Hello: A generic flexible protocol for neighbor discovery

Abstract

Neighbor discovery is crucial for both wireless sensor networks and mobile computing applications. The crux of the problem is to achieve energy efficiency, which has been demonstrated to be difficult by prior work. In this paper we propose Hello, a generic flexible protocol for neighbor discovery. With an unrestricted parameter, it serves as a generic framework that incorporates existing deterministic protocols. Under the framework, we expose optimal parameters for either symmetric or asymmetric duty cycles, which is the first to our knowledge. As a result, it exhibits great flexibility by adjusting itself to any configuration that best meets application demands. Besides, several techniques are applied to removing redundant discoveries without sacrificing the worst-case latency. We evaluate Hello through extensive simulation and real-world sensor experiments. The results show that Hello is highly energy-efficient under symmetric and asymmetric duty cycles. In particular, it is two times better than the state of the art in terms of the worst-case latency under asymmetric duty cycles.