QoS-driven scheduling approach using optimal slot allocation for wireless body area networks

Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is a promising type of networks that mainly targets at applications in ubiquitous communication and e-Health services. Different from other types of networks, one important challenge for WBAN is that its quality of service (QoS) requirement, in terms of delivery probability and data rate, will be time varying since human body is a highly dynamic physical environment. Another significant challenge for WBAN is that energy efficiency needs to be guaranteed in such a resource-limited network. In this paper, a QoS-driven scheduling approach is proposed to address these challenges. We model the WBAN channel as a Markov model as suggested by the emerging IEEE 802.15.6 BAN standard and propose a threshold-based scheme to adjust the transmission order of nodes. The number of slots for each node is optimally assigned according to the QoS requirement while minimizing the energy consumption of nodes. The results from extensive simulations show that the proposed approach can provide high QoS and energy efficiency under different network conditions, especially in highly heterogeneous ones in WBAN.