Efficient data aggregation scheduling in wireless sensor networks with multi-channel links

In-network data aggregation is often pursued to remove redundancy and correlate the data en-route to the base-station in order to save energy in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we present a novel cross-layer approach for reducing the latency in disseminating aggregated data to the base-station over multi-frequency radio links. Our approach forms the aggregation tree with the objective of increasing the simultaneity of transmissions and reducing buffering delay. Aggregation nodes are picked and time-slots are allocated to the individual sensors so that the most number of ready nodes can transmit their data without delay. Colliding transmissions are avoided by the use of different radio channels. Our approach is validated through simulation and is shown to outperform previously published schemes.