Distributed Power Control in Sensor Networks: A Game Theoretic Approach

• Published in: Distributed Computing - IWDC 2004 pp. 508 - 519
• Main Authors: Sengupta, Shamik, Chatterjee, Mainak
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin, Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.01.2004
• Series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Subjects: Nash Equilibrium; Power Control; Power Level; Sensor Network; Sensor Node
• ISBN: 9783540240761; 3540240764
• ISSN: 0302-9743; 1611-3349
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-30536-1_56

In wireless sensor networks, where energy of the sensor nodes are finite, power control is an important issue to consider. In this paper, we present a game-theoretic approach to solve the power control problem in CDMA based distributed sensor networks. A non-cooperative game is formulated and the existence of Nash equilibrium is studied for the sensor nodes operating under incomplete information. With the help of this equilibrium, we devise a distributed algorithm for optimal power control and prove that the system is power stable if the nodes comply with certain transmission thresholds. We show that even in the distributed non-cooperative scenario, it is in the best interest of the nodes to remain within these thresholds. The power level at which a node should transmit, to maximize its utility, is also evaluated. Numerical results prove that with the proposed algorithm, the sensor nodes are able to achieve best possible payoff by consuming less power, resulting in extended network lifetime.