Optimal transmit power in Wireless Sensor Networks in a multipath Rician fading channel

Energy Conservation is one of the most vital aspects in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for better network durability since nodes have limited resources. Excessive high transmit power consumes more energy and increases internode interference significantly. While, low transmit power may cause network failure. Thus choice of optimal transmit power is one of the prime concern in such network. Optimal transmit power is the minimum power required to sustain the network connectivity while maintaining a predefined maximum tolerable Bit Error Rate (BER). In this paper, the effects of Rician fading are investigated on optimal transmit power, BER performance and energy consumption. Further impact of severity of Rician fading on WSN performance is also studied.