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Comparing Energy-Saving MAC Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

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Abstract

Applications for wireless sensor networks have notably different characteristics and requirements from standard WLAN applications. Low energy consumption is the most important consideration. The low message rate that is typical for sensor network applications and the relaxed latency requirements allow for significant reductions in energy consumption of the radio. In this article we study the energy saved by two MAC protocols optimized for wireless sensor networks, S-MAC and T-MAC, in comparison to standard CSMA/CA, We also report on the effects of low-power listening, a physical layer optimization, in combination with these MAC protocols. The comparison is based on extensive simulation driven by traffic that varies over time and location; sensor nodes are inactive unless they observe some physical event, or send status updates to the sink node providing the connection to the wired world. T-MAC} in combination with low-power listening saves most energy, but can not handle the same peak loads as CSMA/CA and S-MAC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 4, P.O. Box 5031, 2600, Delft, GA, The Netherlands

    G. P. Halkes, T. van Dam & K. G. Langendoen

Authors
  1. G. P. Halkes
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  2. T. van Dam
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  3. K. G. Langendoen
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Correspondence to K. G. Langendoen.

Additional information

Gertjan Halkes earned a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in computer science from the Delft University of Technology in 2002 and 2004 respectively. He is currently working as a Ph.D. student in the Parallel and Distributed Systems group at that same university.

Tijs van Dam received an M.Sc. in computer science from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands in 2004. He is now working for IBM.

Koen Langendoen is an associate professor in the Parallel and Distributed Systems group at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. He earned an M.Sc. in computer science from the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam in 1988 and a Ph.D. in computer science from the Universiteit van Amsterdam in 1993. His research interests include system software for parallel processing, wearable computing, embedded systems, and wireless sensor networks.

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Halkes, G.P., van Dam, T. & Langendoen, K.G. Comparing Energy-Saving MAC Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks. Mobile Netw Appl 10, 783–791 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-005-3371-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11036-005-3371-x

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