Adaptability in wireless sensor networks

Adaptability is a key strategy in the design of effective wireless sensor networks. Communication schemes need to adapt to dynamic topologies and fluctuating traffic rates. Applications have to alter their behavior to respond to mutated necessities or to cope with environmental changes. The network, as a whole, has to tolerate the disappearance of faulting nodes or the appearance of additional ones. This paper discusses the role of adaptability through a set of case studies.