Simulation Platform for Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Impulse Radio Ultra Wide Band

Impulse Radio Ultra Wide Band (IR-UWB) is a promising technology to address Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) constraints. However, existing network simulation tools do not provide a complete WSN simulation architecture, with the IR-UWB specificities at the PHYsical (PHY) and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layers. In this paper, we propose a WSN simulation architecture based on the IR-UWB technique. At the PHY layer, we take into account the pulse collision by dealing with the pulse propagation delay. We also modelled MAC protocols specific to IRUWB, for WSN applications. To completely fit the WSN simulation requirements, we propose a generic and reusable sensor and sensing channel model. Most of the WSN application performances can be evaluated thanks to the proposed simulation architecture. The proposed models are implemented on a scalable and well known network simulator: Global Mobile Information System Simulator (GloMoSim). However, they can be reused for all other packet based simulation platforms

Goodbye, ALOHA!

©2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The vision of the Internet of Things (IoT) to interconnect and Internet-connect everyday people, objects, and machines poses new challenges in the design of wireless communication networks. The design of medium access control (MAC) protocols has been traditionally an intense area of research due to their high impact on the overall performance of wireless communications. The majority of research activities in this field deal with different variations of protocols somehow based on ALOHA, either with or without listen before talk, i.e., carrier sensing multiple access. These protocols operate well under low traffic loads and low number of simultaneous devices. However, they suffer from congestion as the traffic load and the number of devices increase. For this reason, unless revisited, the MAC layer can become a bottleneck for the success of the IoT. In this paper, we provide an overview of the existing MAC solutions for the IoT, describing current limitations and envisioned challenges for the near future. Motivated by those, we identify a family of simple algorithms based on distributed queueing (DQ), which can operate for an infinite number of devices generating any traffic load and pattern. A description of the DQ mechanism is provided and most relevant existing studies of DQ applied in different scenarios are described in this paper. In addition, we provide a novel performance evaluation of DQ when applied for the IoT. Finally, a description of the very first demo of DQ for its use in the IoT is also included in this paper.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Precise Packet Loss Pattern Generation by Intentional Interference

Abstract—Intermediate-quality links often cause vulnerable connectivity in wireless sensor networks, but packet losses caused by such volatile links are not easy to trace. In order to equip link layer protocol designers with a reliable test and debugging tool, we develop a reactive interferer to generate packet loss patterns precisely. By using intentional interference to emulate parameterized lossy links with very low intrusiveness, our tool facilitates both robustness evaluation of protocols and flaw detection in protocol implementation

Droplet: A New Denial-of-Service Attack on Low Power Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper we present a new kind of Denial-of-Service attack against the PHY layer of low power wireless sensor networks. Overcoming the very limited range of jamming-based attacks, this attack can penetrate deep into a target network with high power efficiency. We term this the Droplet attack, as it attains enormous disruption by dropping small, payload-less frame headers to its victim's radio receiver, depriving the latter of bandwidth and sleep time. We demonstrate the Droplet attack's high damage rate to full duty-cycle receivers, and further show that a high frequency version of Droplet can even force nodes running on very low duty-cycle MAC protocols to drop most of their packets

Controllable radio interference for experimental and testing purposes in wireless sensor networks

Abstract—We address the problem of generating customized, controlled interference for experimental and testing purposes in Wireless Sensor Networks. The known coexistence problems between electronic devices sharing the same ISM radio band drive the design of new solutions to minimize interference. The validation of these techniques and the assessment of protocols under external interference require the creation of reproducible and well-controlled interference patterns on real nodes, a nontrivial and time-consuming task. In this paper, we study methods to generate a precisely adjustable level of interference on a specific channel, with lowcost equipment and rapid calibration. We focus our work on the platforms carrying the CC2420 radio chip and we show that, by setting such transceiver in special mode, we can quickly and easily generate repeatable and precise patterns of interference. We show how this tool can be extremely useful for researchers to quickly investigate the behaviour of sensor network protocols and applications under different patterns of interference, and we further evaluate its performance