A Delay Aware Tree Based Technique in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless sensor networks utilize large numbers of wireless sensor nodes to collect information from their sensing range. Wireless sensor nodes are battery-powered devices. Energy saving is always crucial to the lifetime of a wireless sensor network.  Many algorithms are proposed to tackle the energy saving problem in wireless sensor networks. Data collection efficiency is usually compromised in return for gaining longer network lifetime. There are strong needs to develop wireless sensor networks algorithms with optimization priorities biased to aspects besides energy saving.  In this work, a delay-aware data collection network structure for wireless sensor networks is carried out. The objective of the network structure is to minimize delays in the data collection processes of wireless sensor networks. The tree structure is efficient in data collection because it reduces the number of links in the network. Performances of the proposed network structure are evaluated using computer simulations and compared with general multiple unicast technique. Simulation results show that, when comparing with other common network structures in wireless sensor networks, the proposed network structure is able to shorten the delays in the data collection process significantly.