Optimizing Multi-antenna Communication in Cluster-based Wireless Networks

Wireless networks are vital for supporting a range of applications, and energy efficiency is a key factor in improving the operational lifetime for these networks. In multi-antenna wireless networks, the energy optimization problem can be addressed using the trade-off between the transmit power and the circuit energy consumption. Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication is a promising approach that can be efficiently used to reduce the energy consumption for communication. In MIMO systems, the transmit power is spread among more than one antenna, which results in having a high power gain and better spectral efficiency. In this paper, we propose optimizing the MIMO communication within a cluster-based protocol for wireless networks in which the nodes have multiple antennas and may be powered by energy harvesting. The proposed approach adjusts the number of antennas for communication between a normal node and a cluster-head dynamically in order to improve the overall energy efficiency of the network. We evaluate the proposed approach in two scenarios, a network with static nodes with non-rechargeable batteries, and a network with mobile nodes powered through energy harvesting. In both scenarios, the simulation results show that the proposed approach of multi-antenna optimization outperforms a traditional fixed approach in terms of number of received packets, percentage of dead nodes, and energy consumption.