Online Coding for Reliable Data Transfer in Lossy Wireless Sensor Networks

Bulk transport underlies data exfiltration and code update facilities in WSNs, but existing approaches are not designed for highly lossy and variable-quality links. The authors observe that Maymounkov's rateless online codes are asymptotically more efficient, but can perform poorly in the WSN operating region. This paper analyzes and optimizes coding parameters and present the design and evaluation of RTOC, a protocol for bulk transport that recovered over 95% of application data despite up to 84% packet loss in a MicaZ network.