Each node in a wireless multi-hop network can adjust the power level at which it transmits and thus change the topology of the network to save energy by choosing the neighbors with which it directly communicates. Many previous algorithms for distributed topology control have assumed an ability at each node to deduce some location-based information such as the direction and the distance of its neighbor nodes with respect to itself. Such a deduction of location-based information, however, cannot be relied upon in real environments where the path loss exponents vary greatly leading to significant errors in distance estimates. Also, multipath effects may result in different signal paths with different loss characteristics, and none of these paths may be line-of-sight, making it difficult to estimate the direction of a neighboring node. In this paper, we present Step Topology Control (STC), a simple distributed topology control algorithm which reduces energy consumption while preserving the connectivity of a heterogeneous sensor network without use of any location-based information. We show that the STC algorithm achieves the same or better order of communication and computational complexity when compared to other known algorithms that also preserve connectivity without the use of location-based information. We also present a detailed simulation-based comparative analysis of the energy savings and interference reduction achieved by the algorithms. The results show that, in spite of not incurring a higher communication or computational complexity, the STC algorithm performs better than other algorithms in uniform wireless environments and especially better when path loss characteristics are non-uniform.
@cite_19: Topology Control (TC) is one of the most important techniques used in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks to reduce energy consumption (which is essential to extend the network operational time) and radio interference (with a positive effect on the network traffic carrying capacity). The goal of this technique is to control the topology of the graph representing the communication links between network nodes with the purpose of maintaining some global graph property (e.g., connectivity), while reducing energy consumption and or interference that are strictly related to the nodes' transmitting range. In this article, we state several problems related to topology control in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks, and we survey state-of-the-art solutions which have been proposed to tackle them. We also outline several directions for further research which we hope will motivate researchers to undertake additional studies in this field.
@PARASPLIT Let @math denote the minimum energy cost of a successful transmission from @math to @math . A topology control algorithm that minimizes energy consumption will remove an edge @math if and only if there exists a path between @math and @math through an intermediate set of nodes @math such that @math . Accomplishing this requires a significant exchange of information between nodes and in such a case, the topology control algorithm is indistinguishable from a routing algorithm. As a result, a number of distributed topology control algorithms have been proposed where nodes rely on lesser exchange of information between neighbors @cite_19 . In this subsection, we focus on the subset of these protocols that can be adapted to work without the exchange of any location-based information between neighboring nodes.