An empirical study of low-power wireless

TLDR

Understanding how observations affect the conceptual model can guide future protocol designs. The article examines how empirical observations challenge common assumptions in MAC and network layer protocol design. The study measures packet delivery on Micaz and Telos motes, models common protocol assumptions, and evaluates protocols that deviate from those assumptions.

Abstract

We present empirical measurements of the packet delivery performance of the latest sensor platforms: Micaz and Telos motes. In this article, we present observations that have implications to a set of common assumptions protocol designers make while designing sensornet protocols—specifically—the MAC and network layer protocols. We first distill these common assumptions in to a conceptual model and show how our observations support or dispute these assumptions. We also present case studies of protocols that do not make these assumptions. Understanding the implications of these observations to the conceptual model can improve future protocol designs.