SenCast: Scalable multicast in wireless sensor networks

Multicast is essential for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. Existing multicast protocols in WSNs are often designed in a P2P pattern, assuming small number of destination nodes and frequent changes on network topologies. In order to truly adopt multicast in WSNs, we propose a base-station model- based multicast, SenCast, to meet the general requirements of applications. SenCast is scalable and energy-efficient for large group communications in WSNs. Theoretical analysis shows that SenCast is able to approximate the Minimum Nonleaf Nodes (MNN) problem to a ratio of lnR (R is the set of all destinations), best known lowest bound. We evaluate our design through comprehensive simulations. Experimental results demonstrate that SenCast outperforms previous multicast protocols including the most recent work uCast.