Challenges: communication through silence in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are typically characterized by a limited energy supply at sensor nodes. Hence, energy efficiency is an important issue in the system design and operation of WSNs. In this paper, we introduce a novel communication paradigm that enables energy-efficient information delivery in wireless sensor networks. Compared with traditional communication strategies, the proposed scheme explores a new dimension - time, to deliver information efficiently. We refer to the strategy as Communication through Silence (CtS). We identify a key drawback of CtS - energy - throughput trade-off, and explore optimization mechanisms that can alleviate the trade-off. We then present several challenges that need to be overcome, primarily at the medium access control layer of the network protocol stack, in order to realize CtS effectively.