Abstract:
A Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) was developed, along with a testbed that
could evaluate the system under scrutiny on energy consumption parameters. The
development of an artificial reconfigurable wireless network optimization routing
protocol based on battery levels was created in a lab environment where certain variables
were controllable. This study focused on measuring energy of a network based on
different routing protocols. To capture data, physical batteries were replaced with a
power source that was developed to capture the energy usage of each node in the system
simultaneously.
The development of a system that could test the energy consumed by a WSN was
one part of the study, whilst the important part was to be able to analyse energy
consumed by a network as a whole.
Analysing a WSN by capturing data based on routing topology formed a
conclusion based on data that was captured in the lab. Different packet sizes, TX power
levels and routing protocols were tested in this dissertation on a custom developed
testbed. Results did show a predictable outcome clearly indicating different energy
consumptions per topology.
