Deploying Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks and RFID for Handoff Enhancement

The architecture for next generation wireless networks aims to integrate various heterogenous access technologies, the synergy of which offers insights for enhancing traditional network functionalities. In this paper, we propose taking advantage of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks (WSANs) pervasive technologies for enhancing the handoff process at the link and network layers on the principal communication channel, such as Wireless LAN (WLAN). In our system architecture, an RFID tag deployment is used for capturing the movement pattern of a roaming Mobile Node (MN) with an RFID reader-enabled terminal. This information is utilized for predicting its next point of attachment. The WSAN serves as an overlay control network on the top of the WLAN and is responsible for initiating or ceasing the handoff process, performing handoff prediction and communicating handoff-relevant information. Analysis and simulation-based results show considerable benefits of our scheme compared to Standard solutions, regarding energy consumption and handoff latency delay.