Reliable Communication in Wireless Networks

Wireless communication systems are increasingly being used in industries and infrastructures since they offer significant advantages such as cost effectiveness and scalability with respect to wired communication system. However, the broadcast feature and the unreliable links in the wireless communication system may cause more communication collisions and redundant transmissions. Consequently, guaranteeing reliable and efficient transmission in wireless communication systems has become a big challenging issue. In particular, analysis and evaluation of reliable transmission protocols in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and radio frequency identification system (RFID) are strongly required. This thesis proposes to model, analyze and evaluate self-configuration algorithms in wireless communication systems. The objective is to propose innovative solutions for communication protocols in WSNs and RFID systems, aiming at optimizing the performance of the algorithms in terms of throughput, reliability and power consumption. The first activity focuses on communication protocols in WSNs, which have been investigated, evaluated and optimized, in order to ensure fast and reliable data transmission between sensor nodes. The second research topic addresses the interference problem in RFID systems. The target is to evaluate and develop precise models for accurately describing the interference among readers. Based on these models, new solutions for reducing collision in RFID systems have been investigated.