Optimal Data Delivery in Wireless Sensor Networks in the Energy and Latency Domains

In this paper we address the problem of optimal data gathering in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The goal of this work is to develop algorithms and techniques in order to minimize the data delivery latency and at the same time balance the energy consumption among the nodes, so as to maximize the network lifetime. Following an incremental-complexity approach, several mathematical programming problems are proposed with focus on different network aspects. First, the static routing problem is formulated for large and dense WSNs. Then, an accurate network model is proposed that captures the tradeoff between the data delivery latency and the network energy consumption by modeling the interactions among the routing, medium access control and physical layers. Finally, we consider dynamic rerouting and scheduling. For each problem we provide extensive simulations results for reference scenarios. The proposed models provide a deeper insight into the problem of timely and energy efficient data gathering. Along with the simulation results reported here they provide useful guidelines for the design of effective WSNs.