Using a dynamic backbone for efficient data delivery in solar-powered WSNs

The periodic nature of solar power requires a different approach to energy consumption in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) from battery-based WSNs. Based on the energy model of a solar-powered node, we develop efficient energy-aware topology-control and routing schemes which utilize a backbone network consisting of energy-rich nodes within the WSN. This backbone handles most of the traffic with low latency, while reconfiguring itself dynamically in response to changes in the availability of energy at each node. Simulation results demonstrate that our schemes can achieve a balance between latency and energy consumption. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.