An Improved S-MAC Protocol Based on Parallel Transmission for Wireless Sensor Networks

Low duty cycle operation is a well-known mechanism used for achieving energy efficiency in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Nodes under this concept work only for a small percentage of time and remain largely inactive to conserve energy. S-MAC, is a popular protocol designed specifically for WSNs with low duty cycle operation. At its inception, S-MAC has been designed for low traffic loads. In this paper, we propose an enhanced version of S-MAC, called PS-MAC, that shows to support comparatively higher traffic levels while achieving the better energy efficiency. This is achieved using the parallel transmission concept. Performance evaluation is carried out using the NS2 simulation platform to verify the protocol improvements.