Joint Control of Transmit Power and Frame Size for Energy-Optimized Data Transfer in Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy efficiency is one of the most important attributes in sensor network protocols. In sensor nodes, communication related activities consume the major share of battery energy. Therefore, judicious choice of transmit power and frame size are very important to maximize the energy efficiency and hence the lifetime of nodes. While there have been a few recent studies on transmit power control implementation in sensor nodes, no report has thoroughly investigated transmit power control and the effect of its interplay with frame size on nodal energy saving. In this paper, we report our implementation of automatic transmit power control in wireless sensor nodes based on open loop parameters — namely, link layer frame size, and close loop parameters — namely, number of consecutive positive acknowledgments and receive signal strength. Our extensive indoor and outdoor experimental results show that, for low to moderate transmission distances, transmit power control has the energy saving benefit, and the larger the frame size the more the energy saving. At a higher transmission distance or at a more error-prone communication scenario, transmit power control as well as a large frame size are detrimental to energy saving performance. The results from this study could be useful in deciding power control strategies and optimum frame length. key words: implementation studies, automatic transmit power control, frame size control, open loop power control, close loop power control, minimum energy transmission