Solutions for the "silent node" problem in automatic meter reading system using powerline communications

This paper proposes several schemes for solving the typical "silent node" problem in a powerline communications (PLC) access network based on the polling protocol. These schemes can help guarantee reliable and efficient automatic metering reading (AMR) service. The assumption of the PLC access network model in this paper is based on the actual structure of the PLC access networks of Singapore public residential buildings. Also, a two-state transition Markov model is utilized to model a meter unit with "silent node" problem in a PLC network. Some of the assumptions are also based on Konnex standard. By utilizing these models for our computer simulation, the performance of our proposed schemes can be evaluated in terms of reliability and efficiency.