OPERA: An Optimal Progressive Error Recovery Algorithm for Wireless Sensor Networks

—Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) require robustness against channel induced errors while retransmission based schemes prove too costly for energy constrained sensor nodes. Channel coding with low rates can ensure increased reliability, and it can eliminate the need for costly retransmissions. However, low channel coding rates on an end-to-end basis (between a source sensor and a destination base-station) requires a large number of transmissions of redundant data. In this paper, we propose an Optimal Progressive Error Recovery Algorithm (OPERA) over WSNs. Under OPERA, individual intermediate sensors, which are relaying data toward the base station, partially and optimally channel-decode the incoming packets while employing a progressive decrease in parity bits as data reaches the final destination. OPERA requires significantly lesser processing than would be required for complete decoding or full decoding/encoding at the sensor nodes; and OPERA significantly reduces the total numbe...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: SECON
• Authors: Saad B. Qaisar, Hayder Radha
• Keywords: Channel Coding, Energy Constrained Sensor, SECON 2007, Sensor Nodes