An LQI based dual-channel routing protocol for wireless body area networks

Wireless Body Area networks (WBANs) are wireless sensor networks that interconnect miniaturized nodes with sensor or actuator capabilities in, on, or around a human body. Mobility is a key factor in WBAN design as the human body may be experiencing posture changes and be moving around in the environment. Most WBANs utilize only one wireless channel for communication. With recent interest in multi-channel devices for WBANs such as multi-channel antennas and transceivers there is a need for an effective multi-channel routing protocol. In this paper we develop a multi-channel extension to the Ad Hoc on Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol for use in multi-channel WBANs. We utilize both Link Quality Indicator (LQI) values and Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) values to choose the best channel to transmit on. Our extensions to AODV were implemented by modifying the single-band Castalia model built on the OMNeT++ network simulator. We compared our dual channel AODV protocol with LQI channel selection against a dual channel AODV with RSSI and random channel selection for mobile and static nodes. Simulation results showed that our multi-channel AODV protocol with RSSI and LQI channel selection gave comparable, if not better, performance to single channel AODV in terms of packet delivery but with less AODV control messages needing to be sent, better routing stability. In the case of one mobile node and the rest static, dual channel operation reduced the number of unwanted data packets received by nodes.