MM-QoS for BAN: Multi-level MAC-layer QoS design in body area networks

Employing recent wireless technologies, body area network (BAN) interconnects the communications between sensors nearby human bodies and outside world. The sensors collect environmental and physiological data with various importance, therefore, the provisioning of quality of service (QoS) for the sensory data in BAN is a critical issue. This paper proposes MM-QoS, which is a multiple level-based QoS design at MAC layer for a tree topology structured BAN. The QoS provisioning is divided into three levels of priorities, i.e., priority of user (PoU), priority of data (PoD) and priority over time (PoT). The time slot-based CSMA/CA mechanism in the beacon enabled mode of IEEE 802.15.4 is utilized for the implementation of the QoS framework. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the multi-level QoS provisioning in BAN.