An Analysis of the Use of Multiple Transmission Power Levels on Wireless Sensor Networks

The energy consumption in wireless sensor networks is the critical concern of different studies, especially because of the great effort, or even the impossibility, to replace the battery of their motes. Consequently, it is fundamental to investigate and evaluate the energy spent by every individual task executed by the motes in order to provide an efficient use of their batteries. In this work, we employ different metrics to present a thorough study of how the use of multiple transmission power levels affects multihop wireless sensor networks. This work is motivated by the current employment of the multiple transmission power levels, on both academic works and commercial solutions, which is a novel feature of some radio transceivers commonly used in wireless sensor network motes. Aiming reliable and extensive analysis, this study employs simulations in different scenarios and models of commonly employed electronic components. The contribution of this works is a detailed investigation of the impact caused by the use of different transmission power levels employing different metrics, offering a wide perspective on the subject. In general, the results of this study indicate that the use of multiple power levels grants both positive and negative results, according to the scenario and metrics analyzed. Consequently, the analysis, results and remarks are presented in a didactic manner in order to provide valuable information and to support other works regarding this topic.