Prioritized-MAC Model for Intelligent UAV-to-BS Communication in Industrial-WSN Systems

In this paper, a prioritized-MAC protocol model for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data collection and processing in an industrial wireless sensor network system (IWSN) is proposed. The model encapsulates the existing legacy IEEE 802.11 carrier-sense multiple access collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) MAC protocol, where nodes are kept active when in UAV’s coverage area. A level-sided access channel approach is then deployed to distinguish the priority allotment to each ground node using the distributed coordinated function inter-frame spacing (DCFIS) approach. Consequently, nodes located at the highest priority level-sided frame have shorter time-length with more DCFIS values than those of lower priority level-sided frames. On simulation, our proposed protocol not only improves fairness, but enhances network fairness with reduced delay time.