A framework for cognitive radio wireless sensor networks

The growth of mobile computing has increased the demand for wireless communication, causing a higher demand for the wireless medium as well as spectrum pollution. Smart radios, also called cognitive radios, monitor the network to identify the best available channel, in order to avoid interference. This paper proposes a framework for the development and testing of protocols for wireless sensor networks that employ cognitive radios (CRSN). We also developed two spectrum decision protocols for CRSN, which provide distributed mechanisms to select the best wireless channel based on the application´s QoS requirements. Simulations of low, medium and high noise scenarios have shown that the protocols improve the delivery rate by up to 69%, while keeping the delay and energy consumption unaltered.