Zeitschrift für elektrische und elektronische Systeme

QPP-MAC: A Greener Algorithm for Single Sink Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Xavier Fernando and Sajjadul Latif

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) with a single data collection node or ‘sink’ play major role in data acquisition (DAQ) and control systems such as smart buildings. These ‘many-to-one’ networks have unique challenges in addition to regular energy concern issues. For example, nodes closer to the sink experience high traffic and drain faster. In this paper, a priority based, distributed, quasi-planned Medium Access Control (MAC) scheduling algorithm is suggested for such network architectures. The proposed Quorum-Pattern-Priority (QPP) MAC approach reduces energy wastage due to idle-listening, overhearing and transmission of unnecessary overhead. The algorithm is tested with multiple sensor classes each with a different data trans-mission pattern. The proposed protocol shows significantly low energy consumption while providing almost ideal throughput for steady traffic. The algorithm also better handles varying traffic compared to many conventional fixed scheduling algorithms.