Medium Access Control for Wireless Sensor Networks based on Impulse Radio Ultra Wideband

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the performance of distributed MAC protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks using Impulse Radio Ultra Wideband, focusing on reliability, latency, and power efficiency through simulation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed performance analysis of IR-UWB based MAC protocols, comparing slotted and unslotted approaches with reliability mechanisms.

Findings

Optimal parameters for IR-UWB identified

IR-UWB shows competitive reliability and power efficiency

Comparison with other techniques highlights IR-UWB advantages

Abstract

This paper describes a detailed performance evaluation of distributed Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks based on Impulse Radio Ultra Wideband (IR-UWB) Physical layer (PHY). Two main classes of Medium Access Control protocol have been considered: Slotted and UnSlotted with reliability. The reliability is based on Automatic Repeat ReQuest (ARQ). The performance evaluation is performed using a complete Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) simulator built on the Global Mobile Information System Simulator (GloMoSim). The optimal operating parameters are first discussed for IR-UWB in terms of slot size, retransmission delay and the number of retransmission, then a comparison between IR-UWB and other transmission techniques in terms of reliability latency and power efficiency.