Title: Testing network protocols and signal attenuation in packed food transports

Authors: Reiner Jedermann, Markus Becker, Carmelita Gorg, Walter Lang

Addresses: Microsystems Center Bremen (MCB), University of Bremen, Otto Hahn Allee NW1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Microsystems Center Bremen (MCB), University of Bremen, Otto Hahn Allee NW1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Microsystems Center Bremen (MCB), University of Bremen, Otto Hahn Allee NW1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. ' Microsystems Center Bremen (MCB), University of Bremen, Otto Hahn Allee NW1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany

Abstract: Two sensor network protocols for the monitoring of packed food products were tested in different sea containers. The packet rate and the signal strength of all sensor-to-sensor links were recorded in the flash memory of the sensor nodes. The performance of the two protocols was compared and protocol improvements were tested by simulation based on this data. The high signal attenuation by water-containing products was identified as the major problem. One of the two tested protocols was newly developed with a focus on low energy consumption. A simplified link estimator, which required only a minimum number of control messages, detects the correct routing in most cases.

Keywords: signal attenuation; food transport monitoring; multi-hop protocols; wireless sensor networks; WSNs; wireless networks; packed food products; packed foods; simulation; sea containers; energy consumption; energy efficiency.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSNET.2011.040238

International Journal of Sensor Networks, 2011 Vol.9 No.3/4, pp.170 - 181

Received: 08 Feb 2010
Accepted: 15 Jul 2010
Published online: 22 May 2011 *

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