A GTS Scheduling Algorithm for Voice Communication over IEEE 802.15.4 Multihop Sensor Networks

The recent increase in use of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for wireless connectivity in personal area networks makes of it an important technology for low-cost low-power wireless personal area networks. Studies showed that voice communications over IEEE 802.15.4 networks is feasible by Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) allocation; but there are some constraints to accommodate voice transmission beyond two hops due to the excessive transmission delay. In this paper, we propose a GTS allocation scheme for bidirectional voice traffic in IEEE 802.15.4 multihop networks with the goal of achieving fairness and optimization of resource allocation. The proposed scheme uses a greedy algorithm to allocate GTSs to devices for successful completion of voice transmission with efficient use of bandwidth while considering closest devices with another factor for starvation avoidance. We analyze and validate the proposed scheme in terms of fairness and resource optimization through numeral analysis.