Asynchronous Pattern-Designed Channel Access Protocol in Underwater Acoustic Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Due to the significant propagation delay in underwater sensor networks, conflict retransmission in channel access protocols comes at a high cost. This poses a challenge in scenarios where multiple sensor nodes generate data frames with strong temporal correlations, such as in disaster warning applications. Traditional channel allocation and timeout-based retransmission mechanisms lead to considerable access delays, making it difficult to meet the requirements. To tackle this issue, we propose the asynchronous pattern-designed random access (APDRA) protocol. This protocol enhances the access probability by designing retransmission time intervals for data frames based on pattern design. Additionally, we introduce a successive interference cancellation (SIC) mechanism at the receiver for decoding. This mechanism facilitates the transformation of the conventional method of discarding conflicted data frames into iterative decoding, thereby enhancing transmission efficiency. Via the utilization of simulations, we compare the APDRA protocol conventional underwater medium access control (MAC) protocols and existing retransmission mechanisms. The results demonstrate that the APDRA protocol has the ability to improve both the transmission success ratio (TSR) and reduces the access delay to some extent.