Transmission Power Based Path Loss Metering for Wireless Sensor Networks

The metering of path loss to neighbouring nodes is vital in multi-hop wireless sensor networks (WSN) for managing network self-configuration, robust data routing, and node localization. Conventionally, path loss is measured by a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) mechanism of a transceiver. Yet, the lowest hardware complexity, energy consumption and cost are reached by transceivers without RSSI. We present a new simple transmission power based path loss metering method for WSNs without RSSI mechanism. The method determines path loss from frames transmitted at different power levels. Performance measurements with physical WSN prototypes indicate sufficient accuracy for network management. According to performance analysis, the power consumption of the proposed method is below 10 mu. An energy analysis in a large IEEE 802.15.4 network indicates 51% to 69% energy saving compared to RSSI-equipped transceivers by using the path loss metering method together with a simple and low power transceiver