Receiver Cooperation in Topology Control for Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

We propose employing receiver cooperation in centralized topology control to improve energy efficiency as well as network connectivity. The idea of transmitter cooperation has been widely considered in topology control to improve network connectivity or energy efficiency. However, receiver cooperation has not previously been considered in topology control. In particular, we show that we can improve both connectivity and energy efficiency if we employ receiver cooperation in addition to transmitter cooperation. Consequently, we conclude that a system based both on transmitter and receiver cooperation is generally superior to one based only on transmitter cooperation. We also show that the increase in network connectivity caused by employing transmitter cooperation in addition to receiver cooperation is at the expense of significantly increased energy consumption. Consequently, system designers may opt for receiver-only cooperation in cases for which energy efficiency is of the highest priority or when connectivity increase is no longer a serious concern.