Efficient MAC Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks Endowed with Directive Antennas: A Cross-Layer Solution

• Main Authors: Manes Gianfranco, Fantacci Romano, Chiti Francesco, Ciabatti Michele, Collodi Giovanni, Di Palma Davide, Nelli Ilaria, Manes Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2007-01-01
• Series: EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking
• Online Access: http://jwcn.eurasipjournals.com/content/2007/037910

<p/> <p>This paper deals with a novel MAC layer protocol, namely, directive synchronous transmission asynchronous reception (D-STAR) able to space-time synchronize a wireless sensor network (WSN). To this end, D-STAR integrates directional antennas within the communications framework, while taking into account both sleep/active states, according to a cross-layer design. After characterizing the D-STAR protocol in terms of functional characteristics, the related performance is presented, in terms of network lifetime gain, setup latency, and collision probability. It has shown a remarkable gain in terms of energy consumption reduction with respect to the basic approach endowed with omnidirectional antennas, without increasing the signaling overhead nor affecting the setup latency.</p>