Medium Access Control Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

This chapter provides an overall understanding of the design aspects of Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). A WSN MAC protocol shares the wireless broadcast medium among sensor nodes and creates a basic network infrastructure for them to communicate with each other. The MAC protocol also has a direct influence on the network lifetime of WSNs as it controls the activities of the radio, which is the most power-consuming component of resource-scarce sensor nodes. In this chapter, the authors first discuss the basics of MAC design for WSNs and present a set of important MAC attributes. Subsequently, authors discuss the main categories of MAC protocols proposed for WSNs and highlight their strong and weak points. After briefly outlining different MAC protocols falling in each category, the authors provide a substantial comparison of these protocols for several parameters. Lastly, the chapter discusses future research directions on open issues in this field that have mostly been overlooked.