wireless sensor network 2010
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have attracted a wide range of disciplines where close interactions
with the physical world are essential. The distributed sensing capabilities and the ease of deployment
provided by a wireless communication paradigm make WSNs an important component of our daily
lives. By providing distributed, real-time information from the physical world, WSNs extend the reach
of current cyber infrastructures to the physical world.
WSNs consist of tiny sensor nodes, which act as both data generators and network relays. Each
node consists of sensor(s), a microprocessor, and a transceiver. Through the wide range of sensors
available for tight integration, capturing data from a physical phenomenon becomes standard. Through
on-board microprocessors, sensor nodes can be programmed to accomplish complex tasks rather than
transmit only what they observe. The transceiver provides wireless connectivity to communicate the
observed phenomena of interest. Sensor nodes are generally stationary and are powered by limited
capacity batteries. Therefore, although the locations of the nodes do not change, the network topology
dynamically changes due to the power management activities of the sensor nodes. To save energy, nodes
aggressively switch their transceivers off and essentially become disconnected from the network. In this
dynamic environment, it is a major challenge to provide connectivity of the network while minimizing
the energy consumption. The energy-efficient operation of WSNs, however, provides significantly long
lifetimes that surpass any system that relies on batteries.
In March 2002, our survey paper “Wireless sensor networks: A survey” appeared in the Elsevier jour-
nal Computer Networks, with a much shorter and concise version appearing in IEEE Communications
Magazine in August 2002. Over the years, both of these papers were among the top 10 downloaded
papers from Elsevier and IEEE Communication Society (ComSoc) journals with over 8000 citations in
total.
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Since then, the research on the unique challenges of WSNs has accelerated significantly. In the
last decade, promising results have been obtained through these research activities, which have enabled
the development and manufacture of sophisticated products. This, as a result, eventually created a brand-
new market powered by the WSN phenomenon. Throughout these years, the deployment of WSNs has
become a reality. Consequently, the research community has gained significant experience through these
deployments. Furthermore, many researchers are currently engaged in developing solutions that address
the unique challenges of the present WSNs and envision new WSNs such as wireless underwater and
underground sensor networks. We have contributed to this research over the years through numerous
articles and four additional survey/roadmap papers on wireless sensor actor networks, underwater
acoustic networks, wireless underground sensor networks, and wireless multimedia sensor networks
which were published in different years within the last decade.
In summer 2003, we started to work on our second survey paper on WSNs to revisit the state-of-the-
art solutions since the dawn of this phenomenon. The large volume of work and the interest in both
academia and industry have motivated us to significantly enhance this survey to create this book, which
is targeted at teaching graduate students, stimulating them for new research ideas, as well as providing
academic and industry professionals with a thorough overview and in-depth understanding of the state-
of-the-art in wireless sensor networking and how they can develop new ideas to advance this technology
as well as support emerging applications and services. The book provides a comprehensive coverage of
1
According to Google Scholar as of October 2009.xx Preface
the present research on WSNs as well as their applications and their improvements in numerous fields.
This book covers several major research results including the authors’ own contributions as well as all
standardization committee decisions in a cohesive and unified form. Due to the sheer amount of work
that has been published over the last decade, obviously it is not possible to cover every single solution
and any lack thereof is unintentional.
The contents of the book mainly follow the TCP/IP stack starting from the physical layer and covering
each protocol layer in detail. Moreover, cross-layer solutions as well as services such as synchronization,
localization, and topology control are discussed in detail. Special cases of WSNs are also introduced.
Functionalities and existing protocols and algorithms are covered in depth. The aim is to teach the readers
what already exists and how these networks can further be improved and advanced by pointing out grand
research challenges in the final chapter of the book.
Chapter 1 is a comprehensive introduction to WSNs, including sensor platforms and network
architectures. Chapter 2 summarizes the existing applications of WSNs ranging from military solutions
to home applications. Chapter 3 provides a comprehensive coverage of the characteristics, critical design
factors, and constraints of WSNs. Chapter 4 studies the physical layer of WSNs, including physical
layer technologies, wireless communication characteristics, and existing standards at the WSN physical
layer. Chapter 5 presents various medium access control (MAC) protocols for WSNs, with a special
focus on the basic carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) techniques
used extensively at this layer, as well as distinct solutions ranging from CSMA/CA variants, time
division multiple access (TDMA)-based MAC, and their hybrid counterparts. Chapter 6 focuses on
error control techniques in WSNs as well as their impact on energy-efficient communication. Along
with Chapter 5, these two chapters provide a comprehensive evaluation of the link layer in WSNs.
Chapter 7 is dedicated to routing protocols for WSNs. The extensive number of solutions at this layer
are studied in four main classes: data-centric, hierarchical, geographical, and quality of service (QoS)-
based routing protocols. Chapter 8 firstly introduces the challenges of transport layer solutions and
then describes the protocols. Chapter 9 introduces the cross-layer interactions between each layer and
their impacts on communication performance. Moreover, cross-layer communication approaches are
explained in detail. Chapter 10 discusses time synchronization challenges and several approaches that
have been designed to address these challenges. Chapter 11 presents the challenges for localization
and studies them in three classes: ranging techniques, range-based localization protocols, and range-
free localization protocols. Chapter 12 is organized to capture the topology management solutions in
WSNs. More specifically, deployment, power control, activity, scheduling, and clustering solutions are
explained. Chapter 13 introduces the concept of wireless sensor–actor networks (WSANs) and their
characteristics. In particular, the coordination issues between sensors and actors as well as between
different actors are highlighted along with suitable solutions. Moreover, the communication issues in
WSANs are discussed. Chapter 14 presents wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) along with
their challenges and various architectures. In addition, the existing multimedia sensor network platforms
are introduced, and the protocols are described in the various layers following the general structure
of the book. Chapter 15 is dedicated to underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) with a major
focus on the impacts of the underwater environment. The basics of underwater acoustic propagation are
studied and the corresponding solutions at each layer of the protocol stack are summarized. Chapter 16
introduces wireless underground sensor networks (WUSNs) and various applications for these networks.
In particular, WUSNs in soil and WUSNs in mines and tunnels are described. The channel properties
in both these cases are studied. Furthermore, the existing challenges in the communication layers are
described. Finally, Chapter 17 discusses the grand challenges that still exist for the proliferation of
WSNs.
It is a major task and challenge to produce a textbook. Although usually the authors carry the major
burden, there are several other key people involved in publishing the book. Our foremost thanks go
to Birgit Gruber from John Wiley & Sons who initiated the entire idea of producing this book. Tiina
Ruonamaa, Sarah Tilley, and Anna Smart at John Wiley & Sons have been incredibly helpful, persistent,Preface xxi
and patient. Their assistance, ideas, dedication, and support for the creation of this book will always be
greatly appreciated. We also thank several individuals who indirectly or directly contributed to our book.
In particular, our sincere thanks go to Özgur B. Akan, Tommaso Melodia, Dario Pompili, Weilian Su,
Eylem Ekici, Cagri Gungor, Kaushik R. Chowdhury, Xin Dong, and Agnelo R. Silva for their help.
I (MCV) would like to specifically thank the numerous professors who have inspired me throughout
my education in both Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta,
GA. I would like to thank my colleagues and friends at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and
the Department of Computer Science and Engineering for the environment they created during the
development of this book. I am especially thankful to my PhD advisor, Professor Ian F. Akyildiz,
who introduced me to the challenges of WSNs. I wholeheartedly thank him for his strong guidance,
friendship, and trust during my PhD as well as my career thereafter. I would also like to express my
deep appreciation to my wife, Demet, for her love, exceptional support, constructive critiques, and her
sacrifices that made the creation of this book possible. I am thankful to my mom, Ayla, for the love,
support, and encouragement that only a mother can provide. Finally, this book is dedicated to the loving
memory of my dad, Mehmet Vuran (or Hem¸serim as we used to call each other). He was the greatest
driving force for the realization of this book as well as many other accomplishments in my life.
I (IFA) would like to specifically thank my wife and children for their support throughout all these
years. Without their continuous love, understanding, and tolerance, none of these could have been
achieved. Also my past and present PhD students, who became part of my family over the last 25
years, deserve the highest and sincerest thanks for being in my life and letting me enjoy the research
to the fullest with them. The feeling of seeing how they developed in their careers over the years is
indescribable and one of the best satisfactions in my life. Their research results contributed a great deal
to the contents of this book as well.
Ian F. Akyildiz and Mehmet Can Vuran
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