A Novel Channel Access Mechanism for IEEE 802.15.4e to Promote Internet of Things

Abstract

IEEE 802.15.4e defines the specification of PHY layer and MAC layer. Although distinguished by its popularity and strength for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), it still suffers from several limitations that deteriorates its performance. One such restriction is a high collision probability that degrades the performance of a dense network. In this article, we develop a Slotted Access Window (SAW) mechanism, a medium access technique to mitigate high collision probability and energy consumption in dense and battery constrained networks. An accurate analytical model is presented to assess the effectiveness of SAW mechanism and validated using the ns-3 simulator. Finally, results show that the SAW mechanism significantly improves the throughput, energy efficiency, and delay in contrast to the default medium access mechanism.