Modeling and performance simulation of PULSE and MCMAC protocols in RFID-based IoT network using OMNeT++
A key challenge in applying radio-frequency identification (RFID) in internet of thing (IoT) is the need to minimize signal interference. In an effort to reduce RFID signal interference (including tag-tag, reader-tag and reader-reader signal collisions), towards IoT application, researchers have used both theoretical and experimental approaches to study, optimize and compare the performance of standard RFID anti-collision protocols, especially Aloha-based and tree-based protocols. Various protocols have also been proposed and evaluated. In the various studies, the simulation platforms, models (e.g., channel, tag, physical layer) and underlying assumptions, and performance metrics considered often vary significantly among the plethora of RFID performance evaluation studies. The goal of this work is to develop a standardized simulation framework, including related models, that can be used to evaluate proposed interference mitigation protocols under similar conditions, allowing for a more accurate and robust comparison. In this research work, we focus on the application of RFID to IoT networks. We develop an RFID-based IoT network model using MiXiM OMNeT network simulator and compared the performance of two distributed protocols — Multi-Channel Medium Access Control (MCMAC) and PULSE protocol — based on average tag reading time. We observed that, the PULSE protocol performs better only after adding 9 readers to a 81-tags grid topology. Hence, while the MCMAC protocol is better, judging by throughput, the PULSE protocol gives a higher positive spectrum utilization index after an infinite period of time.