Dynamic power allocation using Stackelberg game in a wireless sensor network

Wireless sensor networks are characterized by a limited availability of resources such as the power required for data transmission. Cooperative communication enables transmission of data without using too much power. The fading of data is considerably less when the nodes are engaged in a cooperative communication protocol, rather than a competitive game. The quintessential concern for each node is the power it needs to allocate in order to relay the other nodes data. In cooperative communication, the nodes need to transmit not only their own data, but the data of the neighboring nodes too. An efficient solution to this problem can be determined by employing the Stackelberg game. From the determined solutions, improvement in the cooperation among the neighboring nodes can be worked upon. A cooperation region can be established within which the nodes work towards transmitting the data more efficiently. A similar concept can be applied to multi-hop networks and N relay multi-hop networks. Thus, an optimal region of cooperation for a single node, which permits it to achieve maximum cooperation amongst all the other nodes at the same time can be determined. Since we employ a game theoretic approach, we can determine a trade off between quantities such as power allocated and utility of the nodes, which results in maximum optimization of the network. Through this paper, we aim to improve the network utility factor of the wireless sensor network through dynamic power allocation using the Stackelberg game.