MCC: a High-Throughput Multi-Channel Data Collection Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

We present the design and implementation of MCC, the first high-rate multi-channel time-scheduled protocol for fair, real-time data collection in Wireless Sensor Networks. MCC incorporates sophisticated mechanisms for balanced routing tree formation, multiple frequency channel allocation and globally synchronized TDMA scheduling. Through systematic experiments with real WSN hardware(Tmote Sky), we first identify the maximum possible throughput for many-to-one (convergecast) data collection in sensor networks. We show through a comprehensive experimental evaluation on the Tutornet experimental testbed that MCC can achieve close to the maximum possible network throughput for collection in wireless sensor networks with very low synchronization overhead. Compared to the Collection Tree Protocol (CTP), the state of the art collection protocol for WSN, we show that MCC offers 25-100% improvement in throughput. Being a time-scheduled protocol, MCC can be easily configured for energy-efficient operation yielding energy savings of 85 to 95% compared to always-on operation.