Coexistence Performance of IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Sensor Networks Under IEEE 802.11b/g Interference

Abstract

IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) and IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are often collocated, causing a coexistence issue since these networks share the same 2.4GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical band. In our previous work, we built a coexistence model of IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs and IEEE 802.11b/g WLANs. By identifying three distinct coexistence regions, the model explained the coexistence behavior of IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs and IEEE 802.11b/g WLANs, and the model was experimentally validated. In this paper, we improve the model by introducing two important implementation factors: the transceiver’s Rx-to-Tx turnaround time and the Clear Channel Assessment partial detection effect. The enhanced model significantly improves the accuracy on explaining and predicting the coexistence performance of IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs in the real-life environment. Furthermore, under the guidance of the model, the coexistence performance of IEEE 802.15.4 WSNs is extensively investigated in various coexistence scenarios by analysis, simulation and experiments, respectively. The simulation and experimental results agree with our analysis. The coexistence model is believed to be helpful in resolving the coexistence issue.