Numerical limits for data gathering in wireless networks

In our previous work, we proposed to use a vehicle network for data gathering, i.e. as an urban sensor. In this paper, we aim at understanding the theoretical limits of data gathering in a time slotted wireless network in terms of maximum service rate per node and end to end packet delivery ratio. The capacity of wireless networks has been widely studied and boundaries for that capacity expressed in Bachmann-Landau notation [1]. But these asymptotic limits do not clarify the numeric limits on data packets that can be carried by a wireless network. In this paper, we calculate the maximum data that each node can generate before saturating the network. The expected number of collision and its effect of the PDR% and service rate are investigated. The results quantify the trade off between packet delivery rate and service rate. Finally, we verify our analytical results by simulating the same scenario.