RTPAW: a Real-Time Power Aware Framework for Wireless Sensor Networks

In the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) used in monitoring applications, the need to provide soft real-time traffic with an appropriate QoS clashes with the energy consumption constraints of the nodes, which have to work for long periods without the possibility of replacing their batteries. The paper presents the Real-Time Power Aware Framework (RTPAW), which aims at achieving both objectives. The most significant aspects of the RTPAWare the network architecture, which adopts a cluster-based concept, and the implementation at different levels of the protocol stack of the functions needed to meet the low-power and real-time requirements. In the approach here adopted, a new layer, called the Aggregation Layer, is introduced between the MAC and Routing layers. This layer mainly deals with reducing the amount of energy dissipated, while the Routing layer is entrusted with achieving the desired QoS, in terms of delivery speed, to allow the transmission of soft real-time traffic.