A Progressively Reliable Image Transport Protocol over Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Images are extensively used in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN) for surveillance and object monitoring. The transmission of image data constitutes a significant portion of network bandwidth. Given the inherent differences of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) from wired networks, such as high probability of non-congestion related packet loss, very low bandwidth, Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, and limited processing power, the traditional transport protocol---the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)---is not suitable for transferring images over WSN. In this thesis, a Progressively Reliable Image Transport Protocol---PITP, is proposed. First, with the support of progressive JPEG and out-of-order delivery of packets, this new protocol can display images smoothly with incremental quality. Second, this protocol guarantees receiver-controlled reliability and sound congestion control. In addition, a synchronization control mechanism is proposed within the protocol. A series of experiments are designed and simulated with ns2 to evaluate the performance of PITP. According to the results, PITP is proved to be suitable for image transmission over WSN.