Review on directional antenna for wireless sensor network applications

The issue of energy balancing in Wireless Sensor Networks is a pivotal one, crucial in their deployment. This problem can be subdivided in three areas: (i) energy conservation techniques, usually implying minimizing the cost of communication at the nodes since it is known that the radio is the biggest consumer of the available energy; (ii) energy-harvesting techniques, converting energy from not full-time available environmental sources and usually storing it; and (iii) energy transfer techniques, sharing energy resources from one node (either specialized or not) to another one. In this article, we survey the main contributions in these three areas and identify the main trending topics in recent research. A discussion and some future directions are also included.

Section: Directional Antennasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Energy Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Trends on Green Wireless Sensor Networks

López-Ardao

Rodríguez-Rubio

Suárez-González

et al. 2021

“…Directional transmission [35] Many attacks, such as eavesdropping, interference, and message identification, can be prevented with directional antennas. Directional antennas can improve transmitter performance and can make the network more resistant to interference.…”

Section: Medium Lowmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Low-Cost Jamming Detection Approach Using Performance Metrics in Cluster-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

Del-Valle-Soto

Mex-Perera

Nolazco-Flores

et al. 2021

Wireless Sensor Networks constitute an important part of the Internet of Things, and in a similar way to other wireless technologies, seek competitiveness concerning savings in energy consumption and information availability. These devices (sensors) are typically battery operated and distributed throughout a scenario of particular interest. However, they are prone to interference attacks which we know as jamming. The detection of anomalous behavior in the network is a subject of study where the routing protocol and the nodes increase power consumption, which is detrimental to the network’s performance. In this work, a simple jamming detection algorithm is proposed based on an exhaustive study of performance metrics related to the routing protocol and a significant impact on node energy. With this approach, the proposed algorithm detects areas of affected nodes with minimal energy expenditure. Detection is evaluated for four known cluster-based protocols: PEGASIS, TEEN, LEACH, and HPAR. The experiments analyze the protocols’ performance through the metrics chosen for a jamming detection algorithm. Finally, we conducted real experimentation with the best performing wireless protocols currently used, such as Zigbee and LoRa.

“…In addition, by enabling longer transmission distances, they facilitate the use of fewer hops and reduce the risk of any node to become isolated [2]. Hence, the use of directional antennas in WSN allows for improved power and security constraints, but at the expense of a higher complexity [3]. Furthermore, if the nodes are endowed with smart-antenna extra functionalities such as beam steering, direction finding, secure signal transmissions, etc., the antenna feeding network will need to be equipped with variable phase shifters (VPSs), which will substantially increase the costs and radiation power losses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual-Beam Steerable TMAs Combining AM and PM Switched Time-Modulation

Maneiro-Catoira

Bregáins

García-Naya

et al. 2022

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are increasingly requiring directional antennas that not only provide higher capacity, security, transmission range or robustness against interference, but also contribute with smart antenna capabilities such as adaptive beamforming or multi beam radiation patterns. Standard phased arrays provide these features, but employing feeding networks based on digitally controlled variable phase shifters (VPSs) which have the disadvantage of high cost and limited angular resolution. Instead, time-modulated arrays (TMAs) use switched feeding networks governed by digital periodic sequences which allow harmonic patterns to be radiated and endows (TMAs) with attractive multifunctional capabilities. In this paper, we analyze and properly combine (TMA) switched feeding networks capable of time-modulating an antenna array with discretized amplitude modulation (AM) and phase modulation (PM) waveforms. The advantages of the proposed innovative dual-beam (TMA) with respect to the competing architectures are, on the one hand, its power efficiency and beamsteering (BS) phase sensitivity and, on the other, its hardware simplicity, which allows for an excellent relative cost advantage.