Evaluating revised MintRoute protocol in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

A small device-based, low-rate, short-range wireless radio communication often hampers high reliability in wireless sensor networks. However, more applications are increasingly demanding high reliability. For this requirement to be met, various approaches have been proposed in a layered manner. Among those, MintRoute is a well-known network layer approach to develop a new metric based on link quality for path selection toward the sink. By choosing the link with the highest measured value, the proposed approach can afford a higher possibility to transmit a packet over the link ithout error. However, there are still several issues to be discussed during operations. In this paper, we propose how to improve the MintRoute protocol through several revised algorithms, including the development of a new metric, a parent selection considering distance and level from the sink node, and a fast recovery method against failures. Simulations and analysis are performed to validate the suitability of reduced end-to-end delay and fast recovery from failures.