An Implementation of Low-Power Data Transmission Based on Time Synchronization

Data transmission is a critical function in wireless sensor network (WSN). Due to the limited resource of energy, processing ability, memory, etc, how to extend the lifetime of WSN faces a great challenge. Therefore, it has recently become a hotspot. In this paper, we propose a novel time synchronization algorithm for wireless sensor networks. Using the proposed time synchronization algorithm, we present an energy efficient data transmission protocol. Sensor nodes can weak up and sleep at accurate time. Therefore the listening time can be reduced. The proposed algorithm and protocol are implemented on the Mica2 motes and their performance is evaluated. Experimental result shows that the proposed time synchronization technique can greatly extend the lifetime of wireless sensor network.