Improving Drone Data Gathering WSN Application Performance with a Predefined p-based Approach for Slotted p-Persistent CSMA MAC

Abstract

This paper essentially focuses on wireless sensor network (WSN) aerial data collection from a set of fixed and randomly deployed numerous wireless sensor nodes located on the ground by using a flying device (drone). Data collection is an extremely crucial mechanism and task for effectiveness of such a WSN application. Considering the enormous number of sensor nodes, obviously Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)-based systems are preferred compared to the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) rivals. In this work, a new approach for classical WSN Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols based on Slotted p-Persistent CSMA is proposed for especially improving the overall application performance with respect to the fixed ground sensor nodes as well as mobile drone characteristics. It is fundamentally based on the idea of employing a variable predefined p-value based mechanism. A simulation study shows that it offers an improved throughput performance of up to 6% compared to the classical fixed p-persistent CSMA predecessor, especially under high network load conditions.