Integrating short-range wireless networks: an energy efficient proposal

We propose a protocol architecture that integrates heterogeneous short-range wireless network technologies in a bounded environment. A common data transmission adaptation tier on top of a generic network interface tier provides total independence from the lower tier technology characteristics. This architecture handles station mobility, data interchange, and relaying frames among different devices using the dynamic cluster-based source routing (DcSR) protocol - a slightly modified version of the DSR protocol - and the intra-cluster data-dissemination protocol (Icdp). We present simulation results showing relevant energy savings in various scenarios without an important decrease of the performance of the network.