WSN16-2: Load Sensitive Topology Control for Energy Conservation in Ad Hoc Sensor Networks

Sensor networks are usually composed of tiny and resource constraint devices, which make energy conservation a vital concern of their design. Reducing energy consumption has been addressed through different aspects till now. Topology control (TC), as the process of determining the transmission ranges of nodes to optimize energy utilization while keeping some network properties like connectivity, is a well-known approach. However, current TC schemes mostly account the transmission range of each node as the exclusive estimator for its energy consumption, while ignoring the amount of data it sends or relays. In this paper, we redefine the problem of topology control regarding both network load and transmission range parameters. Our approach is particularly formulated for sensor networks with one or more base stations. Then, under a certain modeling of environment, proper mathematical relations are provided to find the optimum solution. Finally, we show the advantages of our proposal through presenting analytical and experimental results.