Markov-Based Transmission Power Control in Wireless Body Area Network

Reliability and energy consumption are the two important metrics in wireless body area network (WBAN) for medical application, and they are also the difficulties and key points in network research. In this article, we propose a new adaptive Markov-based transmission power control algorithm (MBPC) for a better compromise between energy consumption and reliability. The algorithm applies the Markov model to the link quality prediction using the grading strategy. Based on the prediction results, a new power adjustment strategy is proposed to extend the lifetime of the network while ensuring reliable transmission. In addition, we also incorporate open-loop thinking into the design of the algorithm to ensure the accuracy of the algorithm. The algorithm is simulated on the Castalia software platform. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has achieved good results in reliable transmission and energy consumption.