Location-based address configuration for 6LoWPAN wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, data collected by sensor nodes need to be associated with corresponding location information in order to support real-world applications, so this paper proposes a location-based address configuration scheme for 6LoWPAN wireless sensor networks. This scheme first presents the location-based architecture where a network is divided into multiple zones. Based on this architecture, the location-based address initialization algorithm and address maintenance algorithm are proposed. The address initialization algorithm is performed once the network starts. Through this algorithm, a node can obtain a globally unique address without duplicate address detection. The initialization process in one zone is independent of the one in another zone, so the initialization processes in different zones can be performed in parallel. The address maintenance algorithm consists of two parts: the address configuration algorithm and address reclamation algorithm. After the address initialization process ends, a new node performs the address configuration algorithm to acquire a globally unique address from a neighbor node. Therefore, the distributed address configuration is achieved. The address reclamation algorithm can reclaim the address space released by nodes for reuse, so it can ensure that there is sufficient address space for assignment. The performance of this scheme is evaluated, and the results show that this scheme effectively reduces the address configuration delay and cost.