Transmission range determination with a timeslot-based energy distribution scheme for solar-energy harvesting sensor systems

Abstract

Solar energy is an inexhaustible supply which can potentially allow a sensor system to run forever, but there are several issues in optimally using the harvested energy, such as the periodic property of charging cycle and the uncertainty of available solar energy. Since solar energy can be harvested periodically, our aim is to use this energy for enhancing the routing performance of the sensor network, not just to minimize the energy consumption to extend the network lifetime. Therefore, we propose a node-level adaptive transmission range determination algorithm which can periodically and locally determines the topological knowledge range of each node based on an allocated energy budget for the timeslot. The proposed algorithm can help the node to find the better next-hop node to which the sensory data is routed, while using the harvested solar energy efficiently. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.