Experimental evaluation of IETF 6TiSCH in the context of Smart Grid

IEEE 802.15.4e MAC layer amendments has been specifically designed to support upper layer communication that is reliable, scalable and flexible using Time Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode. With the emerging IETF 6TiSCH open-standard for Internet of Things layered over TSCH, we can expect 6TiSCH deployments in networks with deterministic and real-time application requirements such as Smart Grid. The OpenWSN implements TSCH MAC layer and IPv6 adaptation to the Low-power and Lossy Networks (LLNs) as defined by the IETF 6TiSCH working group. In OpenWSN, decentralized and distributed On-The-Fly (OTF) scheduling techniques for 6TiSCH environment are supported. In this paper, we present an experimental evaluation of OTF scheduling technique carried out for different TSCH slot schedules considering two scenarios single channel communication and channel hopping. Experimental validation was carried out using TelosB mote platform comparing TSCH and CSMA/CA running the OpenWSN and Contiki respectively. The measured parameters included packet delivery ratio and energy consumption by varying the network size to compare the advantage of TSCH mode scheduling. Our experiment results indicate 6TiSCH can address the critical deterministic bandwidth and real-time requirement while realizing IoT approach to the Smart Grid.