Analysis of battery energy consumption in relay wireless sensor networks

In this study, the authors develop a realistic packet-based battery energy consumption model that combines the transmitting signal and circuit power consumption in relay wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In their model, two types of packet assembly approaches have been considered: namely, the time-based and length-based packet assembly approaches. A performance analysis is used to determine whether relay transmission is preferable to direct transmission. The results show that the path selection and the amount of battery energy consumption in a relay WSNs depend on the location of the relay node, the number of pulses, and the distance between the source node and the destination node.