S²EWSN: A Conceptual Paradigm SWIPT-enabled Scalable Energy-sustainable Wireless Sensor Networks

The emergence of the Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT) technology makes it possible to realize energy sustainability in the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). However, it still faces severe challenges since SWIPT is incompatible with the current network architecture. Meanwhile, little attention is paid to the general paradigm of scalable energy sustainable SWIPT-enabled WSNs. To this end, a novel conceptual paradigm of SWIPT-enabled Scalable Energy sustainable Wireless Sensor Network (S²EWSN) is proposed. The core components, namely a Supply-demand Equilibrious clustering mechanism based on Spatio-temporal Fuzzy Control (SESFC), a Data-energy-aware Intra-cluster MAC mechanism based on Cross-layer Collaboration (DIMCC), and a Nash equilibrious Data-energy Coordinated Inter-cluster Routing (NDCIR) mechanism, along with their main function and intrinsic principle are detailed. The feasibility of network implement is verified through detailed theoretical analysis. Additionally, extensive experimental simulations are conducted to assess the performance of S²EWSN. Simulation results show that more than 98% of S-nodes are able to keep energy sustainability steadily. Potential challenges and limitations when deploying S²EWSN are also pointed out and analyzed in terms of the realization of the global spatio-temporal energy sustainability, the realization of local spatio-temporal energy sustainability, and the dependency on the rechargeable battery.