Optimal algorithm for minimizing interference with two power levels in wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Interference is a major hindrance to the communication in wireless sensor networks which needs to be optimized in order to minimize the total power consumption of the network. A sensor node in a WSN is assigned certain transmission range for sensing and transmission of data. If the transmission between any two nodes is affected by a third node, then it leads to interference. Sender interference of a node in WSN is the number of nodes that lie within the transmission range of that vertex. The receiver interference of a node x is the number of other nodes which include x in their transmission range. In recent days WSNs are operated by a discrete set of power levels in which a limited number of power levels are available which can be assigned to a node. The problem of minimizing the maximum sender interference of a WSN using only two power levels is studied in this paper. An optimal algorithm is presented in this paper which assigns transmission power to the sensor nodes of a given network such that the maximum sender interference is minimized and it results in a connected topology. An algorithm for receiver interference is also proposed using a similar concept, and an extensive simulation is performed to compare the maximum sender and receiver interference for the same instances. 2019 Journal of Communications.