A Low-delay Protocol for Multihop Wireless Body Area Networks

TLDR

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) enable remote health monitoring but require energy‑efficient, highly reliable, low‑delay communication that also supports mobility among body‑mounted sensors. The paper proposes CICADA, a cross‑layer communication protocol for WBANs. CICADA constructs a distributed network tree and uses it to provide collision‑free medium access and data routing toward the sink. Simulations show that CICADA achieves low delay, resilience to mobility, and low energy consumption by allowing nodes to sleep during unused slots.

Abstract

Wireless body area networks (WBANs) form a new and interesting area in the world of remote health monitoring. An important concern in such networks is the communication between the sensors. This communication needs to be energy efficient and highly reliable while keeping delays low. Mobility also has to be supported as the nodes are positioned on different parts of the body that move with regard to each other. In this paper, we present a new cross-layer communication protocol for WBANs: CICADA or Cascading Information retrieval by Controlling Access with Distributed slot Assignment. The protocol sets up a network tree in a distributed manner. This tree structure is subsequently used to guarantee collision free access to the medium and to route data towards the sink. The paper analyzes CICADA and shows simulation results. The protocol offers low delay and good resilience to mobility. The energy usage is low as the nodes can sleep in slots where they are not transmitting or receiving.