Modelisation and validation of a full deterministic medium access method for IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN

Sensor networks, in particular those used in embedded devices like robots, impose drastic temporal constraints and low-power consumption. The design of the physical layer and optimization of the medium access control are major keys for fulfilling these constraints. The low-power wireless personal area network IEEE 802.15.4 offers protocol and topology oriented toward this problem. However, several gaps have been identified, especially those concerning contention access phases and the lack of synchronization between star coordinators. To solve these issues, a new, fully deterministic access method has been developed, formally validated using Petri nets and quantitatively validated through a specifically-designed simulation tool. Researchers now have a real application for this newly designed protocol.