A generalized energy consumption analysis in multihop wireless networks

Our objective is to analyze and minimize the amount of energy needed to transmit packets in a multihop wireless network, such as a sensor network or an ad hoc network. The total energy consumed to transmit a packet from a source to a destination is a function of the number of hops along the path and the energy needed to successfully transmit a packet in one hop. Given a path, the number of hops needed depends on the transmission range. The energy consumed for a successful transmission in a hop depends on not only the transmission range but also the medium access strategy. In this paper, we generalize the analysis of the energy consumption on packet transmission in multihop wireless networks. The analysis is applicable to a range of multiaccess schemes from TDM to random access schemes. The results show that typically, there is a transmission range that results in the minimum energy. However, a smaller transmission range does not always lead to less energy consumed by packet transmission. The optimum energy consumption is the result of balancing several factors, including: 1) the ratio of an overhead packet length to a data packet length, where overhead packets refer to the control packets used to reserve the media or the data packets involved in collisions; 2) the number of transmissions of the overhead packets; 3) the number of hops along a path; and 4) the transmission range.