Multilayer Joint Optimization of Packet Size and Adaptive Transmission Scheduling of Wireless Sensor Networks for Mechanical Vibration Monitoring

Limitations pertaining to the storage capacity and bandwidth of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for mechanical vibration monitoring (MVM) pose difficulties in the realization of reliable and energy-efficient communication of big data. To prolong the lifetime of battery-limited WSNs, this article proposes a multilayer joint optimization of packet size and adaptive transmission scheduling (ATS) to jointly optimize the energy consumption of acquisition nodes from the storage and transmission layers. First, owing to the frequent storage and transmission of massive mechanical vibration data in WSNs, the packet size significantly affects the energy consumption during storage and transmission. The proposed packet size optimization based on the lowest energy consumption (PSO-LEC) model optimizes the energy consumption of acquisition nodes from three aspects: 1) writing; 2) reading; and 3) transmission of data. Second, when transmitting massive vibration data frequently, the direct beacon frame conflict and indirect beacon frame conflict markedly induce data conflict and delay problems. Therefore, ATS based on the time division multiple access (TDMA/ATS) method is proposed to optimize the errors in data collision and transmission delay. Thus, the packet size and ATS are considered jointly to improve the network lifetime for MVM. Comprehensive experimental results indicate that the transmission reliability and energy efficiency of the proposed scheme are significantly improved, and the network life is effectively prolonged for MVM.