ABSTRACT
Due to advances in wireless communications and electronics over the last few years, the development of networks of low-cost, low-power, multifunctional sensors has received increasing attention. These sensors are small in size and able to sense, process data, and communicate with each other, typically over an RF (radio frequency) channel. A sensor network is designed to detect events or phenomena, collect and process data, and transmit sensed information to interested users. Basic features of sensor networks are:
• Self-organizing capabilities • Short-range broadcast communication and multihop routing • Dense deployment and cooperative effort of sensor nodes • Frequently changing topology due to fading and node failures • Limitations in energy, transmit power, memory, and computing power
These characteristics, particularly the last three, make sensor networks different from other wireless ad hoc or mesh networks.
