Multicast in Wireless Sensor Networks The next step

Multicast potentially optimises bandwidth consumption and node resources, when several users simultaneously participate in a communication session. Nevertheless, contrary to the expectations, IP multicast has not experienced widespread deployment, with the exception of IPTV. On the other hand, emerging wireless sensor network (WSN) applications could greatly benefit from multicast and constitute another field where multicast can be an effective and efficient technique. The question is: do multicast advantages hold in WSN scenarios? This paper discusses and evaluates the use of multicast in wireless sensor networks. A WSN platform with IP support and multicast is being developed. Concurrently, simulation studies were performed in order to assess the usefulness of multicast in WSNs. The results clearly point to the benefits of the use of this technique in processing and energy-restricted environments such as this one