Communication Theory as Applied to Wireless Sensor Networks

Summary: Network architectures, e.g., flat vs. hierarchical topologies, single- vs. multi-hop, etc. Connectivity and coverage criteria. Energy use models. Proactive and reactive medium access methods. Routing strategies.
Example: Energy requirements for simulated mesh, tree and single hop topologies.

Objectives:

• Understand key benefits and costs associated with single- versus multi-hop networks.
• Understand key benefits and costs associated with homogeneous versus heterogeneous node deployments.
• Be able to apply simple metrics to assess network connectivity.  Links to graph theory.
• Understand the benefits and costs of implementing scheduled versus contention based protocols.
• Understand common routing protocols proposed for wireless sensor networks.

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