Performance Evaluation of an Enhanced Frequency Hopping Transceiver in 5 GHz Band for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks in industrial environments require high reliability. State of the art wireless sensor networks do not entirely fulfill these requirements due to operation on overcrowded frequency bands and inefficient use of spectrum. In this paper, a novel concept for reliable wireless communication operating at 5.8 GHz is presented. It applies an adaptive frequency hopping mechanism to mitigate the high frequency selectivity, which occurs in the industrial environment. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of packet loss rate versus signal-to-noise ratio on fading channels analytically and by simulation. Based on this, the achievable coverage range in a realistic industrial environment is investigated.