Applications oriented medium access control protocols for wireless sensor networks.

In this article two new MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks based on TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) access method are proposed. The proposed protocols are convenient for applications demanding a small number of sensors highly concentrated in a small region, such as in medical areas. The main characteristic of the proposed protocols is the simplified access scheduling that guarantees a low energy consumption and a reduced overhead. The energy consumptions of the proposed protocols are estimated analytically and compared to the consumptions of the protocols known in the literature. The results show that the energy consumptions of the proposed protocols, in certain conditions, are smaller than other compared protocols.