IoT possesses a number of distributed sensors operating with the
batteries such that with the increase in the number of rounds, the energy drains affecting
the network lifetime. Let us assume that the initial energy of the nodes as, ε0 specifying
that the batteries are non-rechargeable. When the data receives the transmitter, some
amount of energy is lost depending on the distance of communication. The transmis-
sion in the network relies on the protocol and the dissipation in the energy is due to the
presence of the power amplifier and radio electronics available in the transmitter. Thus,
it is clear that the energy dissipates at the time of data transmission with respect to the
distance and nature of the node. Whenever the normal sensor node transmits y bits of
data packet then, the model for energy consumption is based on the following formula.
𝜀t (y) = 𝜀e (y) + 𝜀a (y, m) (1)
where, εt(y) represents the transmitted energy, εa denote the consumed energy when node
sends 1-bit data, εe specifies consumed energy when node receives and sends 1-bit data, m
indicates communication distance, and y is the data bits.

13
Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1915

{
y × 𝜀e + y × 𝜀j × m2 ;if m ≤ m0
𝜀t (y) =
y × 𝜀e + y × 𝜀i × m4 ;if m > m0 (2)

where, εi is the consumed energy when the node transmits 1-bit data in the free space
model, εj refers the consumed energy when the node transmits 1-bit data in the multipath
fading model.
√
𝜀j
m0 = (3)
𝜀i

The energy consumed by the sensor nodes for receiving the y bits of data is given as,
𝜀r (y) = y × 𝜀e (4)
where, εr(y) is the received energy.
E = 𝜀t + 𝜀r (5)

3.2 Link Lifetime Model

LLT [27] specifies the lifetime of network link, which connects two sensor nodes until the data
packet exists in IoT network. Due to the breakage of network link, the routing failure may arise
in the IoT network. In order to reduce the link failure effect, the routing protocol calculates the
lifespan of network link. Moreover, the lifespan of the network link is computed based on the
factors, such as direction of mobility, nodes coordination, and mobility of nodes. Let G1 and
G2 are the two mobile nodes situated at UG1, VG1 and UG2, VG2 for which the LLT is computed
as,
√( )
−(fk + xz) + f 2 + z2 w2 − (fz − xk)2
LLT = ( ) (6)
f 2 + z2

such that f = JG1 cos 𝜃G1 − JG2 cos 𝜃G2 , ⎫

⎪
k = UG1 − UG2 , ⎬ (7)
x = JG1 sin 𝜃G1 − JG2 sin 𝜃G2 ⎪
⎭

z = VG1 − VG2

where, w indicates the transmission range, JG1, indicates the mobility speed of sensor node
G1, JG2 specifies the mobility speed of sensor node G2, UG2, VP2 denotes the coordinate of
node G2, UG1, VG1 indicates the coordinate of node G1, θG1 denotes the direction of motion
of node P1, and θG2 indicates the direction of motion of node G2.

13
 1916 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

4 Proposed SFG Algorithm for Multipath Routing

Figure 2 illustrates the block diagram of the proposed SFG with improved QoS parameters
to provide secured IoT routing. The proposed hybrid optimization model, named SFG is
adapted for providing secure transmission from the one node to the other node. The pro-
posed SFG integrates SFO algorithm [28] with GWO [29] for selecting the optimal path to
forward the data from the source node to the destination node. The proposed SFG adapts
newly devised multiobjective fitness for selecting the optimal path. The fitness function is
devised based on certain parameters, like residual energy, link lifetime, delay, trust, and
context awareness for discovering the secure path. The parameters, like residual energy,
link lifetime, trust, and context awareness, should be greater and the delay must be mini-
mized for determining the best path. The following sections elaborate the solution encod-
ing, newly designed fitness functions and the elaboration of the proposed SFG algorithm.

4.1 Solution Encoding

In optimization problems, solution encoding is the significant step for finding the optimal
solution. Here, the proposed SFG algorithm is used for finding the optimal paths from the
set of paths available. From the set of paths, an optimal path is selected based on the newly
designed fitness function. Consider the source node S and the destination node D. Let

Fig. 2  Proposed SFG for multipath routing in IoT network

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1917

D = {p1, p2, p3, …, ps, …, pn} denotes the destination having n paths. Here, the total paths
depends on the total number of nodes g such that 0 ≤ pn ≤ g. Hence, the number of solutions
present in between the source node to the destination node is expressed as K = {1, 2, ⋯, n}.
From n paths, the SFG algorithm determines a single path ps.

4.2 Multiobjective Fitness Function

The fitness function is designed to find the optimal path from a set of paths. The fitness
function of the proposed SFG uses five factors, namely energy, link lifetime, delay, trust,
and context awareness. Also, the fitness is considered as a maximization function. Thus,
the solution yielding the maximum trust, link lifetime, context awareness, energy and
smallest delay is considered as the bets solution. The solution with maximum value of fit-
ness is considered for IoT routing. The fitness of the proposed SFG is formulated in Eq. (8).
∑
g
( ( ) )
Fitness = LLb,s + Eb,s + Tb,s + 1 − db,s + Cb,s (8)
b=1

where, LLb,s specifies the link lifetime of bth node in sth path, n represent the number of
paths in the solution vector, Eb,s is the residual energy, Tb,s indicate the trust value, and Cb,s
denote the context awareness. The trust value Tb,s is the combination of direct and indirect
trust values.

(i) Direct trust

The direct trust [26] is otherwise refrerred as the local trust, which depends on the approval
prevailing between the node interactions. The direct trust between the node b on path s is
based on the sending rate factor, consistency factor, and the packet loss rate factor. When-
ever the node b feels satisfied with respect to the path s then, the degree of satisfaction is
high, rendering a local trust. The direct trust is based on the sending rate factor, consist-
ency factor, and the packet loss rate factor between the node and path, which is given as,
d d
Tb,s (h) = (1 − 𝜂) × Rb,s (h) × Mb,s (h) × Lb,s (h) + 𝜂 × Tb,s (h − 1) (9)

where Rb, s(h) indicate the sending rate factor, Mb, s(h) indicate the consistency fac-
tor, Lb, s(h) is the packet loss rate factor, and η represent the constant coefficient ranging
between 0 to 1. The value of Tb,s d
(h) varies between (0 to 1). Here, the Tb,s
d
(h) = 0 indi-
cate that the node is abnormal and is untrusted for initiating communication, whereas if
d
Tb,s (h) = 1 then, the node is normal and is trusted for initiating communication. The evalu-
ating node b observes the sending capacity of the path s. If the number tends to be lower
than the lower limit threshold Nq then, the node is termed as selfish node, else if the num-
ber is more than the upper limit threshold N1 then, the node has performed attack. The
formula of sending rate factor is given as,

⎧ Qb,s (h)−Nq
⎪ expb,s (h)−Nq
;Rb,s (h) ≤ expb,s (h)
Rb,s (h) = ⎨ Nl −Qb,s (h) (10)
⎪ Nl −expb,s (h)
;Rb,s (h) > expb,s (h)
⎩

13
 1918 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

where Qb, s(h) indicate the quantity sending of period h, ­expb, s(h) indicate the expected
value of quantity sending of period h, Nq = 300, Nl = 700, and ­expb, s(h) = 500. The evaluat-
ing node b observes the path s and the node b compares the data collecting by itself with
data collecting by path s. If the difference between the data is within certain range then the
evaluating node b has consistent opinion about path s. The consistency factor is given as,
Xb,s (h)
Mb,s (h) = � (11)
Xb,s (h) + Xb,s (h)

where Xb, s(h) represent the number of nodes with same packet and evaluated node, and
�
Xb,s (h) represent the number of inconsistent packet. Due to battery operated nodes, the
energy of the node is less in IoT. Some nodes are unable to communicate with the base sta-
tion directly and require other nodes as relay node to send information to the BS by a mul-
tihop topology. The packet drop probability exists in the packet transmission which causes
loss of information. The formula of packet loss rate factor is given as,
O(h)
Lb,s (h) = (12)
P(h)
where O(h) indicate the quantity of all transmitted packets, and P(h) is the quantity of
packet received.
(ii) Indirect trust
While choosing the next-hop node, each node is adapted for predicting whether the next
hop is trusted by computing the trust of next hop node. For reducing the deviation, the indi-
rect trust [26] is considered, which is given as,
( )
(13)
I d d
Tb,s (h) = fun Tb,s (h), Tc,s (h)

where Tb,s
d
(h) indicate the direct trust value of bth node in sth path, Tc,s
d
(h) represent the direct
th th
trust value of c node in s path, fun(.) is determined based on network requirements and
is given as,
d d
fun(.) = 𝜌 × Tb,s (h) + 𝛾 × Tc,s (h) (14)

where ρ and γ is determined based on the network.

(iii) Delay
The delay is computed based on the number of nodes that exist in the path and is given as
db, s.
(iv) Context awareness
The context aware model [30] is referred as asystem, which utilizes the context informa-
tion and do configuration automatically to provide the users individual context service. The
context awareness is formulated as,
( )
(15)
h
Cb,s = function Yenergy , Zconsumption , 𝛼res−energy , 𝛽pending−task , 𝜏

where fun(.) represent the naïve Bayes input function, Yenergy

h indicate the rate of
nodes energy consumption at time h, Zconsumption represent the instantaneous value of

13
Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1919

consumption, αres − energy represent the lifetime of residual energy, βpending − task represent

the queue of pending task data. The rate of nodes energy consumption [31] is the residual
energy value of a battery in a node and is given as,
Eh+1 − Eh
h
Yenergy = (J∕ min) (16)
1
where Eh represent the residual energy value of battery in node. The instantaneous value of
consumption [31] is generated by accumulating instantaneous energy consumption rate at a
specific time instant and is denoted by Zconsumption. The lifetime of residual energy [31] is a
residual energy value of a battery in the node which is given as,
Eh+1 Eh
h+1
Zcons
− h
Zcons
𝛼res−energy = Es (17)
h
Zcons

where Eh indicate the residual energy, and Zcons h represent the instantaneous energy con-
sumption. The queue of pending task [31] data is obtained by the residual queue data of
the node and is represented as βpending − task. The queue length is computed based on the
concrete IoT environment with fixed length data.

4.3 Proposed SFG Based Multiobjective Fitness for Choosing Optimal Path

The proposed SFG algorithm is developed by integrating SFO [28] algorithm into GWO
[29] algorithm to find the best paths. The proposed SFG algorithm considers link lifetime,
energy, delay, context awareness, trust, as the parameters for selecting the optimal path
for offering security in transmission. SFO [28] algorithm is simple and it solves both con-
strained and unconstrained problems. The GWO [29] algorithm is a trouble-free optimi-
zation algorithm, which speed-ups the convergence rate with its single parameter value.
Hence, the proposed SFG algorithm finds the paths for routing effectively from the source
to the destination. The steps involved in the proposed SFG algorithm are elaborated below:

Step 1. Initialization

The first step is the initialization of grey wolves population and other algorithmic param-
eters, like iteration counter o. The total grey wolf population is v and is expressed as,
{ }
A = A1 , A2 , … , Au , … , Av (18)

where v is total grey wolf population, Au is the uth grey wolf.

Step 2. Evaluation of fitness function

The fitness of the solutions is computed using the fitness obtained in Eq. (8) under the
Sect. 4.2.

Step 3. Determination of update equation

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 1920 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

To enhance the search space, the proposed algorithm utilizes the update rule of GWO. As
per GWO [29], the position update applied over the algorithm is represented as,
�⃗1 + A
A �⃗2 + A
�⃗3
�⃗ + 1) =
A(o (19)
3
�⃗4 to A
In proposed SFG, the update is made by adding A �⃗3 . Thus, the new
�⃗2 + A
�⃗1 + A
update equation is given as,
�⃗1 + A
A �⃗2 + A �⃗3 + A�⃗4
�⃗ + 1) =
A(o (20)
4
( ) ( ) ( )
where A �⃗𝛼 − B1 W
�⃗1 = A ���⃗𝛼  , A �⃗𝛽 − B2 W
�⃗2 = A ���⃗𝛽  , A�⃗3 = A ���⃗𝛾 and the A4 is based
�⃗𝛾 − B3 W
on the update equation of SFO. In order to obtain global optimal solutions in secure rout-
ing, the SFO [28] is utilized in this algorithm. Thus, the update position of grey wolves
based on SFO algorithm is given as,
�⃗𝜅 + 𝜗𝜅 + 𝓁𝜅
A4 = A (21)

( )
𝜗𝜅 = 𝜆 × P𝜅 ‖ ‖ ‖ ‖
‖A𝜅 + A𝜅−1 ‖ × ‖A𝜅 + A𝜅−1 ‖ (22)

where P(.) represent the probability of pollination constant,

A∗ − A𝜅
𝓁𝜅 =
‖A∗ − A𝜅 ‖ (23)
‖ ‖
Step 4: Determine the fitness of the solutions

After updating the grey wolf’s positions, the fitness of the updated solutions is evaluated.
The fitness function is based on the fitness function defined in Eq. (8), which should be
maximal for the selection of the effective solution. The effective solution is nothing, but the
optimal paths that can be utilized for transmitting data packets to the target nodes.

Step 5: Validate the stopping condition

The stopping criterion is verified to mark the end of the optimization process. The stopping
criterion is defined for better convergence of the algorithm, which comprises of maximal
iterations, improvement percentage, and time-taken for execution. The optimal paths for
initiating the routing between the source and the destination nodes are performed using the
proposed SFG algorithm.
Table 1 describes the pseudo code of proposed SFG algorithm.

5 Results and Discussion

This section illustrates the comparison of proposed method with conventional methods
through simulating the IoT network with 50 and 100 nodes. The analysis is done by vary-
ing certain instance of time.

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1921

Table 1  Pseudo code of proposed SFG algorithm

SFG algorithm

Input: Population A
Output: Optimal Solution A*
Begin
   Initialize the population
  while (o < omax)
   for each solution
     Calculate the fitness using Eq. (8)
     Update the position using Eq. (20)
    Re-compute the fitness
     Select solution providing maximum fitness value A*
   End for
  o = o + 1
  Return A*
Stop

5.1 Experimental Setup

The execution of the proposed method is done in MATLAB using 50 and 100 nodes. The
proposed method is executed on a PC with Windows 10 OS, 2GB RAM, and Intel i3 core
processor.

5.1.1 Simulation Results

Figure 3 elaborates the simulation results of proposed SFG using 50 nodes. Here, the trian-
gle node signifies the cluster heads adapted for routing. The source nodes are represented in
double round shape, which sends data packet to the destination nodes, which is represented

Fig. 3  Simulation results of
proposed SFG with 50 nodes

13
 1922 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

by a small circles. Moreover the dotted nodes represent the dead nodes. The green, red and
blue circles represent the normal nodes. The data transmission is done by selecting a spe-
cific path wherein the path is represented in red line. The optimal path using proposed SFG
algorithm is selected for establishing the data transmission between the source and destina-
tion nodes. Thus, the secure transmission is attained in the IoT network.

5.2 Evaluation Metrics

The metrics employed for analyzing the methods include the delay, Energy, and throughput.

(i) Throughput

The throughput refers to the total data rates transmitted over the network in a specific time.
Number of packets received
Throughput = (24)
Time

(ii) Delay
The delay parameter describes the total time taken for transmitting the data irrespective of
the attacker. The formula for delay is modeled as,
Nb
Delay = (25)
R
where Nb indicate number of bits and R represent the rate of transmission.
(iii) Energy
The energy of the node is elaborated in Sect. 3.1.
(iv) Network lifetime
The network lifetime is a time period in which the node is able to communicate with other
nodes present in the network.

5.3 Comparative Methods

The methods employed for the analysis include: PMSO [8], MPSS [21], MOFGSA [24],
and proposed SFG algorithm.

5.4 Performance Analysis

The analysis of performance based on the proposed SFG algorithm using delay, energy,
network lifetime and throughput parameters is evaluated in this section. The analysis is
performed by altering the number of rounds from 1 to 1000. Moreover, the population size
of the proposed SFG is varied for proving the efficiency of proposed technique. Further-
more, the analysis is performed with 50 and 100 nodes respectively.

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1923

5.4.1 Analysis Based on 50 Nodes

Figure 4 illustrates the analysis of proposed SFG using 50 nodes by varying the popula-
tion size from 10 to 40. The analysis of proposed SFG based on delay parameter is illus-
trated in Fig.  4a. For 1000 rounds, the delay values computed by proposed SFG with
population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG with pop-
ulation size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are 0.789 s, 0.786 s, 0.786 s,
and 0.785 s, respectively. The analysis of proposed SFG based on energy parameter is
illustrated in Fig.  4b. For 1000 rounds, the energy values computed by proposed SFG
with population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG
with population size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are 0.203 J, 0.202 J,
0.202 J, and 0.202 J, respectively. The analysis of proposed SFG based on network life-
time parameter is illustrated in Fig.  4c. For 1000 rounds, the network lifetime values
computed by proposed SFG with population size = 10, proposed SFG with population
size = 20, proposed SFG with population size = 30, proposed SFG with population
size = 40 are 96.153%, 96.153%, 96.153%, and 92.307%, respectively. The analysis of
proposed SFG based on throughput parameter is illustrated in Fig. 4d. For 1000 rounds,
the throughput values computed by proposed SFG with population size = 10, proposed
SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG with population size = 30, proposed

Fig. 4  Performance analysis using 50 nodes considering (a) Delay, (b) Energy, (c) Network lifetime, (d)
Throughput

13
 1924 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

SFG with population size = 40 are 31.818%, 31.818%, 31.818%, 31.181%, and 31.25%,
respectively.

5.4.2 Analysis Based on 100 Nodes

Figure  5 illustrates the analysis of proposed SFG using 100 nodes by varying the pop-
ulation size from 10 to 40. The analysis of proposed SFG based on delay parameter is
illustrated in Fig. 5a. For 1000 rounds, the delay values computed by proposed SFG with
population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG with pop-
ulation size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are 0.780  s, 0.78  s, 0.780  s,
0.779  s, respectively. The analysis of proposed SFG based on energy parameter is illus-
trated in Fig.  5b. For 1000 rounds, the energy values computed by proposed SFG with
population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG with popula-
tion size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are 0.163 J, 0.152 J, 0.153 J, and
0.152 J, respectively. The analysis of proposed SFG based on network lifetime parameter is
illustrated in Fig. 5c. For 1000 rounds, the network lifetime values computed by proposed
SFG with population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20, proposed SFG
with population size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are 98.039%, 96.078 %,
96.078%, and 95.098%, respectively. The analysis of proposed SFG based on throughput

Fig. 5  Performance analysis using 100 nodes considering (a) Delay, (b) Energy, (c) Network lifetime, (d)
Throughput

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Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1925

parameter is illustrated in Fig.  5d. For 1000 rounds, the throughput values computed
by proposed SFG with population size = 10, proposed SFG with population size = 20,
proposed SFG with population size = 30, proposed SFG with population size = 40 are
28.630%, 27.819%, 27.586%, and 28.630%, respectively.

5.5 Comparative Analysis

The comparative analysis of the proposed SFG technique with the conventional methods
in terms of delay, energy, throughput, and network lifetime parameters is evaluated in this
section. The analysis is performed by varying the number of rounds using 50 and 100
nodes respectively.

5.5.1 Analysis Based on 50 Nodes

Figure  6 illustrates the analysis of methods using 50 nodes by varying the number of
rounds from 0 to 1000. The analysis of methods based on delay parameter is illustrated
in Fig.  6a. For 1000 rounds, the delay values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA,
and proposed SFG algorithm are 0.788 s, 0.785 s, 0.785 s, and 0.785 s, respectively. The
analysis of methods based on energy parameter is illustrated in Fig. 6b. For 1000 rounds,

Fig. 6  Comparative analysis using 50 nodes considering (a) Delay, (b) Energy, (c) Network lifetime, (d)
Throughput

13
 1926 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

the energy values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG algorithm
are 0.098 J, 0.094 J, 0.105 J, and 0.203 J, respectively. The analysis of methods based on
network lifetime parameter is illustrated in Fig. 6c. For 1000 rounds, the network lifetime
values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG algorithm are 92.30%,
90.38%, 94.23%, and 96.153%, respectively. The analysis of methods based on throughput
parameter is illustrated in Fig.  6d. For 1000 rounds, the throughput values computed by
PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG algorithm are 31.818%, 47.368%, 44.186%,
and 47.368%, respectively.

5.5.2 Analysis Based on 100 Nodes

Figure 7 illustrates the analysis of methods using 100 nodes by varying the number of
rounds from 0 to 1000. The analysis of methods based on delay parameter is illustrated
in Fig.  7a. For 1000 rounds, the delay values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA,
and proposed SFG algorithm are 0.791  s, 0.780  s, 0.788  s, and 0.779  s, respectively.
The analysis of methods based on energy parameter is illustrated in Fig. 7b. For 1000
rounds, the energy values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG
algorithm are 0.064 J, 0.061 J, 0.089 J, and 0.169 J, respectively. The analysis of meth-
ods based on network lifetime parameter is illustrated in Fig. 7c. For 1000 rounds, the

Fig. 7  Comparative analysis using 100 nodes considering (a) Delay, (b) Energy, (c) Network lifetime, (d)
Throughput

13
Multi-objective Sunflower Based Grey Wolf Optimization… 1927

network lifetime values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG
algorithm are 93.137%, 88.235%, 96.078%, and 98.039%, respectively. The analysis of
methods based on throughput parameter is illustrated in Fig. 7d. For 1000 rounds, the
throughput values computed by PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA, and proposed SFG algorithm
are 27.402%, 37.190%, 30.890%, and 37.931%, respectively.

5.6 Comparative Discussion

Table 2 elaborates the comparative analysis of methods based on delay, energy, network
lifetime and throughput parameters using 50 and 100 nodes. In case of 50 nodes, the
best performance is showed by proposed SFG with minimal delay of 0.785 s, whereas
the delay of existing PMSO, MPSS, MOFGSA are 0.788 s, 0.785 s, and 0.785 s, respec-
tively. The maximal performance is showed by proposed SFG with maximal energy
of 0.203  J, whereas the energy of existing PMSO, MPSS, and MOFGSA is 0.098  J,
0.094 J, and 0.105 J, respectively. The optimal performance is gained by proposed SFG
with maximal network lifetime of 96.153%, whereas the network lifetime of existing
PMSO, MPSS, and MOFGSA are 92.30%, 90.38%, 94.23%, respectively. The optimal
performance is gained by proposed SFG with maximal throughput of 47.368%, whereas
the network lifetime of existing PMSO, MPSS, and MOFGSA are 31.818%, 47.368%,
and 44.186%, respectively. In case of 100 nodes, the best performance is showed by pro-
posed SFG with minimal delay of 0.779 s whereas the delay of existing PMSO, MPSS,
and MOFGSA are 0.791 s, 0.780 s, and 0.788 s, respectively. The maximal performance
is showed by proposed SFG with maximal energy of 0.169  J, whereas the energy of
existing PMSO, MPSS, and MOFGSA is 0.064  J, 0.061  J, and 0.089  J, respectively.
The optimal performance is gained by proposed SFG with maximal network lifetime
of 98.039%, whereas the network lifetime of existing PMSO, MPSS, and MOFGSA are
93.137%, 88.235%, 96.153%, respectively. The optimal performance is gained by pro-
posed SFG with maximal throughput of 37.931, whereas the energy of existing PMSO,
MPSS, and MOFGSA are 27.402%, 37.190%, and 30.890%, respectively.

Table 2  Comparative analysis
Nodes Metrics PMSO MPSS MOFGSA Proposed SFG

Using 50 nodes Delay (sec) 0.788 0.785 0.785 0.785

Energy (J) 0.098 0.094 0.105 0.203
Network lifetime (%) 92.30 90.38 94.23 96.153
Throughput (%) 31.818 47.368 44.186 47.368
Using 100 nodes Delay (sec) 0.791 0.780 0.788 0.779
Energy (J) 0.064 0.061 0.089 0.169
Network lifetime (%) 93.137 88.235 96.078 98.039
Throughput (%) 27.402 37.190 30.890 37.931

13
 1928 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

6 Conclusion

This paper proposes a novel optimization algorithm named SFG algorithm to achieve
secure routing in the IoT environment. Initially, IoT is simulated and then, the multipath
is generated for routing. Here, multipath routing is performed using proposed hybrid
Optimization algorithm named SFG, which is the integration of SFO in GWO inputting
the merits of both approaches. The solution encoding depicts that it supports multipath
routing from current node to the destination to forward the data along with maintain-
ing trust among the nodes. The selection of the optimal path is based on newly-defined
multiobjective fitness function, which considers Context awareness, Network lifetime,
Residual Energy, Trust, and Delay as parameters. The global optimal convergence and
less-intensive computations along with higher search speed of the proposed algorithm
enable the effective performance and selection of feasible and optimal route. Moreover,
the efficiency of proposed SFG algorithm is computed, which shows optimal perfor-
mance with minimal delay of 0.779  s, maximal energy of 0.203  J, maximal network
lifetime of 98.039% and maximal throughput of 47.368%, respectively. The further work
can be done to deal with huge-scale routing issues using hybrid sensor networks.

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Publisher’s Note  Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations

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 1930 R. P. Pingale, S. N. Shinde

Mrs. Reena P. Pingale  has received Master Degree (M.Sc. Computer

Science) from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune .She is research
scholar in Computer Science Department in Sinhgad College of Sci-
ence, Ambegaon Bk.Pune India. Her Area of interest is routing in
internet of things. She has published 7 papers in national and interna-
tional journals and conferences.

Dr. S.N.Shinde  has Received Master’s Degree (M.Sc. Computer Sci-

ence) from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune and Ph.D. from
Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune in 2013. He is working as
Principal in CMCS College Nashik, India. He is having 25 years of
experience in academics.His area of interest is Object oriented data-
base, Internet of things. He has published over 37 papers in national
and international journals. He is BOS member at SPPU for computer
science and B.Sc. animation.

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