ANALYSIS OF DEPTH FACTOR IN NODE COMMUNICATION FOR WIRELESS UNDERGROUND SENSOR NETWORKS

Wireless underground sensor networks are a new area of research. It is widely used in many engineering applications, from smart irrigation to security and help based routing. Some of the application areas of wireless underground sensor networks are underground with space such as tunnel, cave, etc. while some consists of no spaced underground solid areas as well. In this context, the wireless underground sensor networks have recently become very important for agricultural purposes. In this paper, the effect of soil on underground-underground and underground-surface wireless underground sensor node communication has been investigated with a mathematical simulation model. In order to evaluate the performance of the network structure, the received signal strength and path loss parameters are discussed. As the depth distance increases, the increase in path loss of communication has been revealed. The acquired performance evaluation result reveals the need for signal transmission with different transmitter power for depth-based communication in wireless underground sensor networks