An efficient power control game model for wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Efficient energy usage is a major design challenge in wireless sensor networks. In this paper, an efficient power control scheme that mitigates interference and reduces the energy usage of the sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network is presented using the game theory. A non-cooperative game was formulated among the sensor nodes in the modeled network by setting a transmission power limit at the receiving nodes which ensured that the transmitting nodes transmits at the optimal power level. The utility of the sensor nodes and the interference proportion within the network was evaluated at the optimal and discrete transmit powers. The Nash equilibrium of the proposed game was studied and it corresponds to a stability point where the network performance was optimized. Simulation results showed that the proposed scheme is effective for optimization of network resource utilization, reduction in the energy consumption of the nodes, increasing the transmission sum rate, reduction of interference within the network, and improving the network capacity.

Keywords: Power control, Wireless sensor network, Non-cooperative game, Interference, Energy