Decentralized-Precoding Aided Rateless Codes for Wireless Sensor Networks

In this letter, we propose a novel decentralized-precoding aided rateless code, which is conceived for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). More specifically, the proposed algorithm allows a collection of source nodes to precode their information symbols in an uncoordinated manner. The precoded symbols are then channel-encoded by a distributed rateless code at each sensor node. This architecture enables us to eliminate an error floor imposed on the conventional Luby Transform (LT)-code based WSNs, without requiring a central coordinator or any elaborate cooperations between the nodes. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed distributed rateless code is capable of attaining achievable BER performance comparable to that of a Raptor code coordinated by a central coordinator, while outperforming a distributed LT code.