Date of Award

5-2013

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Campus-Only Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Advisor

Yifeng Zhu

Second Committee Member

Kate Beard

Third Committee Member

Richard Eason

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are becoming increasingly prevalent in different walks of life from surveillance, inventory management, health monitoring, and many others. While the applications of WSNs may be diverse and varied, they all share the same principles: nodes operate on batteries with limited energy capacities. Further, the traditional layered network model presents inefficiencies in energy usage. However, recent advances in cross-layer design of the network model present opportunities for great energy savings.

We propose the use of Optrix (Optimal Routing in WSN using Cross-layer designs), a cross-layer routing protocol capable of load-balancing traffic in a way as to maximize network lifetime. Optrix utilizes a convex network formulation to achieve energy efficient life time maximization routing.

Further, packet collision and interference in dense networks can severely limit data reliability and energy savings. We propose a novel class of FARA (Frequency Allocation Routing Algorithm) algorithms capable of addressing bandwidth constraints. The FARA-F algorithm is capable of allocating channels to maintain energy efficient lifetime maximization. We propose a mathematical construct, virtual networks, by which a novel heuristic can be utilized for channel allocation. We demonstrate that the channel allocation problem can be treated as a routing problem in the frame work of the virtual network. The FARA algorithms also use convex formulations to achieve optimal behavior. We utilize decomposition techniques to break down a large problem into smaller sub-problems that can be easily solved in a distributed fashion.

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