An Energy-Efficient MAC Protocol for WSNs: Game-Theoretic Constraint Optimization with Multiple Objectives

Abstract

In WSNs, energy conservation is the primary goal, while throughput anddelay are less important. This results in a tradeoff between performance(e.g., throughput and delay) and energy efficiency. In this paper, theproblem of energy-efficient MAC protocols in WSNs is modeled as agame-theoretic constraint optimization problem. After introducingincompletely cooperative game theory, based on the estimated game state(e.g., the number of competing nodes), each node independently implementsthe optimal equilibrium strategy under the given constraints (e.g., theused energy). Moreover, a simplified game-theoretic constraint optimizationscheme (G-ConOpt) is presented in this paper, which is easy to beimplemented in current WSNs. Simulation results show that G-ConOpt canincrease system performance while still maintaining reasonable energyconsumption.