Model Checking for Energy Efficient Scheduling in Wireless Sensor Networks

Networking and power management of wireless energy conscious sensor networks is an important area of current research and considering the competitive constraints on the global energy market it will even gain importance. We investigate in the present work a network of MicaZ sensor motes using the Zigbee protocol for communication, and provide a model using Timed Safety Automata. The TA model will comprise a full functional scenario set-up consisting of a network controller, network routers, and sensor devices collecting information. Along with the model sending and receiving mechanisms included, a realistic need-specific investigation is feasible. Our analysis’ focus is on estimating energy consumption by model checking in different scenarios within a fixed but variable topology using the Uppaal[7] tool. Special interest is devoted to the energy use in marginal situations that rarely occur and are consequently not fully covered by simulation.