Efficient data collection with directional antenna and network coding in wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), with converge-cast, the data flow pattern forms a funnel structure and converges at the Sink. Reduction of traffic flow to the Sink cuts down the funneling effect and improves the efficiency of the network. This paper presents an energy Efficient Triangular (regular) Deployment strategy with Directional Antenna (ETD-DA) while analyzing the directivity of antenna beam in the network. A triangular deployment strategy, where nodes are placed at different layers, has been adopted in view of the funneling effect of traffic in a single Sink network. A particular layer of ETD-DA involves in sensing and generating data for an event in WSN. On the proposed pattern, ETD-DA, the inter-level communication has been analyzed. The 2-connectivity pattern of communication has been achieved by orienting the directional antenna beam of a sensor in a particular direction towards the Sink. For the improvement of reliability (protection of data against path failure) of the network, a network coding based forwarding strategy has also been proposed for inter level communication in the ETD-DA with 2-connectivity pattern. The energy consumption has been significantly reduced due to the combination of directional beam and network coding. A detailed theoretical analysis and simulation have been performed to show the efficacy of the proposed approach.