Interference mitigation through adaptive power control in wireless sensor networks

Adaptive transmission power control schemes have been introduced in wireless sensor networks to adjust energy consumption under different network conditions. This is a crucial goal, given the constraints under which sensor communications operate. Power reduction may however have counter-productive effects to network performance. Yet, indiscriminate power boosting may detrimentally affect interference. We are interested in understanding the conditions under which coordinated power reduction may lead to better spectrum efficiency, interference mitigation and, thus, have beneficial effects on network performance. Through a combination of measurements and simulations, we study the relation between transmission power and communication efficiency with the technique of Adaptive and Robust Topology control (ART), showing how power reduction can benefit energy and spectrum efficiency. We identify critical limitations in ART (in terms of stability and adaptivity), discussing the potential of more cooperative power-control approaches.