Abstract
Interest in the cognitive radio sensor network (CRSN) paradigm has gradually grown among researchers. This concept seeks to fuse the benefits of dynamic spectrum access into the sensor network, making it a potential player in the next generation (NextGen) network, which is characterized by ubiquity. Notwithstanding its massive potential, little research activity has been dedicated to the network layer. By contrast, we find recent research trends focusing on the physical layer, the link layer and the transport layers. The fact that the cross-layer approach is imperative, due to the resource-constrained nature of CRSNs, can make the design of unique solutions non-trivial in this respect. This paper seeks to explore possible design opportunities with wireless sensor networks (WSNs), cognitive radio ad-hoc networks (CRAHNs) and cross-layer considerations for implementing viable CRSN routing solutions. Additionally, a detailed performance evaluation of WSN routing strategies in a cognitive radio environment is performed to expose research gaps. With this work, we intend to lay a foundation for developing CRSN routing solutions and to establish a basis for future work in this area.
Highlights
The need for efficient spectrum utilization [1] has recently brought about the new paradigm of cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs)
The results showed the superiority of CRSNs over wireless sensor networks (WSNs) based on hop count, throughput and end-to-end application layer latency, without incurring significant overhead
A signal can only be received if the signal interference noise ratio (SINR) limit as perceived from both neighbors and the primary users is above a threshold ∆n and ∆p, respectively, along with a value of receiver noise variance (RNV)
Summary
The need for efficient spectrum utilization [1] has recently brought about the new paradigm of cognitive radio sensor networks (CRSNs). Energy conservation can be achieved by employing nodes that dynamically change their transmission parameters to suit channel characteristics, providing full management control of these valuable resources This practice, in effect, can enable the coexistence of various WSNs deployed in a spatially overlapping area in terms of communication and resource utilization. This phenomenon is otherwise referred to as the “deafness problem” and introduces a challenging scenario requiring innovative algorithms that consider the intrinsic nature of the sensor nodes This scenario necessitates a cross-layer approach for designing spectrum-aware routing protocols. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: To identify a research gap in the network layer of CRSNs. To evaluate WSN routing strategies vis-à-vis CRSN requirements.
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