Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocols for Wireless Sensor Network: An Energy Aware Survey

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a collection of small electronic nodes capable to sense and collect the information of interest in different application. However, these devices are limited in power supply, that is why energy efficient in a crucial factor of wireless sensor nodes. Many researches were performed in order to minimize the energy consumption in different layers of the network and especially at the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer as it coordinate all the sensor nodes to the share the wireless medium. Therefore, a well-designed MAC protocol can prolong the network life. In our survey, we first outline the sensor network properties that are crucial for the design of MAC layer protocols. Then we have compared a set of MAC techniques in terms of their suitability to be used in WSN emphasizing their strengths and weaknesses. Our goal is to yield a foundation for future MAC protocol design, and to detect important design issues that can allow us to enhance the performance of the wireless sensor network.