Dynamic performance of IEEE 802.15.4 devices under persistent WiFi traffic

Recent studies have provided coexistence and interaction models between IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11 standards. However, the performance of IEEE 802.15.4 devices under WiFi interference are evaluated based on limit parameters i.e. Packet Reception Rate, which does not exhibit the dynamic interactions in the wireless channel. In this paper, we conduct a series of experiments to demonstrate the dynamic interactions between the IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.11 bgn standards on relevant devices. The performance of four existing Link Quality Estimators (LQEs) of IEEE 802.15.4 nodes under the IEEE 802.11 bgn interference is analyzed. We show that IEEE 802.15.4 transmission failures are largely due to channel access failures rather than corrupted data packets. Based on the analysis, we propose a new LQE - Packet Reception Rate with Clear Channel Assessment - by merging the Clear Channel Assessment count with the Packet Reception Rate. In comparison to existing LQEs, results show that the new estimator distinguishes persistent IEEE 802.11 bgn traffic more robustly.