Overview of Power-Efficient MAC and Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

Energy conservation is a primary concern in sensor networks. Firstly, we introduce the necessary of power saving in wireless sensor network. Then we analyze and summarize the main MAC protocols and routing protocols that are designed specially for energy conservation. Further, the methods for reducing energy consumption of node and increasing lifetime of networks are highlighted. Moreover, we make a comprehensive comparison between every protocol in performance of networks. Finally, we point out the future research directions and challenges that must be overcome on this topic