Performance Comparison of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous 3D Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Recent developments in wireless sensor networks include their applications in safety, medical monitoring, environment monitoring and many more. Limited battery energy and efficient data delivery are most considered constraints for sensor nodes. Depletion of node battery ceases functioning of the node. The network lifetime can be enhanced with the help of Multi-Layer protocol (ML-MAC). This paper presents a practical approach including 3-dimensional deployment of sensor nodes and analyzes two different types of networks –homogeneous and heterogeneous WSNs. To analyze various QoS parameters, two types of nodes are considered in a heterogeneous network. The performance of both the networks is compared through simulations. The results show that ML-MAC performs better for a 3D heterogeneous WSNs.

Keywords

• heterogeneous WSN
• homogeneous WSN
• ML-MAC
• QualNet 6.1 Network Simulator
• Wireless Sensor Networks