A comparative study on popular MAC protocols for mixed Wireless Sensor Networks: From implementation viewpoint

Sensors cooperate and coordinate with each other to disseminate sensed data in the network. In establishing coordination among sensors such that they can access the shared wireless medium, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol plays an important role. In this article, we presented an analytical study on some popular MAC protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Based on the design techniques, MAC protocols for WSNs are classified into two main categories: single-layer and cross-layer. MAC protocols such as S-MAC, T-MAC, B-MAC and X-MAC are selected to study the design approaches of single-layer genre. BoX-MAC-1 and BoX-MAC-2 are selected to analyze cross-layer design approaches. This survey paper aims at reporting an implementation viewpoint of different design approaches of MAC protocols in WSN. We have considered mixed WSNs that exhibits node movement (e.g., static, mobile) and changes in communication medium (e.g., air, water). Representative protocols are implemented in Castalia simulator and evaluated on the basis of important performance metrics such as energy consumption, network lifetime, throughput and end-to-end delay. The merits and demerits of different protocols are also compared.