Evaluating effectiveness of IEEE 802.15.4 networks for M2M communications

M2M technology enables direct communication between machine devices with little or no human intervention [1-4]. It can support a wide range of applications, for example, smart grid, smart home, consumer electronics, health-care monitoring, security and surveillance, automation and monitoring, remote maintenance and control, and automotive [3,4]. In the future, it is expected to see a huge increase in the number of machines enabled by M2M technology. Wireless networks will play a key role in the support of machine devices accessing the networks and M2M communications.