Abstract

The application of wireless technology is increasingly influencing the deployment of sensor networks at low cost and maintainance in all walks of life. Poor channel conditions, severe power constraints, fading, interference and the low power communication requirements magnify the need for energy efficient and preferably cross layer error control schemes in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The main goal of error control mechanisms in WSNs is to reduce the energy expenditure while taking care of reliable and fast delivery of the sensed data. In this paper, we propose a FFFD;Dynamic and Channel Adaptive Error Control Scheme in Wireless Sensor NetworksFFFD; (DCAECS) that estimates the channel errors and controls errors dynamically based on channel characteristics and noise power observed at the receiver. This motivates the error control strategy to vary as the channel conditions change in terms of noise level. In this paper, we have come up with the models for both the error and channel estimation. Analysis and simulation results for various message sizes and error conditions show that there is an improvement in terms of throughput, BER and the probability of retransmission as compared to FFFD;ARQ Scheme With Adaptive Error ControlFFFD; (ASAEC).