Conclusion

In this article, we've looked at some of the challenges posed by wireless sensor networks, and at some of the solutions available to meet them.

We've mainly seen how a sensor discovers its environment and communicates to a given destination. But there are many other challenges. For example, how does a sensor send its information to a group of destinations (multicast)? Or to at least one of several base stations (anycast)? There are many different ways of communicating.

To take this a step further, the network must, in certain cases, be able to logically structure itself to offer different services. A sensor must also be able to schedule its activity to preserve its battery, without affecting the network's smooth operation. For example, it must be able to go into standby mode from time to time. To do this, it must ensure that the area it...