Network Coding for energy optimization and throughput enhancement of WideMac for IR-UWB based WSN

Energy and throughput optimization occupies an important place in the research area of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). These networks are a class of useful but challenging networks. Combining Network Coding (NC) and efficient scheduling in the MAC layer of such networks gives more efficiency and copes with the problem of energy waste and inefficiency management as well as transmission´s lose and collision. Our work´s concern is to assess the contribution of the network coding technique´s introduction to improve the efficiency and optimize the energy consumption in the MAC layer of IR-UWB based WSNs. Therefore, we tested this new technique using WideMac Protocol; which is a relevant MAC protocols dedicated to WSNs based on IR-UWB. Furthermore, we used XOR coding to fit low computational capabilities requirement in such networks. The obtained results are very encouraging and the proposed MAC scheme´s improvements have demonstrated the positive impact of using NC in terms of both used metrics.