Wireless Sensor Networks : Technology, Protocols, and Applications

4
WIRELESS TRANSMISSION
TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter we look at radio-channel-related issues. It should immediately be
noted that to maximize the opportunity for widespread and cost-effective deployment
of WSN, one needs to make use of existing and/or emerging commercial offthe-shelf
(COTS) wireless communications and infrastructures rather than having to
develop an entirely new, specially designed apparatus. WSNs can use a number of
wireless COTS technologies, such as Bluetooth/Personal Area Networks (PANs),
ZigBee, wireless LANs (WLAN)/hotspots, broadband wireless access (BWA)/
WiMax, and 3G.
Given this pragmatic perspective, we focus here less on the science of radio
transmission per se as a discrete system component and more on an integrated
system-level view of the field. In other words, we explore the use of the just-named
technologies as a plug-and-play system integration opportunity more than looking
at the fundamentals of modulation, transmission, encoding, radio impairments, and
so on. Stated differently, the developer of WSN systems should not be required to
have a deep understanding of radio science (beyond basic issues such as power,
range and coverage, bandwidth, performance, security, and a few other factors),
but rather, which off-the-shelf wireless systems already defined by various standards
bodies (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4) can be
used by way of employing and/or integrating preconfigured chipsets and ICs (integrated
circuits), antennas, drivers, and protocol machinery.
Wireless Sensor Networks: Technology, Protocols, and Applications,
and Taieb Znati
Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
by Kazem Sohraby, Daniel Minoli,
93