Cluster formation is one of the best strategies widely used for energy-constrained sensor nodes. The critical problem in clustering is the limit of a number of clusters formed and election of appropriate cluster heads. In this paper, we propose a novel collaborative clustering protocol in which two types of nodes will be nominated in each data gathering period, the central cluster head and highest energy node in the cluster. The central cluster head is nominated upon its proximity to cluster

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... troid and the highest energy node in the cluster sends the data towards the base station. The protocol is energy efficient in the sense that the most central node collects data from its member to reduce intracluster communication cost and highest energy node will face long-distance transmission towards the base station. Nomination of central cluster head is based on rotation schemes to distribute burdens in data collection and each nominated node will elect the next candidate central cluster head to enhance deterministic nature of head election mechanism. The proposed protocol is simulated using OMNeT++ and the result verifies 89% improvement in network lifetime compared to LEACH protocol.