impact of radio irregularity on wireless sensor networks
In this paper, we investigate the impact of radio irregularity on the communication performance in wireless sensor networks. Radio irregularity is a common phenomenon which arises from multiple factors, such as variance in RF sending power and different path losses depending on the direction of propagation. From our experiments, we discover that the variance in received signal strength is largely random; however, it exhibits a continuous change with incremental changes in direction. With empirical data obtained from the MICA2 platform, we establish a radio model for simulation, called the Radio Irregularity Model (RIM). This model is the first to bridge the discrepancy between spherical radio models used by simulators and the physical reality of radio signals. With this model, we are able to analyze the impact of radio irregularity on some of the well-known MAC and routing protocols. Our results show that radio irregularity has a significant impact on routing protocols, but a relatively small impact on MAC protocols. Finally, we propose six solutions to deal with radio irregularity. We evaluate two of them in detail. The results obtained from both the simulation and a running testbed demonstrate that our solutions greatly improve communication performance in the presence of radio irregularity.
radio irregularity wireless sensor network sensor networks paper communication performance factor sending power power path loss direct propagation experience signaling continuation change incremental data platform model simulation physical routing protocol mac protocol evaluation testbed demonstrate presence link asymmetry packet loss wireless communication