Transmission delay minimization for energy constrained communication in wireless body area sensor networks

Abstract

Body Area Sensor Networks (BASNs) is a promising technology, which promotes smart and scalable vital sign monitoring of the chronically ill and elderly people live an independent life, besides providing people with quality care. However, the design and operation of BASNs are challenging, because of the limited power and small form factor of biomedical sensors. In this paper, a cross-layer framework that aims at minimizing the total transmission time subject to energy consumption and distortion constraints is proposed. The optimal encoding and transmission parameters are computed to minimize the total transmission time in an energy constrained wireless BASN. This cross-layer framework is proposed, across Application-MAC-Physical layers. Furthermore, we developed an experimental testbed to realize the proposed framework. Experimental testbed and simulation results show that the compression at the network level can offer significant savings in the delivery time without affecting application accuracies.