Hop-by-hop control for reliable data dissemination in wireless sensor networks

In many sensor applications such as intruder tracking, reliable data dissemination is necessary. Existing studies in ad hoc networks generally apply end-to-end control for reliability. This approach however could not adapt to wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Existing studies in WSNs generally apply multi-path approach for reliability. This approach however only increases probability but could not assure data dissemination. In typical WSNs, data are delivered from a source node to a destination node on routing path that is fixed within a certain period of time. This routing path is well-matched with notion of virtual circuit. Approaches based on virtual circuit traditionally use hop-by-hop control for reliable data dissemination. In this paper, we apply notion of virtual circuit to WSNs and propose hop-by-hop control for reliable data dissemination. The proposed scheme consists of three major functionalities: virtual circuit construction, hop-by-hop control, and virtual circuit management. Virtual circuit construction make sure constructing fixed routing path by routing table. Hop-by-hop control guarantees data transmission between two nodes, i.e. one hop, on virtual circuit by error detection and retransmission. Virtual circuit management prevents disconnecting circuit by reconstructing circuit. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is efficient in terms of data delivery ratio and energy consumption.