Adaptive Packet Prioritisation for Wireless Sensor Networks

The cost of a large wireless sensor network consisting of hundreds of devices may only be justified if it is deployed for multiple monitoring tasks. Introducing multiple tasks to the system however raises concerns regarding resource contention and quality of service (QoS). For example, rapid response tasks may have strict requirements with regards to data delivery latency, whereas data gathering tasks may be more lenient. In order to address the differential QoS challenge, we use the random re-routing (RRR) wireless sensor network routing protocol to prioritise the packets of some tasks above those of others. We extend the RRR protocol beyond that found in the previous literature to improve performance, and in simulation demonstrate an acknowledgement mechanism for adapting the packet priorities assigned to tasks.(1)