Mihail L. Sichitiu

Bio: Mihail L. Sichitiu is an academic researcher from North Carolina State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Wireless sensor network & Network packet. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 117 publications receiving 6429 citations. Previous affiliations of Mihail L. Sichitiu include University of Notre Dame & University of Miami.

Z-MAC: a hybrid MAC for wireless sensor networks

Abstract: This paper presents the design, implementation and performance evaluation of a hybrid MAC protocol, called Z-MAC, for wireless sensor networks that combines the strengths of TDMA and CSMA while offsetting their weaknesses. Like CSMA, Z-MAC achieves high channel utilization and low latency under low contention and like TDMA, achieves high channel utilization under high contention and reduces collision among two-hop neighbors at a low cost. A distinctive feature of Z-MAC is that its performance is robust to synchronization errors, slot assignment failures, and time-varying channel conditions; in the worst case, its performance always falls back to that of CSMA. Z-MAC is implemented in TinyOS.

Angle of Arrival Localization for Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract: Awareness of the physical location for each node is required by many wireless sensor network applications. The discovery of the position can be realized utilizing range measurements including received signal strength, time of arrival, time difference of arrival and angle of arrival. In this paper, we focus on localization techniques based on angle of arrival information between neighbor nodes. We propose a new localization and orientation scheme that considers beacon information multiple hops away. The scheme is derived under the assumption of noisy angle measurements. We show that the proposed method achieves very good accuracy and precision despite inaccurate angle measurements and a small number of beacons

The nominal capacity of wireless mesh networks

Abstract: Wireless mesh networks are an alternative technology for last-mile broadband Internet access. In WMNs, similar to ad hoc networks, each user node operates not only as a host but also as a router; user packets are forwarded to and from an Internet-connected gateway in multihop fashion. The meshed topology provides good reliability, market coverage, and scalability, as well as low upfront investments. Despite the recent startup surge in WMNs, much research remains to be done before WMNs realize their full potential. This article tackles the problem of determining the exact capacity of a WMN. The key concept we introduce to enable this calculation is the bottleneck collision domain, defined as the geographical area of the network that bounds from above the amount of data that can be transmitted in the network. We show that for WMNs the throughput of each node decreases as O(1/n), where n is the total number of nodes in the network. In contrast with most existing work on ad hoc network capacity, we do not limit our study to the asymptotic case. In particular, for a given topology and the set of active nodes, we provide exact upper bounds on the throughput of any node. The calculation can be used to provision the network, to ensure quality of service and fairness. The theoretical results are validated by detailed simulations.

Localization of wireless sensor networks with a mobile beacon

Abstract: Wireless sensor networks have the potential to become the pervasive sensing (and actuating) technology of the future For many applications, a large number of inexpensive sensors is preferable to a few expensive ones The large number of sensors in a sensor network and most application scenarios preclude hand placement of the sensors Determining the physical location of the sensors after they have been deployed is known as the problem of localization We present a localization technique based on a single mobile beacon aware of its position (eg by being equipped with a GPS receiver) Sensor nodes receiving beacon packets infer proximity constraints to the mobile beacon and use them to construct and maintain position estimates The proposed scheme is radio-frequency based, and thus no extra hardware is necessary The accuracy (on the order of a few meters in most cases) is sufficient for most applications An implementation is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach

Simple, accurate time synchronization for wireless sensor networks

Abstract: Time synchronization is important for any distributed system. In particular, wireless sensor networks make extensive use of synchronized time in many contexts (e.g. for data fusion, TDMA schedules, synchronized sleep periods, etc.). Existing time synchronization methods were not designed with wireless sensors in mind, and need to be extended or redesigned. Our solution centers around the development of a deterministic time synchronization method relevant for wireless sensor networks. The proposed solution features minimal complexity in network bandwidth, storage and processing and can achieve good accuracy. Highly relevant for sensor networks, it also provides tight, deterministic bounds on both the offsets and clock drifts. A method to synchronize the entire network in preparation for data fusion is presented. A real implementation of a wireless ad-hoc network is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach.

Energy conservation in wireless sensor networks: A survey

Abstract: In the last years, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have gained increasing attention from both the research community and actual users. As sensor nodes are generally battery-powered devices, the critical aspects to face concern how to reduce the energy consumption of nodes, so that the network lifetime can be extended to reasonable times. In this paper we first break down the energy consumption for the components of a typical sensor node, and discuss the main directions to energy conservation in WSNs. Then, we present a systematic and comprehensive taxonomy of the energy conservation schemes, which are subsequently discussed in depth. Special attention has been devoted to promising solutions which have not yet obtained a wide attention in the literature, such as techniques for energy efficient data acquisition. Finally we conclude the paper with insights for research directions about energy conservation in WSNs.

[서평]「Applied Cryptography」

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to give a comprehensive introduction to applied cryptography with an engineer or computer scientist in mind. The emphasis is on the knowledge needed to create practical systems which supports integrity, confidentiality, or authenticity. Topics covered includes an introduction to the concepts in cryptography, attacks against cryptographic systems, key use and handling, random bit generation, encryption modes, and message authentication codes. Recommendations on algorithms and further reading is given in the end of the paper. This paper should make the reader able to build, understand and evaluate system descriptions and designs based on the cryptographic components described in the paper.

Energy Harvesting From Human and Machine Motion for Wireless Electronic Devices

Abstract: Energy harvesting generators are attractive as inexhaustible replacements for batteries in low-power wireless electronic devices and have received increasing research interest in recent years. Ambient motion is one of the main sources of energy for harvesting, and a wide range of motion-powered energy harvesters have been proposed or demonstrated, particularly at the microscale. This paper reviews the principles and state-of-art in motion-driven miniature energy harvesters and discusses trends, suitable applications, and possible future developments.