Sigma Routing Metric for RPL Protocol.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Wireless Networking
• Internet of Things (IoT)

Background:

• The Routing Protocol for Low-Power Wireless Networks (RPL) uses objective functions like OF0 (hop count) and MRHOF (Expected Transmission Count - ETX).
• In dense networks, OF0 and MRHOF can lead to bottlenecks due to long hops, hindering network performance.
• Existing metrics struggle with scalability and efficiency in increasingly dense wireless sensor networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel routing metric, SIGMA-ETX, for optimizing RPL performance in dense wireless sensor networks.
• To address the limitations of existing objective functions (OF0, MRHOF) that cause bottlenecks in dense network scenarios.
• To enhance overall network efficiency, including latency, packet delivery, device lifetime, and power consumption.

Main Methods:

• Developed a new routing metric, SIGMA-ETX, combining minimum hop count and ETX.
• SIGMA-ETX utilizes the standard deviation of ETX values between nodes, unlike the traditional average ETX.
• Simulations were conducted using the Cooja simulator on the Contiki operating system.

Main Results:

• The proposed SIGMA-ETX metric significantly outperformed standard OF0 and MRHOF.
• Demonstrated substantial improvements in network latency and packet delivery ratio.
• Showcased enhanced network lifetime and reduced power consumption in dense network simulations.

Conclusions:

• SIGMA-ETX offers superior routing performance in dense wireless sensor networks compared to existing RPL objective functions.
• The metric effectively mitigates bottlenecks caused by long hops, leading to better network efficiency.
• SIGMA-ETX presents a promising solution for optimizing IoT and wireless sensor network performance.