Link characterization for Aerial Wireless Sensor Networks

Characterization of communication links in Aerial Wireless Sensor Networks (AWSN) is of paramount importance for achieving acceptable network performance. Protocols based on an arbitrary link performance may exhibit inconsistent behavior due to link degradation not considered during the design stage. It is thus necessary to account for factors that affect the link performance in real deployments. This paper details observations from an extensive set of experiments designed to characterize the behavior of communication links in AWSN. We employ the widely used TelosB sensor platform for these experiments. The experimental results highlight the fact that apart from the usual environmental factors affecting the link performance, two major contributors to the link degradation in AWSN are the antenna orientation and the multi-path fading effect due to ground reflections. Based on these observations, we recommend measures that can help alleviate the effect of these potential sources of performance degradation in AWSN in order to achieve acceptable network performance.