%0 Journal Article
%T An Address-Contention Approach Based on a Time-Division Multiplexing Mechanism for ZigBee Networks
%A Tu-Liang Lin
%A Xian-Qun Zeng
%A Hong-Yi Chang
%J International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/505121
%X The rise of the Internet of Things promotes adopting wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in daily life. In WSNs, the ZigBee standard has gradually become the dominant communication protocol. ZigBee supports various network topologies, including tree structures. Regarding the address assignment of the tree topology, a distributed address assignment mechanism (DAAM) is specified by the ZigBee standard. Using DAAM yields a simple tree routing method; however, network parameter constraints cause the unpreventable orphan problem. Therefore, an innovative address contention approach was proposed based on a time-division multiplexing address assignment (TDMAA) mechanism, which utilizes the ZigBee beacon intervals for address contention. TDMAA outperforms conventional DAAMs in uneven node distributions, sometimes assigning 20% more addresses. 1. Introduction Rapid advancements in sensors, embedded systems, and wireless communication technologies have fostered increasing research of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The development of the Internet of Things is expected to ensure that WSNs are prevalent in future life. Numerous WSN-related studies have explored routing [1], localization [2], and sensor deployment and coverage [3]. Moreover, multiple applications have been developed such as those for industrial automation [4], health monitoring and prognosis [5], agricultural environment monitoring [6], and ecological observations [7]. Currently, ZigBee is the dominant communication protocol used in WSNs [8]. ZigBee is a wireless protocol that is designed for low power use and low data transmission rates. The ZigBee Alliance collaborates with the IEEE 802.15.4 committee to specify the complete ZigBee protocol stacks. The IEEE 802.15.4 defines the standard of the lower MAC/PHY layer, and the ZigBee Alliance designs the upper network and application layer standards. The IEEE 802.15.4 belongs to the category of personal area network (PAN) standards. ZigBee supports a large amount of sensor devices to work with flexible network topologies such as peer-to-peer, star, tree, and mesh topologies. Two types of devices, full-function devices (FFDs) and reduced-function devices (RFDs), are currently available in the marketplace. ZigBee networks comprise ZigBee coordinators (ZCs), ZigBee routers (ZRs), and ZigBee end devices (ZEDs). The ZC initiates a PAN and enables the ZRs and ZEDs to connect to the ZC. Because ZRs can route and forward packets, they can accept network join requests. In a tree topology, ZEDs can only function as leaf nodes. The ZC and ZRs are FFDs, whereas ZEDs
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijdsn/2013/505121/