Performance evaluation of an AODV-based routing protocol implementation by using a novel in-field WSN diagnosis tool

The Wireless Sensor Network research field has been growing and becoming more mature during the last decade since novel technologies and research lines have emerged targeting its usability in the real world under different application scenarios. One of the key topics to assure the efficiency and effectiveness of these technologies in final applications is the communication and routing strategies within the WSN. In this context, it is essential to evaluate and validate the implementation of routing algorithms and network connectivity in real deployments, as a support of theoretical simulation models that cannot predict certain constraints and limitations in the behavior of the system. In this way, a real implementation of a flexible AODV-based routing protocol using a modular HW-SW node platform is proposed in this work, in addition to its practical assessment under real conditions by using a novel in-situ WSN evaluation tool. This tool has been created to support users during the deployment analysis and diagnosis in real environments, beyond the typical study of routing performance through WSN simulators.