A Performance Analysis of the Data Gathering Model for Unslotted CSMA/CA in Home Automation Environment

The medium access control (MAC) protocol provided by the IEEE 802.15.4 standard (contention-based CSMA/CA scheme) is not tailored to supply the QoS support demanded by real-time applications because of collisions, especially under high loads. The Internet of Things (IoT) exemplifies a networking paradigm which requires the incorporation and interoperability of diversified wireless standards. Data delivery across such integrated frameworks encounters challenges in terms of scalability and latency among other aspects. As a comprehensive analysis addressing such constraints is not available, we have developed a new technique for data gathering and have performed experiments to explore its effect on scalable network efficiency. The experimental network consisted of Waspmotes, programmed in C++ in a scalable star topology, emulating a typical home IoT network. Performance parameters of the MAC layer were measured while varying the network size and sending technique in non-beacon transmission mode. Results show that network performance varies greatly with different delivery modes, providing a theoretical basis for improving network structure in smart home applications.