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IEEE 802.15.4 historical revolution versions: A survey

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Abstract

The IEEE 802.15.4 is a well-known standard that is widely utilized for wireless sensor networks in order to meet the low rate, low cost and energy efficiency requirements. Seventeen years have already passed since its appearance, but new amendments are constantly being introduced. Since the standard can operates in specific countries or can support some types of networks like SUN, LECIM and RFID, modifications are carried on the basic version and then new versions have been released. In this paper, we provide a clear and structured overview of the 802.15.4 standard and all its amendments and revisions. After a general introduction to the 802.15.4-2003 standard, we present a chronological description of the amendments specified by this standard. These descriptions include the modifications made either on the physical layer or the MAC sublayer. Some references having developed the amendments whether it be a simple overview or an evaluation of the performance of the standard have been cited. The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of the standard as well as to deal with many problems frequented by wireless sensor networks using the basic version.

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  1. Research Unit LaMOS (Modeling and Optimization of Systems), Faculty of Exact Sciences, University of Bejaia, 06000, Bejaia, Algeria

    Lynda Alkama & Louiza Bouallouche-Medjkoune

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  1. Lynda Alkama
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  2. Louiza Bouallouche-Medjkoune
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Correspondence to Lynda Alkama.

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Alkama, L., Bouallouche-Medjkoune, L. IEEE 802.15.4 historical revolution versions: A survey. Computing 103, 99–131 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00607-020-00844-3

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