BoBcast: Broadcast in a network of batteryless intermittent sensor nodes
Date
2025-08
Authors
Asiedu, William Agyekum
Major Professor
Advisor
Qiao, Daji
Duwe, Henry
Babu, Sarath
Committee Member
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Abstract
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) powered by energy harvesting offer a sustainable approach
to long-term sensing in inaccessible environments. However, their intermittent and constrained
energy profiles pose significant challenges to reliable communication, particularly for broadcasting,
which is fundamental to many coordination tasks. This thesis proposes BoBcast, a novel
intermittency-aware broadcast protocol tailored for Batteryless Intermittently-powered Sensor
Networks (BISNs). BoBcast dynamically regulates a node’s transmission power based on its
energy-harvesting rate, task demands, and expected energy cost of participating in the broadcast.
The protocol is evaluated against conventional approaches, including Naive Flooding and
Logical MST-based broadcasting, using a Python-based simulator calibrated to realistic hardware
(MSP430-FR5994 microcontroller and Powercast P2110 RF energy harvester).
Extensive simulations under varying RF source placements and energy distributions show that
BoBcast significantly reduces network broadcast latency and improves energy margins, even when
energy-constrained nodes act as the broadcast source. The results demonstrate the potential of
intermittency-aware strategies to ensure both timeliness and sustainability of broadcast in BISNs.
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thesis