D-MAC: A Dynamic MAC Algorithm for the Body Area Sensor Networks Based on IEEE 802.15.4

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a wireless sensor technology used to connect small nodes with sensing abilities to collect necessary information. IEEE 802.15.4 is commonly adopted for WBAN because of its low duty cycle and low power operation. WBAN data is communicated in a superframe structure defined by IEEE 802.15.4 beacon enabled mode. Superframe structure predominantly based on beacon order (BO) and superframe order (SO). BO depicts time interval of beacon whereas, SO defines duty cycle of connected WBAN source nodes. Optimal values selection of both BO and SO is crucial in WBAN, because these values have impact on energy consumption, latency of communication, synchronization, association and throughput. Presently, IEEE 802.15.4 uses fixed BO and SO values. In this research paper, we recommend a Dynamic MAC (D-MAC) algorithm for the WBAN to adapt both BO and SO simultaneously to enhance network life time, network throughput and decrease latency of communication. Detailed simulation analysis show that D-MAC outperforms IEEE 802.15.4 and other well-known algorithms in relations of delay, energy consumption and network throughput.