On the applicability of a generalised predictive power control strategy for an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network

This paper addresses the practical applicability of a generalised predictive control (GPC) strategy that uses a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) control law consisting of a feedback controller and a prefilter for a variety of stationary and mobile transmission power scenarios that arise naturally in wireless sensor network systems. Such systems are often required to maximise battery lifetime while also preserving sufficient Quality of Service (QoS) among all users. The proposed design is experimentally validated with an existing power aware strategy using an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network test bed. Practical phenomena such as loss of line of sight are explicitly incorporated within the test bed and three fully autonomous mobile robots are used to introduce controlled levels of mobility in a variety of different test scenarios.