disclosed is a routing method named lock routing for a wireless multi - hop network , which can be based on next - hop routing and source routing and named next - hop lock routing and source lock routing respectively . the routing method utilizes traffic packets to monitor the link quality and utilizes local broadcast to help a source node keep track of the varying network topology in order to update a route path to a destination node . in local broadcast , routing control messages can be forwarded by path nodes and neighbors of an old route path , which reduces the routing control overhead and enhances the network scalability . a route update process can be triggered by the link quality and the path node state and is used to maintain ongoing traffic flows and extend the network lifetime .