TECHNOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

Wireless sensor networks are becoming increasingly common, and it's critical to understand the design of these networks before using them in some application. This paper examines the WSN architecture using the OSI model and certain protocols in order to have a solid foundation for wireless sensor networks and to assist readers in putting together a summary of concepts, protocols, and issues in order to develop an effective design model for WSNs. Due to many restrictions, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) allow new applications and necessitate non-traditional protocol architecture paradigms. A proper compromise of signalling and signal/data processing capacities must be sought due to the need for low system complexity combined with low energy usage (i.e., long network lifetime). Since the last decade, this has motivated a massive initiative in science, standardisation, and industrial investments in this area. The aim of this survey paper is to provide a summary of WSN technology, key implementations and specifications, design features, and evolutions. Such unusual implementations, such as those focused on environmental monitoring, are explored in detail, with architecture techniques illustrated, as well as a case study based on a real-world implementation. Trends are identified, as well as potential future developments. The IEEE 802.15.4 technology is highlighted, as it supports a wide range of WSN applications. As a function of the size of the WSN and the data type to be shared among nodes, some performance characteristics of 802.15.4-based networks are seen and discussed.