Coding Techniques for Achieving Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks

In this dissertation, we explored multiple coding techniques to reduce energy consumption, improve performance, and secure wireless sensor networks specifically and ad-hoc networks in general. With the introduction of Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G technologies, wireless sensor networks are quickly emerging as an important and key technology in the future. From their ability to sense, process, and communicate data among them to being low-powered, self-organizing, and cost effective. Their characteristics made them a great tool for many applications, they already have a role in connecting homes, cars, surveillance systems, early earthquake and forest fire detection. However, due to their limited power and processing energy, they suffer to maintain acceptable performance and connectivity especially when deployed in harsh environment. In this research, we demonstrated novel techniques that can help improve their performance while reducing energy consumption. The contribution of this work is summarized below.

• We propose a novel approach to error correction codes in wireless sensor network. We introduce a modification to Reed-Solomon decoding algorithm which allows errors to occur in data without sacrificing the total integrity of the data. We show that by deploying such mechanisms, we can reduce the total energy required to deliver data at their destination by reducing the decoding energy per symbol/bit.
• We propose a modification on opportunistic network coding (ONC) using diversity coding and cooperation, as well as, limiting the number of packets that can be network-coded together to three and only encode packets that were received by relay nodes directly. We show that using such techniques we can alleviate the issues that plague ONC when implemented in noisy networks. later, we study the effect of link outages/mobility on proposed solution and show that our proposed solution can accommodate up to one link failure.
• We study the security of ad-hoc networks and propose a post-quantum hybrid security mechanism. We propose a security mechanism that take advantage of the wireless medium hereditary nature and cryptography techniques. This state of art protocol is able to overcome the presence of adversary eavesdropper and address man in the middle attack. Our security mechanism uses a combination of physical layer and cryptographic security techniques to provide best effort security.

Major Advisor: Mario Magana
Minor Advisor: Bella Bose
Committee: Bechir Hamdaoui
Committee: Yue Cao
GCR: Bill Warnes