Energy efficient routing in wireless sensor and wireless ad hoc networks

Unlike wired networks and wireless cellular networks, there is no fixed infrastructure in wireless ad hoc networks. In wireless ad hoc networks nodes are randomly placed in a two dimensional space (e.g., thrown from an aircraft). Wireless nodes communicate with each other and coordinate among themselves in an energy efficient manner to establish a communication network. Once the communication network is established, the wireless nodes collaborate and achieve the task. Wireless nodes are usually powered by batteries, and hence have limited and scare power. On the other hand, it is very difficult and in most cases impossible to recharge or change the batteries. This fact has motivated lots of researchers and scientists to design energy efficient topologies and methods for wireless ad hoc networks. Interference is an energy drain in wireless ad hoc networks. In this report, to alleviate interference problem, interference-aware topologies are introduced and discussed. In this report it is firmly shown that interference aware topology control techniques do reduce the interference of wireless communications. I also study and discuss the generic two-tiered wireless sensor networks (WSN) composed of small sensor nodes (SNs), more powerful application nodes (ANs), and base-stations (BSs). This report concentrates on the low-layer of the two-tiered sensor networks: how to organize the small sensors into clusters, which are managed by ANs, to maximize the life-time of the WSN. Finally, in this report, I study the problem of energy efficient reliable routing in wireless networks in the presence of unreliable communication links or devices or lossy wireless link layers by integrating the power control techniques into energy efficient routing.