A distributed and collaborative scheme for mitigating coexistence in IEEE 802.15.4 based WBANs

Abstract

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) comprise a fast growing technology that enables remote monitoring of vital signs and is aimed at providing support for healthcare services. These systems normally use low-power wireless technologies, such as IEEE 802.15.4, which are limited in bandwidth and range. The dense population of patients in places like hospitals is likely to raise situations where the coexistence of multiple WBANs results in severe loss of performance and functionality. Therefore providing coexistence mitigation mechanisms for this kind of systems is a necessity. In this paper, we present the performance analysis of a simulated mechanism designed to mitigate the harmful effects of coexistence on the operation of IEEE 802.15.4 based WBANs. The distributed and collaborative design of this scheme makes it well suited for typical healthcare applications. The proposed mechanism detects the coexistence situation and reorganizes the communication of the coexisting WBANs. We implement the proposed scheme and show the simulation results using OPNET.

Spectrum sharing methods for the coexistence of multiple RF systems: A survey

“…Another cooperative spectrum sharing scheme is proposed in [114] to eliminate mutual interference among neighboring 802.15.4 networks. The scheme consists of two phases: coexistence detection and coexistence mitigation.…”

A survey of IEEE 802.15.4 effective system parameters for wireless body sensor networks

“…Furthermore, a simulation study has been conducted to clarify the impacts of MAC parameters on WBSN's performance gain in the presence of intensifying internal interference. Internal interference in homogeneous Initial choice and idealised schemes (introduced as upper band) Castalia 3.2 simulator WBSNs and channel scarcity [66] Internal interference in homogeneous Greedy channel utilisation approach Castalia 3.2 simulator WBSNs and channel scarcity [67] Internal interference in homogeneous Continuous-hopping approach Castalia 3.2 simulator WBSNs and channel scarcity [68] Internal interference in homogeneous Continuous assessment versus periodic assessment Castalia 3.2 simulator WBSNs and channel scarcity [69] Internal interference in homogeneous Adaptive phase-shifting approach Castalia 3.2 simulator WBSNs and channel scarcity [70] Channel assignment problem Segment-based channel assignment strategy Analytical and simulation [71] Low performance gains due to channel Coexistence-aware spectrum sharing protocol Analytical and simulation coexistence [84] Low performance gains due to channel Coexistence detection and coexistence mitigation strategies OPNET simulator coexistence [85] Low performance gains due to channel DCM mechanism OPNET simulator coexistence [86] Low performance gains due to channel DCM mechanism Test-bed experiment (Markov model) coexistence [72] Low reliability and high delay due to Multi-channel MAC protocol approach internal interference [73] Destructive impacts of internal Advantages and disadvantages of various proposed multi-channel Analytical modelling (Markov model) interference on sensor network communication approaches performance gains [74] Increasing the nodes density and An energy-efficient multi-channel MAC protocol approach Test-bed experiments escalation of internal interference [76] Coexistence with other technologies Multi-radio prototype Test-bed experiment [77] Coexistence with other technologies Dynamic spectrum access strategy Test-bed experiment (Iris platform) [78] Performance degradation due to A low-power spectrum agile MAC protocol Analytical analysis and test-bed spectrum congestion caused by experiment (TelosB platform) increasing the popularity of wireless embedded devices [79] The current multi-channel MAC Dynamic multi-radio multi-channel MAC Test-bed experiment protocols are being inflexible to the variation of the environment [80] Performance degradation due to radio Coordinated channel switching and spectral multiplexing Test-bed experiment (Mica2 sensor nodes) interference [82] Channel scarcity Scheduler using throughput estimation and nearest vacancy ns_2 search [83] Internal interference Dynamic channel ...…”

Performance Improvements on LR-WPANs over Interference from WLANs

“…Even though methods in [3]- [5] are proposed, in terms of keeping the use of the interfered-channels, there is no comparative protocol, but IEEE802.15.4-based protocol. Therefore, the proposed protocol is compared with IEEE802.15.4-based protocol.…”

“…Even though the performance enhancement depends only on PER B according to (3), it eventually depends on Bit Error Rate, (BER). The reason is because assuming that the bit errors are independent of each other, BER represents current channel condition and PER B is obtained from BER as follows [7]:…”

“…To resolve the issue, most methods proposed in [3]- [5] abandon the interfered-channels and switches a non-interfered channel being already used by other piconets. However, the methods are neither flexible nor scalable when traffic loads vary.…”