Title:Reliability Modeling of Wireless Sensor Networks: A Review
VOLUME: 15 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Liudong Xing*
Affiliation:Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Keywords:Application communication, infrastructure communication, link failure, phased-mission, reliability modeling, sensor
node, wireless sensor network.
Abstract:Background: Through smart micro sensor devices networked via wireless links and the
Internet, wireless sensor networks offer unprecedented opportunities for diverse applications, such
as healthcare, military, industry automation, and monitoring, environmental sensing, etc. It is one
of the enabling technologies for many Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems. Due to the
mission-critical nature of these systems, it is imperative that a wireless sensor network operates
correctly throughout the intended mission time. Thus, modeling the reliability of wireless sensor
networks is a critical task for their successful operations.
Objective: This article is aimed to review the state-of-the-art work on the reliability modeling and
analysis of wireless sensor networks.
Method: The existing reliability modeling works for wireless sensor networks are identified and
classified based on different aspects, including scope, topology, communication paradigms, designs,
and reliability evaluation methods. Patents contributing to the reliability of wireless sensor
networks are also discussed.
Conclusion: A rich body of works have been suggested for the reliability modeling and analysis of
wireless sensor networks contributing to their robust design and resilient operation. However, there
is still a great need to explore more efficient and innovative solutions to capture new aspects of
system complexity related to the development and growth of wireless sensor networks in contemporary
and future critical applications.
