Broadcast-based routing protocol for smart lighting systems

We consider a smart lighting system, where sensors and actuators deployed on lamp posts generate data intended for a sink at the end of a street, thus creating a linear wireless network (LWN). We propose a novel broadcast-based routing protocol for this type of networks. During an initial discovery phase each node identifies its neighbours and selects its best neighbour as the one closest to the sink. Data is then transmitted in broadcast, by prioritising the best neighbour as forwarder. The protocol allows packets to reach the sink through a small number of hops and consequently improve throughput and packet delivery probability compared to existing solutions. The proposed protocol has been implemented, tested and compared to standard solutions based on IEEE 802.15.4 and Zigbee. Experimental results, in terms of packet loss rate, throughput and number of hops to reach the sink, show the improvement with respect to the existing solutions

On the performance of 6LoWPAN through experimentation

The Internet of Things (IoT) research activities are oriented towards the standardisation of communication protocols and platforms for globally interconnected smart objects. 6LoWPAN is a standardised protocol stack aiming at providing the seamless interconnection between IPv6 Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and Internet, while maintaining low-power consumption. In this paper, we present and investigate the performance of 6LoWPAN, being one of the most promising solutions for the implementation of IoT paradigm. The evaluation is performed through experimentation on the \u201cEuropean Laboratory of Wireless Communications for the Future Internet\u201d (EuWIn) facilities developed within the Network of Excellence, NEWCOM#, at the University of Bologna. We report results in terms of average round-trip-time, packet loss rate and throughput for different payload sizes and number of hops, both for unicast and multicast traffics

Performance Evaluation of LORA Technology: Experimentation and Simulation

In the next years many new technologies for the In-ternet of Things and Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) will be defined, enabling the implementation of more efficient and pervasive systems but also making the development environment wider and more complicated. One emerging solution for LPWAN is LoRa, a wireless technology solution to address increasing demand on end-devices for long-range connectivity, low-power for battery operation, and low infrastructure cost for volume deployment. This paper presents, at first, an exhaustive list of use cases that may be implemented using LPWAN technologies, to highlight their main intrinsic differences and a categorization of them in macro groups. After this overview, the paper focuses on LoRa technology providing: i) characterisation of the link budget and of the packet capture threshold of LoRa Semtech and Microchip transceivers, via experimentation on the field; ii) performance evaluation (e.g., in terms of network throughput) of a LoRa network, via simulations

The EuWIn testbed for 802.15.4/Zigbee networks: From the simulation to the real world

EuWIn is the \u201dEuropean Laboratory of Wireless Communications for the Future Internet\u201d recently established and funded under the umbrella of the EC FP7 Network of Excellence on Wireless Communications, Newcom. The focus of the EuWIn site in Bologna (Italy) is the Internet of Things. One of its scopes is to set up a network composed of 100 radio devices compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, flexible enough to allow the development and testing of any routing algorithm compatible with such a standard. This paper reports the first comparison of results achieved through an NS-2 simulator developed at LIMOS, CNRS (France), with those of the true network available in Bologna. Results in terms of packet error rate and overhead generated achieved through the two platforms, implementing the same protocol stack, is shown. The differences raised, concerning the practical issues normally not accounted by the simulations, are carefully investigated and discussed

Testing Protocols for the Internet of Things on the EuWIn Platform

Several approaches have been considered by research community as possible enablers for the Internet of Things (IoT) implementation. This paper presents the results obtained by testing and comparing three different solutions. In particular, we compare a centralized solution based on software defined network (SDN), called software defined wireless networking (SDWN), with two standard and distributed solutions, that are ZigBee and IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area networks (6LoWPAN). SDWN uses a centralized network layer protocol, where routing policies are defined by an external controller that can be positioned anywhere in the network. The other two solutions are actually the most common protocol stacks for wireless sensor networks, and they both use a distributed routing protocol. The comparison is achieved by experimentations performed on the European Laboratory of Wireless Communications for the Future Internet (EuWIn) platform developed within the network of excellence, NEWCOM#. Results show that SDWN is the best solution in static or quasi-static environments, while the performance degrades in highly dynamic conditions. However, ZigBee has a good reactivity to environmental changes. This paper reports the evaluation of several performance metrics, including packet loss rate, round-trip-time, and overhead generated in the network, under different conditions and considering different kinds of traffic