Principles for Energy-Efficient Topology Control in Wireless Sensor Networks

Topology control is one of the most important energy-saving techniques used in wireless sensor networks. It has evolved into two dominant research directions: power control and sleep scheduling. Although many topology control algorithms and protocols are claimed to be highly energy-efficient, this is not necessarily the case in real systems due to various isolated considerations. In this paper, based on a simple and comprehensive analysis of energy consumption, we propose three necessary principles for energy-efficient topology control for wireless sensor networks. Topology control should (1) consider power control and sleep scheduling jointly, (2) be aware of traffic load, and (3) be done in conjunction with routing. We wish this paper could contribute to the development of the research on topology control for wireless sensor networks.