On the efficiency of channel coding in uncoordinated sensor networks

We investigate the effect of channel coding on throughput and energy consumption in uncoordinated distributed (and) wireless networks, e.g. sensor networks. Although the redundancy associated with channel coding causes additional interference in this type of networks, we show that coding can decrease the frame error rate and increase the throughput. Furthermore, we introduce a new measure, which we call the energy based system efficiency. It relates the average throughput to the required transmission energy and allows prediction of the performance of certain coding schemes.