Exploiting error estimating codes for packet length adaptation in wireless sensor networks

We propose Plena, a packet length adaptation scheme exploiting recently proposed Error Estimating Codes for low power sensor networks. We carefully consider two low power MAC protocols, i.e., X-MAC and LPP, in modeling the energy consumptions of different packet lengths. Based on the modeling and analysis, we give closed form solutions for the optimal packet length in terms of energy efficiency. We employ the recently proposed error estimating codes (EEC) for estimating the bit error rate (BER). EEC allows for instant estimation of the BER in a partially correct packet, making it possible for predicting packet reception ratios (PRRs) at different packet lengths without the need of direct measurement in an iterative process. We evaluate Plena´s computation overhead based on the commonly used TelosB nodes. Results show that the computation overhead of Plena is acceptably small. We also perform extensive simulations to study the performance of Plena under different configurations. Results show that Plena achieves better energy efficiency than existing works.